Name: Plain Boiled Rice
Yield: serves 8
Ingredients: a few little knobs of butter (optional); 400 g good-quality long-grain rice, e.g. Basmati; 1½–2 teaspoons salt; a large pot of cold water

Preparation info

serves
8

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Darina Allen's Simply Delicious Suppers

By Darina Allen

Published 2001

About

I find this way of cooking in what we call ‘unlimited water’ to be very satisfactory for plain boiled rice, even, dare I say, foolproof. The grains stay separate and it will keep happily covered in the oven for up to half an hour.

Ingredients

a large pot of cold water
1½–2 teaspoons salt
400 g<

Method

Bring a large saucepan of water to a fast boil, add salt, sprinkle in the rice and stir at once to make sure the grains don’t stick. Boil rapidly, uncovered. After 4 or 5 minutes (depending on the type of rice) test by biting a few grains between your teeth – it should still have a slightly resistant core. If it overcooks at this stage the grains will stick together later.

Strain well t