What is Jasmine rice?
Jasmine rice is a type of long grain rice. Merriam-Webster defined rice as the starchy seeds or grain of an annual marsh grass, Oryza sativa that are cooked and used for food. It is the staple in Vietnamese cuisine. There are many different kinds of rice; however, the one that I grew up with and still eat daily is Jasmine rice.
The word for rice in Vietnamese is cơm, and it’s so commonly used that if I want to say “let’s go eat dinner”, it would translate to “đi ăn cơm”. Likewise, if I want to say “let’s go eat lunch”, it would also translate to “đi ăn cơm”. Rice is found at every meal in Vietnam, similar to bread being found at every meal in France. When my grandfather was alive, a meal is not complete without rice (or cơm). This tradition has been passed on to my mom, to me and now my son.
What to serve with rice?
I look at Jasmine rice like a blank canvas, ready for an artist (a.k.a. chef in this case) to add their colors (a.k.a. flavors). It can be turned into fried rice; eaten with bò kho (Vietnamese beef stew); eaten with trứng hấp (Vietnamese egg meatloaf), etc. Or if you’re like my son, you can definitely pair plain Jasmine rice with fish. I often serve plain rice, or turn plain rice into plain porridge (more about this in a later post), if my husband or son has a tummy ache. This is similar to having them eat saltine crackers for a tummy ache.
My not so scientific technique to getting fluffy rice
So how does one get this fluffy and sticky texture when cooking Jasmine rice? For the longest time, I’ve always used a measuring cup to make sure I add the right amount of water to my rice. The problem was it never came out like how my mom makes her rice. It was always either too dry and crunchy or too mushy and sticky. The worst part was no one would eat it. So I broke down and asked her for advice. She said the secret lies in rinsing the rice 3 times, and that she uses her index finger to measure the water level. What??? Yep, no fancy measuring tool here.
So now when I make Jasmine rice, I start with rinsing the rice with water 3 times. As I add in the water, I give the pot a gentle tap to make sure the rice gets evenly distributed. This makes it easier for me to measure the amount of water being added using my index finger. As everyone has different length finger, it comes out to about a quarter inch of water, my husband adds the water until it hits the first knuckle on his pinky finger. After the water is added, the rice is ready to be cooked using the rice cooker. This method may seem strange to use at first but even my husband is convinced. Now he will make rice using this unconventional method only, and the rice turns out perfect….every time.
How to make perfect Jasmine rice.
Equipment
- Rice Cooker
Ingredients
- 2 cups uncooked Jasmine rice
- water
Instructions
- Place the uncooked rice in the rice cooker.
- Add water to the pot and gently swirl the water and rice together with your hands. This will cause the water to turn white and cloudy due to the starch being removed. Removing the excess starch on the rice will lead to a more fluffy cooked rice.
- Repeat rinsing the rice for 2 more times. As a rule of thumb, I always rinse my rice 3 times.
- After the rice has been rinsed, make sure that the rice is evenly distributed on the bottom of the pot.
- Slowly add water to the rice, making sure the water level only comes to the middle of your index finger or whatever ¼" measure you want to use.
- If you accidentally add too much or too little water, adjust and do a rough measurement using the ¼" rule.
- At this time, I usually give the pot of rice and water a gentle tap to make sure the rice is evenly distributed in the pot.
- Then place the lid on and turn the rice cooker on "cook".
- After the rice is done cooking and it has turned from "cook" mode to "warm" mode, let the rice sit in "warm" mode with the lid on for another 5 minutes. This is similar to letting meat "rest" once its removed from the oven.
- When the 5 minutes is up, open the lid and gently stir the rice and it's ready to be served.
Now that you have perfect Jasmine rice, you can serve it with anything. What do you like to serve with rice? Leave me a comment below. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
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