A Simple White Rice Recipe

Rice is the principal food for approximately half of the world's population. In some countries rice accounts for about three-quarters of the daily caloric intake.

It is one of the oldest cultivated crops and originally native to India, China and Indochina. Now it is grown on every continent except Antartica. The migration of rice began in Asia traveling to Europe through ancient Persia. From Europe it spread to the Americas and by the 17th century rice was cultivated in South Carolina. Today, the US production of rice is concentrated in Arkansas, Mississippi, Texas, and California.

World wide there are thought to be about 100,000 varieties of rice. Genetically they are almost all traced back to the species, Oryza Sativa. Within this species there are two principal subspecies, indica and japonica. Indica typically produces longer grains while Japonicas result in the shorter stickier grains.

Most rice sold in markets is milled to remove the bran and germ, then polished. This allows the rice to be stored for a very long time. The types of rice are long grain rice, medium grain rice, short grain rice, sticky rice, aromatic rice, and pigmented rice. Any of these types can be sold as brown rice, or milled and sold as white rice.

White rice with chicken gravy.

White rice with gravy is every bit as delicious as mashed potatoes with gravy.

A simple white rice recipe: water, butter, salt, and rice.

It is so easy to learn how to make white rice, just combine the water, butter, and salt in a small saucepan and set the rice aside in a small bowl. Boil the water, add the rice, stir, cover, reduce the heat, and simmer until done. This will give you perfect white rice every time.

Learn How To Cook White Rice With This White Rice Recipe

• Yield: 3 servings
• Prep Time:5 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup long grain white rice
• 1-1/2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Method

1. Bring the water, butter, and salt to a rapid boil, in a 2-quart saucepan.
2. Add the rice, stir to break up any clumping, and return to a full boil. Reduce heat to low and cover. Allow to simmer undisturbed until  all of the water has been absorbed, about 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and allow to rest in a warm spot or low oven until ready to serve. Fluff with a fork immediately before serving.

Notes

1. Why the volume measurement? Rice seems to be the one thing I still use volume measurement for. In professional kitchens we didn't have a white rice recipe, it was, "Make 15 cups of white rice." For rice volume measurement just works.
2. When I make rice at home I usually make it on the stove-top, because I am usually making one to four cups of rice. If I am cooking a large volume of rice, I bring my water salt and butter to a boil, add the rice to a hotel pan, or 13 x 9 x 2 cake pan, Pour the water over it, seal it with foil and bake it in a low oven, 190° F Until the water is absorbed. This method of preparation works equally well for both white and brown rice. As long as you boil your water and preheat your oven it takes about the same amount of time to do rice in the oven as on a stove-top.
3. Almost every time that I make rice I make enough to insure that there are leftovers.