Cooking Basics: How to cook rice

You'd think that rice is a pretty simple thing to make.

It's not so simple. There's a science to it. If you don't have enough water or you don't simmer it long enough, it's raw and crunchy. If you let it go too long, it gets mushy or burns.

A light crust at the bottom, it should be noted, can actually be tasty with the right dish.Tahdig, an Iranian rice dish, is crispy and delicious. Black beans don't work well with a crunch. In Latin America, Pegao (also known by varioius other names depending on where you are) is another rice dish with a delicious crisp texture.

My oldest daughter is known for her rice making skills. She married into a Puerto Rican family and she is the one who is asked to bring rice to family functions. (She is a great baker too, so she is often asked to bring dessert as well.)

My rice is pretty good, but hers is exceptional, so I asked if she would share her recipe here with us. She agreed, and here it is.

Just be sure to give her credit when you start getting asked to bring the rice dish to family events.

Genevieve's Famous Basic Rice

Makes 8 side dish servings

• 2 cups of rice
• 3 cups of water
• 1/3 cup of vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons of salt

1. Put the rice, the water, the oil and the salt in a saucepan and boil on high until the level of the water is just above the rice.
2. Turn the heat down to medium and let it continue to simmer until most of the water has evaporated. 
3. Let it simmer some more on low until all the water has been absorbed and the rice is al dente.

Ready to go

Most of the water has been absorbed.
The pan will quiet down at this point.

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