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Undercooked Rice

Your rice is crunchy in the center because it did not absorb enough water. Steam it with a small splash to finish.

Part of grains cooking fixes and dry food fixes .

crunchy grains dry texture vegetarian gluten-free

Ingredients on hand

  • undercooked rice
  • water
  • lid
  • butter
  • salt

Why it happened

Rice cooks by absorbing steam. If the pot ran dry or the heat was too high, the centers stay firm.

The fix

  1. 1 sprinkle 2 tablespoons water over the rice
  2. 2 cover tightly and steam on low heat for 5 minutes
  3. 3 fluff with a fork and add a small pat of butter

If it's still wrong

  • Add to soup or stew to finish cooking.
  • Turn into fried rice where a little chew is acceptable.

Prevent next time

  • Use a tight lid and keep heat low once simmering.
  • Let rice rest 10 minutes off heat before opening.

Notes

Why this works

A small amount of water plus trapped steam finishes gelatinizing the starch in each grain. Resting keeps the steam inside so the centers soften.

Substitutions

  • butter olive oil
  • water stock

More dry fixes

Other grains fixes