Basic Stovetop Rice
Updated Jan. 22, 2026
- Total Time
- Up to 45 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1cup rice (long-grain or medium-grain, like basmati or jasmine; short-grain, like sushi rice; or brown rice)
Nutritional analysis per serving (3 servings)
234 calories; 0 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 0 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 52 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 1 milligram sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Pour rice into a bowl, and fill it with cold water. Swirl the grains, using your fingers. Tip out any starchy water, and repeat until water runs almost clear.
- Step 2
Combine rice and water in a pot: For most long-grain and medium-grain rice, pair 1 cup rice and 1⅓ cups water. For short-grain rice, use 1 cup rice and 1 cup water. For most brown rice, combine 1 cup rice and 1¾ cups water. The rice and water should not come more than halfway up the sides of your pot; the mixture will double in volume as it cooks.
- Step 3
Bring water to a hard boil over medium-high heat. The water's entire surface should break with big, constant bubbles. As soon as water is boiling, give it a vigorous stir with a spatula or wooden spoon, making sure to scrape at any grains at the bottom of the pot. Cover it with a lid and turn the heat to low.
- Step 4
Cook long-grain and medium-grain rice for 15 minutes; short-grain varieties for 20 minutes; and brown rice for 30 minutes.
- Step 5
When allotted time has passed, or when you hear a change in sound – if you listen closely, you’ll notice the sounds will slowly change from a bubbly simmer to a steamy sort of flutter – turn off heat and let rice rest for about 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
- To cook in an oven, bring rice to a boil on the stovetop, stir, cover and put it in a 350-degree oven to cook through (about 17 minutes for most white rice). Rest it covered at room temperature, for 10 minutes. To cook in a multicooker, rinse rice and pressure cook on high (about 3 minutes for short-grain rice; 8 minutes for long-grain rice; 22 minutes for brown rice). Open cooker after it’s depressurized naturally, then loosely cover the pot with a dish towel and plate and let it rest for 10 minutes.
Private Notes
Comments
Uh, if you buy enriched medium or long grain white rice (very common in the USA), the "enrichment" is in the form of vitamins and minerals that are applied to the surface of the grain AFTER the brown hull is milled off. When you rinse this kind of rice you are rinsing off these materials the YOU PAID EXTRA FOR! I know, I know, just goes to show we shouldn't be eating white rice, but, sigh...
Try Dumbed-Down rice. No measuring of water; cook like pasta. Boil 3+ cups of water in a large saucepan or pot. Rinse 1+ cups of rice in a strainer, then add the rice to the water and return to a gentle boil boil. Cook uncovered for N minutes, where N = 10 minutes for long grain, white jasmine or basmati rice N = 15 minutes for converted rice N = ~30 minutes for brown rice (Rice should be very slightly al dente) Put rice back in drained pot, fluff and let sit for 5 minutes. Voila!
Perfect rice — EVERY TIME: Two-to-one; two cups liquid — one cup rice. Both in a pan, turn it on, bring to a high boil, turn to low and put on a lid for 20 min. Done. Perfect. Works for barley, quinoa...most grains.
They say calm seas don’t make tough sailors but this recipe almost broke me. I usually do t make rice. My hubby prefers pasta like spaghetti or the round tubes but this time I had to make some rice for a recipe and this did not turn out well. Firstly I added the rice to the pot and added water all the way to the top but the problem came when I added the heat the heat was too tight and the water bubbled all over the stovetop and I didn’t know why or what to do next but then the rice was like a slurry like a rice soup when I took it off like all the rice grains and become soup! I used instant rice dried in the sachet I don’t know what I did wrong. Anyway I kept cooking until the water was all reduced and I let the soup absorb all the water but then soup turned hard kind of like a bread made of rice and that did not taste good with Chinese general sowes chicken. I don’t trust a nut anymore.
Made brown rice as instructed, along with a pinch of salt. Perfect!
This recipe works perfectly every time I make long- grain white rice. I don’t cook rice often and I didn’t grow up eating it often. This recipe may be simplistic or even obvious to some, but for novice rice people (like me!), it’s a great reference.