Water for rice

What it's for

Each rice type absorbs a different amount of water: wrong proportions give rice that's too sticky or too dry. Here you find the right water for the type you cook.

Tip

For the absorption method, bring to a boil, then cook covered on low heat until the water is absorbed. Basmati is best rinsed first.

The absorption method, and when it isn't used

The proportions on this page are for absorption cooking: you put the rice in with its water, bring it to the boil, cover and turn down, and when the water is gone the rice is done. No draining, no starch thrown away. It's the method of nearly all the world's rice, from basmati to sushi rice.

It doesn't apply in two cases. Risotto isn't absorption cooking: the liquid (the stock) is added a little at a time precisely to draw the starch out, which is what makes it creamy, and the total amount isn't fixed. And boiled rice the Italian way, thrown into plenty of salted water like pasta, has no proportions: you just drain it.

Why each type wants its own amount of water

It depends on how much starch it carries on the surface and how compact the grain is. Basmati and the long grains, which have to stay separate, want little water (about 1.5 times their weight); brown rices, which still have their bran, want a good deal more and take twice as long; sushi rice wants only a little over its own weight, because it has to stay sticky but firm.

The three things that change the result more than the water

Rinsing. Basmati and sushi rice should be rinsed until the water runs almost clear: that takes away the surface starch, which is what glues the grains together. Risotto rice, on the other hand, is never rinsed, for the opposite reason.

Don't lift the lid. Every time you look, steam escapes, and steam is half the cooking: the rice ends up done at the bottom and raw on top. And the rest: ten minutes off the heat, covered, before opening and fluffing with a fork. It's the step nearly everyone skips, and it's the one that spreads the leftover moisture and makes the difference between good rice and perfect rice.

Nearby tools

For quantities based on how many you are there is Servings per person, and to measure without scales Kitchen measures. To time the cooking Online timer, and for how long leftover rice keeps in the fridge Food storage times.