Simply the Best Boiled Rice

Which rice? Long grain. At home we always use basmati for boiled rice because of its great flavour.

Before I turn on the heat: Most long-grain rice is ready to cook straight from the bag, so it couldn’t be easier. If you are using basmati and have the time, rinsing (see left) does take out quite a lot of its starchiness, but I don’t bother at home because I cook the rice in so much water.

Cook: Put the rice into a saucepan and cover with a generous amount of boiling water. Give the rice one stir, then let it boil, uncovered, for about 15 minutes. Drain well, then return to the pan and leave it to steam off any excess moisture. The good thing about this method is that by draining off the water, you’re draining off a lot of the starch that makes rice sticky, and if it does still look a bit starchy, you can easily rescue it by pouring over some boiling water, then draining again.