Do you need to wash rice before cooking it? That’s a question our audience can’t seem to agree on.
We took the question to our trusty Facebook followers, who are always down for a little debate. The consensus was split, with many saying that they “100%”, “always do” wash rice to “remove the starch” which gives it a “fluffier texture” and “saves it from going gluggy.”
But many also argued “no”, it’s “not necessary”, and some “have never washed rice”. Instead, they cook using an absorption method, and it “comes out perfect every time”.
As with every great debate, there are plenty of people sitting on the fence. “Just depends on how you like your rice,” and “what you are cooking,” they said.
Knowing we needed to settle the debate once and for all, in an interview with home cook and ex-MasterChef contestant, Darrsh Clarke, he weighed in and his answer may surprise you.
“You absolutely do not need to wash your rice before cooking it,” he told us in an interview. “Nagi from RecipeTinEats has an amazing no-wash recipe.”
What is it about Nagi’s recipe that makes it perfect for not-washing? We took to her website to investigate.
“The biggest mistake people make when cooking rice is using too much water, with most recipes calling for 2 cups of water to 1 cup of rice for stovetop cooking…. The problem of too much water is then exacerbated by rinsing the rice, with promises that removing the excess starch will make your rice fluffy… So actually, recipes that call for 2 cups of water AND rinsing rice end up using almost 2 1/4 cups of water for 1 cup of rice = overly soft rice with gummy surfaces,” she wrote.
Her sneaky solution to not rinsing rice before cooking is using her 1:1.5 rice to water ratio.
“There’s a widely held belief that rinsing rice is the key to successful rice, that doing this washes away excess starch on the rice grains, which makes the rice extra fluffy. Yes that’s true, it does wash away excess starch, but your rice will still be beautifully fluffy even without rinsing,” she wrote.
Of course, there are exceptions to this exact method. While it works perfectly for long grain white rice, medium grain white rice and short grain white rice, it doesn’t work for sushi rice, wild rice, risotto rice, paella rice or quinoa. Though, she does have separate recipes and methods for each rice variety.
Moral of the story? You don’t need to wash your rice, unless you are washing it to clean it (store-bought rice is often pre-washed; you only really need to wash it if you’re purchasing from a market). Or, if you’re cooking flavoured rice.
“There are some rice recipes I’ve shared that call for rinsing in circumstances where other ingredients create a thicker cooking liquid,” Nagi wrote. “If you do rinse rice, you need to reduce water by 2 tablespoons for each cup of rice because the rice has some remaining water clinging to it.”
So should you wash your rice? It depends on your personal preferences, the rice you’re using, and the recipe!
MasterChef Australia: Back to Win continues Sunday at 7pm, and Monday to Wednesday at 7:30pm on 10 and 10 Play
