Brazilian-style rice – Part 2
As I told you before, making rice was one of my first disasters in the kitchen. But with the lovely support of my wife I turned that sad page and succeed! As promised, here are the hints and tricks I've learned all along the road.
Rinse two or three cups of long grain rice and let it dry in a colander for some hours - until it is completely dried. Here we have a convenient plastic colander specially designed for rinsing rice, but if not available, a regular one must work for you. Then put approximately half a liter of water to boil. In a mid-to-large pan, smash half garlic clove, just to let some flavor. Fry the garlic in some olive oil in low heat and don’t let it brown. Too much garlic, too much oil and too much brown will make your rice shine strangely and taste bad, and things get worse with time. Everything is good when fresh and new, but you may want to foresee how things will work the day after – what is valid not only for your food.
Add the rice in the pan in medium heat and stir it with a wooden spoon until the grains shine. Then pour some boiling water, approximately one inch above the level of the grains. Add two teaspoons of salt – and remember, beware the salt - stir with your wooden spoon and lower the heat. When all the boiling water evaporates – you can check this using a fork to see if still there is water at the bottom of the center of the pan – try some grains to see if they are al dente – cooked but not too soft. If needed, you can pour some more boiling water to cook it for some minutes more. When it is good, fluff the grains with a fork, turn the heat off and cover the pan. That’s the trick: let it cook in its own heat for about ten to fifteen minutes, just using sometimes a wooden spoon to displace the grains from the sides and the bottom of the pan.
In your efforts to get your grains well cooked but still separated you can vary the quantity of boiling water, cook it without covering the pan or covering it just partially, and the heat. As an example, if the rice is too new, it usually sticks. You cannot know when the packet brings new rice, but usually it is sold at promotional prices. Once my wife realized the rice was too new. She fried the grains rapidly, has not covered the pan and cooked the rice in high heat. Voilá. That’s it. With this knowledge and some practice you will be able to make good Brazilian-style rice and surprise your friends.
Rinse two or three cups of long grain rice and let it dry in a colander for some hours - until it is completely dried. Here we have a convenient plastic colander specially designed for rinsing rice, but if not available, a regular one must work for you. Then put approximately half a liter of water to boil. In a mid-to-large pan, smash half garlic clove, just to let some flavor. Fry the garlic in some olive oil in low heat and don’t let it brown. Too much garlic, too much oil and too much brown will make your rice shine strangely and taste bad, and things get worse with time. Everything is good when fresh and new, but you may want to foresee how things will work the day after – what is valid not only for your food.
Add the rice in the pan in medium heat and stir it with a wooden spoon until the grains shine. Then pour some boiling water, approximately one inch above the level of the grains. Add two teaspoons of salt – and remember, beware the salt - stir with your wooden spoon and lower the heat. When all the boiling water evaporates – you can check this using a fork to see if still there is water at the bottom of the center of the pan – try some grains to see if they are al dente – cooked but not too soft. If needed, you can pour some more boiling water to cook it for some minutes more. When it is good, fluff the grains with a fork, turn the heat off and cover the pan. That’s the trick: let it cook in its own heat for about ten to fifteen minutes, just using sometimes a wooden spoon to displace the grains from the sides and the bottom of the pan.
In your efforts to get your grains well cooked but still separated you can vary the quantity of boiling water, cook it without covering the pan or covering it just partially, and the heat. As an example, if the rice is too new, it usually sticks. You cannot know when the packet brings new rice, but usually it is sold at promotional prices. Once my wife realized the rice was too new. She fried the grains rapidly, has not covered the pan and cooked the rice in high heat. Voilá. That’s it. With this knowledge and some practice you will be able to make good Brazilian-style rice and surprise your friends.
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