Medium grain rice

[catdaddy]

After a trip to Puerto Rico where we enjoyed great rice and beans. I've been playing with the medium grain rice used there. Most of the time the rice comes out ok but seemingly too al dente. When I use more water it gets a little soggy.

Looking for that sweet spot and wondering if a) med grain rice is normally like this, b) maybe it has been sitting on the shelf too long and dried out, or c) there is some technique I don't know about.

?

[Snadra]

We eat medium grain (calrose) rice all the time as we love the flavour and texture. It's firm, but nothing like al dente. I rinse it well and use a rice cooker with a little less water than indicated (I go just below the water mark in the bowl), and let it sit after the cooker switches to warm. Usually I start cooking the meal after the rice has switched, so it sits on warm for about 20-30 minutes. When I remember I also fluff it gently after it's cooked. This seems to work really well, but our rice is generally quite fresh being grown in NSW, and it may well be a different variety to yours.

I would try a good rinse and some sitting time before serving to see if that improves the texture. When we started letting it sit for a time after cooking we found the texture really improved.

[heidih]

I do as Snadra explained with the calrose. I am in Southern California where it is the most common medium grain type found in the general markets as well as being well represented in the Asian markets. I find it to be an easy and forgiving rice which has never gone too hard or too mushy for me. In terms of rinsing well - I find this produces many rinsings of very cloudy water until I feel it is ready to pop in the cooker. I have cooked it on the stove top with success as well keeping the heat quite gentle and as noted above, allowing for some rest time.

[mkayahara]

To cook medium-grain rice, I usually soak for 15 minutes, cook for 15 minutes, then let stand for 15 minutes. That produces a texture that I like! It seems like a lot a of rice recipes leave out the initial soaking step. (Oh, and I'm talking about cooking in a pot on the stove... no rice cooker here!)

[Lisa Shock]

I started soaking when I read Madhur Jaffrey's instructions in her World-of-the-East Vegetarian Cooking, when I was in college. I have run little tests here and there on various rices, and soaking (up to 45 min for brown rice) really gives a better overall result. The grains cook more evenly, and there's no breakage. It's just beautiful rice.

Your issue may have something to do with your water. It may be too mineral-laden, or, there's an acid present somehow.

[catdaddy]

Wow, great suggestions. I'll try the wash and soak next time. Then the 15x15x15 methods.

Thanks, all.