Most people claim their rice remains undercooked. But how to fix undercooked rice? It’s very easy to fix undercooked rice, no matter what are the cooking methods! The solutions are almost the same for all the cooking methods.
Firstly, you have to ensure the initial cooking method. Check the water level to ensure the correct level. Rinse the rice properly before cooking. Check if the rice has cooked thoroughly.
Undercooked rice may need additional water if the pot remains dry. But if there is too much or enough water in the pot, rice needs further cooking time.
Wait, are you using a stove as a cooking method? If yes, in the case of the stove, the fixing way for undercooked rice is slightly different.
Whatever each solution to fix the undercooked rice will involve the further cooking of rice. If you still see the rice doesn’t cook thoroughly, you can use another kind of rice for cooking.
So, if your rice is undercooked, which means slimy and sticky or hard, you should take immediate steps to make the rice eating worthy.
But firstly, you have to identify the undercooked rice. Then will go over how to fix undercooked rice. However, not to be concerned. Here you will learn all the solutions step by step.
How To Identify Undercooked Rice?
Truly speaking, I didn’t know how to identify undercooked rice. Is It funny? Yes, then the following ways help me to identify undercooked rice:
- The center part of the rice is hard, and the outer side is soft.
- Rice is slimy or sticky.
- Rice has a yellow or white coating with brown spots around it.
- Rice is also hard and dry.
- No taste or aroma of cooked rice.
- During cooking, the water bubbles and boils too hard before coming to a simmer.
Tips: For example, one cup of raw brown rice will overflow the pot and can burn. So, you have to continue cooking to avoid undercooked rice. Again, you should add two cups of raw brown rice to a five-quart pan to cook correctly and three cups to an eight or ten-quart pan of a stovetop pressure cooker.
Before fixing the undercooked rice, I think you should know the causes behind the undercooked rice. If you are aware of the causes of undercooked rice, you can easily and quickly fix it.
Why Is The Rice Undercooked?
There are mainly two factors responsible for undercooked rice, including water & rice ratio and heat. Let’s discuss this briefly in detail.
Improper Proportion of Water & Rice
If the water and rice ratio is improper, rice can be undercooked. The usual ratio of water and rice is 1:1 for white rice. You can use a measuring jug for rice and water measurement.
Brown rice needs a larger amount of water. The water ratio may vary depending on the kind of rice used for cooking. However, the wrong ratio of water and rice causes the rice to be undercooked.
Excessive Heat
The right temperature at the right time can cook rice perfectly. But when heat is excessive, water will evaporate or vanish faster before cooking rice thoroughly.
The excessive heat won’t cook the raw rice appropriately, causing the undercooked rice.
How To Fix Undercooked Rice? Common Ways
If the cooked rice looks hard or dry and crunchy, you can follow the following steps for almost all cooking methods to fix undercooked rice.
Personally, I have overcome my problem by following these most-effective steps:
Step-1: Add Water ( If Needed)
If dried out inside the pot, add extra water to cook the rice thoroughly. This is the best solution for short-grain and long-grain rice.
In the first phase, add half a cup of water. Then place it back on the heat for five minutes, leaving it to steam. Don’t raise the heat.
And keep the lid also in the right position; otherwise, the steam will release quickly. As a result, the rice will remains undercooked again.
After that, if the rice is still undercooked or dry, pour more water repeating the process until the rice is fluffy or properly cooked.
Step-2: Don’t Cook Over High Heat
You have to cook the undercooked rice over low heat with the lid in position. Simmer it to fix the undercooked rice.
The excessive heat will remove the steam rapidly, leading to overcooked or burnt rice. So, the cooking temperature is essential to cook rice properly.
Step-3: Safe From Microwave
Put the undercooked rice in the microwave-safe pot or bowl. Then cover the bowl with a plastic coat before putting it in the microwave. Start cooking and check in every two minutes to ensure if the rice is softened.
Cook the rice without making it dry. Because microwave release high heat that generates steam between the lid and the covered bowl.
Step-4: Cook In The Oven
When the undercooked rice doesn’t fix in the microwave or stovetop, you can try to cook it in the oven. For this, preheat the oven to 350°. Then put the rice in a dish made with glass baking.
Cook the rice for nearly ten minutes. But if it is still sticky, proceed to cook for extra five minutes.
Extra Tips: You can use a wet muslin cloth for the gas stove. Take the rice in the pan covered with a wet cloth. Leave it for a few minutes to cook thoroughly. Then remove the cloth. It’s a rapidly homegrown process to fix undercooked rice.
When you will cook wild rice (actually not rice at all), you have to cook it longer than normal rice.
How To Fix Undercooked Rice In A Rice Cooker?
Undercooked rice is a poor taste and is hard to chew, which can be unpleasant to eat. Fixing the undercooked rice in a rice cooker can be a little tricky, but perfectly possible.
When the rice remains undercooked, you should try to boil it again. You need to cook the rice more to avoid burning it. Because cooking for a long time may burn the rice at the bottom of the rice cooker.
