How can I prepare Asian style rice?

Question

Rice from Chinese restaurants clumps together. If I wanted to make rice like that, is there a specific type of rice to buy? Or is there a certain way of cooking it?

Answer 1

Ingredients

1  package (6.8 ounces) RICE-A-RONI Beef Flavor®  

2  tablespoons of margarine, butter or spread with no trans fat

2 1/2  cups water

1  pound boneless beef top sirloin steak, cut into thin strips and stir-fried*

1 1/2  cups broccoli flowerets

1  medium red or green bell pepper, cut into thin strips

1  small onion, cut into thin wedges

1  garlic clove, minced or pressed

2  tablespoons soy sauce or stir-fry sauce





Preparation Steps

In a large skillet, combine rice-vermicelli mix and 2 tablespoons of margarine, butter or spread with no trans fat.

Slowly stir in 2 1/2 cups water and Special Seasonings; bring to a boil.

Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer 12 minutes. Stir in broccoli, bell pepper, onion and garlic. Return to a simmer. Cover and simmer 5 to 7 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir in beef and soy sauce; cook and stir until heated through.

Cook Tips and Variations

3 cups frozen Asian vegetable blend for broccoli, bell pepper and onion.

*To stir-fry, heat a small amount of oil in large skillet (or spray with nonstick cooking spray) over medium-high heat. Stir-fry beef, continuously turning, until outside surface is no longer pink.

Recipe Yield: 4 Servings

Answer 2

Do not buy converted long grain rice.  That is the key.  That means NO Uncle Bens.  Short grain equals stickier rice, equals easier to pick up with chop sticks.

Answer 3

Here are your 2 main components:

1. Jasmine Rice - you can buy this now in any major grocery store. or if you are not in a major metropolitan area, you would find them in an asian store.

2. A rice cooker - they come with a cup and lines inside the cooker to indicate your water level. So, if you put 2 cups of dried rice in the cooker, level your water on line number 2. Wait for 20 minutes  and Voila! you have an asian style rice that's like what you eat in a chinese restaurant and better.

After the cooker shuts off, let it rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Tip: Leftover rice will appear grainy and dry, don't worry, reheating it in the microwave will put them back in their former glory.

There is also a way to cook it in the microwave. Make sure your ratio is 1:2 (rice:water) Put the rice/water mix in a microwaveable container (glass is preferrable) and microwave it for 20 minutes.

Another way of cooking it is stovetop. Same 1:2 ratio. Gas stove is preferrable to prevent burning. There is a higher risk for burning on electric stove. Even as experienced as I am, I have burned them on elect. stove.  But the procedure is simple. Let the mixture boil. Once it is boling, turn the heat to medium low setting. You don't need to stir it. After 20 minutes, turn the heat off and let it rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Overall, the best way to cook asian rice is through a rice cooker. Just set it and leave it. It frees up all 4 of your stoves for other tasks.

Good luck!

Answer 4

not only do short grains stick better but soaking the rice for an hour (at least) increases the moisture content. Cooking short grain white rice that (2 cups of water per cup of rice) has been soaking will give you great rice.

Answer 5

Although a rice cooker is a sure winner in cooking Asian style rice, you don't have to invest in one if you have a pressure cooker.  You can buy Thai jasmine rice or Australian rice.  Rinse it out a bit.  Put it in the pressure cooker with water 1 inch above the rice level.  After the safety valve on the pressure cooker pops up, turn off the stove and let it cool down naturally.  When you can open the pressure cooker, the rice is ready.  If you like really really sticky rice, like the Japanese style, you should buy glutinous rice or sweet rice (they are the same thing).  Soak the rice for an hour or so before cooking then drain the water out before cooking.  The water level should be barely higher than the level of rice because glutinous rice soaks up less water, especially after you've soaked it already.

Answer 6

Regular white rice is good to use, but not Uncle Ben's or something like that. Just remember that the rice ratio is 2-to-1: 2 cups of water for each 1 cup of rice. Bring the water to a boil, add rice and stir occasionaly (so it doesn't stick) until water boils again. Cover and turn fire down low for 15 mins. Then turn the fire off and let rice steam for about 5 mins. It's a total of 20 mins from beginning to end. The Key to rice is: It's the steam that cooks the rice!

One of the reasons the rice sticks together in the restaurants is that after they add the veggies to the steamed rice, they pour a scrambled egg on top and stir fry it until the egg is cooked. I like to cook my egg on the side then add it later, but that's just me. Hope this helps.