For years I felt that producing lovely separate, fluffy grains of rice was an enigma that could never be solved. But for the last couple of years I have perfected a recipe that consistently delivers beautiful separate grains of rice and can also be applied to a lot of other grains! All you need is a pan, no special rice cooker required…

INGREDIENTS:

• Quantity of rice you desire e.g. 1 cup
• Double the quantity of rice in boiling vegetable stock e.g. 2 cups
• 1 tbsp olive oil

n.b. you can replace the stock with boiling water but the stock just brings a tonne of flavour to the rice. You can also use any preferred oil, but I like the taste olive oil brings to the rice.

METHOD:

1. Place the rice in a sieve and wash under cold water, holding a pan underneath the sieve and stop when the water in the pan is practically clear (usually I have to empty 2 or 3 bowls before this occurs).
2. Heat the oil in a pan on a high heat for 1 minute.
3. Add the rice to the pan and quickly stir just to coat in the oil, then add the stock.
4. Leave the pan on a medium-high heat until it comes to the boil. When this occurs, stir the rice once (and once only), cover and leave to simmer on a low heat for 15 minutes (for brown rice make it 35 minutes). Do NOT take off the lid until the 15 minutes is up, resist the temptation!
5. After the 15 minutes, check the rice is cooked and all the water has been absorbed (it should have been because this recipe always works). Enjoy!

n.b. You can vary this basic recipe a lot before you’ve added the rice. At step 2 you can add onions, garlic, mushrooms and spices (turmeric and cumin are especially nice for a side to curries) depending on your preference. But this basic recipe produces perfect rice with a lovely flavour from the stock. If the rice is slightly stuck together, just run a fork through it and the grains will separate easily. This recipe also works really well with quinoa and bulgar wheat.

So get cooking!

Lots of love,

Sunny Kitty