In many Asian cultures, it is customary to wash your rice before cooking it for a multitude of reasons. This is not as common in the U.S and in other countries, especially when choosing rice in bags that is super-fast to boil. In addition, before deciding to wash or rinse your rice, it is necessary to understand that there are several types of rice, and not all of them need to go through this process.
Rice varieties that require washing and why?
If we are using short-grain rice to make risotto, then it is not required to wash the rice. If we wash it, all the starch will be removed, and the risotto will not have texture and a creamy composition. Nevertheless, there are plenty of rice types that do require washing or rinsing.
For example, long and medium grain rice need to be rinsed to remove impurities and get rid of chemicals. It will also help remove the starch and make the rice fluffy but not sticky. Another reason to wash your rice is to slow down its spoiling process. It is mentioned that washing the rice in cold water several times until the water is clean, is the best way of preparing the rice.
Pre-soaking rice is also good
Basmati rice is famous for its rich aroma and flavour. To conserve them, it is good to pre-soak the rice and then cook it in the same water. However, the cooking process and the utensils used is also essential if we want to have perfectly cooked rice. This is why many people buy rice cookers. These machines are really fantastic for cooking different types of rice grains and maintaining rice at a perfect temperature for 24 hours.
