As someone who identifies as a non-picky eater, I was so confident I'd be satisfied with my usual pasta-bread-noodles rotation during quarantine. In general, I'm not the kind of person who needs kanin for every meal. Before the lockdown, I ate rice maybe once every couple of days. But after two weeks of the same food, I cracked.
I went to my grocery to check how much rice cookers usually go for. I was in the middle of debating with myself (Is it worth it? Can I work it? LOL, sorry!), my dad informed me that I could totally cook rice without one. So I made a beeline to the rice section and bought my first bag ever: one kg of Jasmine rice for P70.
What I did:
- I took out the deepest pot I have and poured the rice in—about an inch deep.
- I rinsed it until it was somewhat clear (this much I remember from when my lola used to make me do it as a child).
- Next, I added about half an inch of water. My dad used his nail as a unit of measurement, and let me tell you: It works. I also decided to add salt because sodium is my best friend.
- I placed the pot on my electric stove (in medium to high heat) and covered it with the lid.
- I let the steam out whenever things dripped to the side (I have no official term for this, sorry).
- Other websites will tell you to resist the urge to check, but I did it anyway. I stirred the rice a bit to make sure it wasn't burning. I still ended up burning the bottom because I left it on for too long, lol, but the top part turned out perfectly!
- When it looked like the kind of rice I like to eat, I turned the stove off and just trapped the steam so it still continued to "cook."
That's how I've been cooking my rice for about a month now. If you want to follow an actual professional, though, check out Pailin's Kitchen's video:
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