If there have no longer water in the rice cooker, add an adequate amount of water to boil. Turn on the rice cooker to steam the rice gently. Keep the heat at a very low temperature. Then wait for about five minutes. After that, check the rice again.
Now it should be fluffy or soft. If it’s not, I think there is water in the rice cooker. So, please leave it to steam for a little longer. Then it will be prepared enough to eat.
Let’s take a look at a glance:
- Add ½ cup of boiling water over the rice.
- Stir the rice to separate the grains using a fork.
- Then put the lid back on tightly
- Let the undercooked rice cook for 2-3 minutes. Then test the rice to see if it’s soft. If the rice is still hard, you have to repeat the process.
- Repeat the process as many times as needed
Before starting the process, let the undercooked rice in warm mode inside the cooker for around 10 minutes. As a result, rice gains will soak up any remnant water. After that, check the texture of the grain.
In the case of another method, you can also try to fix undercooked rice by using butter and wine. You just add these two ingredients before starting to boil the water.
The liquid will be absorbed by the rice when it keeps in the simmer. This process can take nearly 10-15 minutes to complete.
Note: Don’t forget to add one portion of rice and two portions of water along with tightly covering the lid. And don’t raise the lid from the cooker until the rice cooker switches reach the keep warm mode or off.
How To Fix Undercooked Rice On The Stove?
You have to follow a few directions to fix the undercooked rice on the stove. When I used the stove for cooking rice, I also take the following effective actions to fix my undercooked rice:
Firstly, add a little extra water to the pan and let it cook like before it was. The heat is kept relatively low so that the rice doesn’t burn at the bottom.
As only the bottom rice is cooked in this way, the second way is to steam the undercooked rice lightly. So, if there is enough water in the rice, there is no need to add additional water. When the rice is dried, then add a little amount of water at the bottom of the pan.
Thirdly, set the lid on the pan turning the heat up to medium or low. Check the water level so that the rice on the underside doesn’t scorch. After that, steam creates in the pan, cook the rice thoroughly rather than only at the bottom.
This process can take around ten minutes. But make sure the pan simmers dry; so you can put in more water. How much water you should add depends on how much steam will release from the pan.
Finally, you have to remove the lid from the pan to check the rice. I am sure that now you will get perfectly cooked rice.
Additional Tips: You can use a sheet of paper kitchen towel. Place it between the lid and the pan to seal it, preventing steam from releasing.
Tips To Fix Different Kinds Of Undercooked Rice
Cooking rice is an art form, and sometimes it can be difficult to get it just right. If you find that your rice (any rice) is undercooked, there are a few simple steps you can take to remedy the situation.
For Soggy Rice
If your cooked rice is soggy, you can make it into another dish. Due to too much water, this rice will be gummy and sticky.
You can try to add sugar, milk and vanilla to prepare a delicious rice pudding.
Burned Rice
If the rice is a little burned that smells toasty, you can fix it by adding a small amount of boiled water.
But if the rice smells burnt, toasted, and tastes burnt, you should throw out the rice. Because the burned rice with a black charcoal-like texture won’t fix it anymore.
Crunchy & Hard Rice
You can fix the hard and crunchy rice by adding a quarter cup of boiling water to the rice. Boil it for five minutes with a lid at low heat on a stovetop to cook the rice thoroughly.
Again, you can also put the rice in the microwave for two minutes. Then let the rice keep for around ten minutes for absorbing the steam.
Watery Rice
You should cook the watery rice for extra 5-10 minutes at low heat. If it’s still watery, mushy or undercooked rice, you can eat the watery rice as a porridge.
Conclusion
Many people think that fixing undercooked rice is a challenging matter. But after reading this content, this wrong concept will come out of their head.
We have tried to deliver on the causes of undercooked rice and how to fix the undercooked rice with different cooking methods.
The most effective method among all the fixing ways is to add water, cook at low heat and with the lid on to fix undercooked rice.
I think you won’t face any problems associated with undercooked rice if you follow the above-discussed fixing ways.
Frequently Asked Questions [FAQ]
No, it’s not ok to eat both undercooked and raw rice. Undercooked rice is complicated to digest for its starchy texture. You can be sick due to indigestion.
Besides, undercooked rice contains harmful bacteria like Bacillus Cereus causes vomiting, abdominal pain and watery diarrhea when consumed.
Yes, you can fry the undercooked rice by adding water to the leftover rice stocking the cooking process. Apply low heat to absorb liquid from the rice, turning it tender.
To prevent the rice from overflowing, you should use a larger pot and don’t use high temperatures during cooking. As the water and rice boil, the rice will expand, so it’s normal for the rice to overflow.
It might occur from incorrect cooking methods. Undercooked rice may result from the improper proportion of rice and water. Besides, temperature or heat may be the cause of undercooked rice.
First, cool the undercooked rice and transfer the rice to a glass bowl. Then wrap it with a plastic coat or lid. Then you can store the leftover rice in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Freezer store rice for 1-2 months. But you have to thaw the rice properly before reheating.
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