In a Rice Cooker

I learned to use a rice cooker before I learned to boil water, and let me just say, they’re pretty genius—foolproof enough to be used by a seven-year-old (aka me).

Still, there’s an art to the whole practice. You can use almost any rice except for glutinous rice, which is too sticky. Measure out the number of cups you need using the plastic cup provided by the rice cooker of your choice. Cover your rice in cold water, swirl it around with your hand to get all those dusty bits worked up, and then pour out the milky liquid, catching any grains of rice in between your fingers. Repeat two more times until the water runs clear—but do this more than three times and you risk washing out the fragrance of the rice.