Rice
I am always startled by the number of people who tell me that they find cooking rice difficult, so I decided to put my own technique down here. Rice is such a useful base for so many dishes that it's a shame not to add it to your repetoire.
The basic rule in cooking rice is proportions of 2 to 1. In other words, most rice package directions will tell you to boil one cup of rice in two cups of water. However, I find that this tends to make rice a bit mushy and damp, so this is how I do it.
Ingredients
Directions
Bring water to a full, rapid boil in a small saucepan that has a tight lid.
Add salt.
Add rice. Stir a couple of times (the water will have stopped boiling). Put the lid on the pan and DO NOT TAKE IT OFF AGAIN UNTIL COOKING IS DONE!
Reduce heat to a low simmer. Cook for twenty minutes, not lifting the lid.
Check for texture after twenty minutes, fluffing the top of the cooked rice with a fork. If it still seems a little wet for your taste, leave for another five minutes.
Personally, I don't recommend adding butter or margarine to the rice while cooking, as that tends to make it greasy, and in the case of some margarine spreads, adds to the amount of water you are cooking with, making the rice mushy and wet.
You can substitute an equivalent amount of chicken or beef stock or bouillion for the water for flavored rice.