Boiled Rice for One

In the Far East rice is coveted as the staff of life. The Italians rave about risotto, and rice is the accepted ne plus ultra accompaniment for fried chicken in the Deep South. Rice originated in India and China a few millennia ago and came to Europe via Egypt and Greece. Oddly enough the French were among the last to appreciate its virtue, the reason being, according to gastronomic theory, that the early Gallic chefs succumbed to the temptation to stir it too often and cook it lo