Rice sticking together

The four causes

The wrong rice

Short-grain rices — arborio, sushi rice, glutinous rice — are high in the starch that makes grains cling. They cannot be made fluffy. Long-grain rice, especially basmati, is what fluffy rice is made from.

Not rinsed

Milling leaves loose starch on the surface of the grains. In the pan that starch gelatinises and glues everything together. Rinsing until the water runs nearly clear removes it.

Too much water

Excess water means the grains sit in starchy liquid rather than absorbing everything. Around one and a half parts water to one part soaked basmati.

Stirred during cooking

Stirring abrades the grains and knocks starch off into the water. Stir once at the start and then leave it alone.

The method for separate grains

1. Use a long-grain rice — basmati is the most reliable.
2. Rinse in several changes of cold water until the water runs nearly clear.
3. Soak for twenty to thirty minutes if you have time, then drain. Soaked grains cook more evenly and elongate rather than break.
4. Use about one and a half parts water to one part rice by volume for soaked rice, and salt the water.
5. Bring to the boil, stir once, cover tightly and reduce to the lowest heat.
6. Cook ten to twelve minutes without lifting the lid.
7. Off the heat, still covered, for ten more minutes. This step redistributes the moisture and is where fluffiness happens.
8. Fork it through gently. Never stir it with a spoon.

Rescuing rice you have already cooked

• If it is claggy but cooked, spread it on a tray to let the steam escape and cool slightly. Some of the stickiness goes.
• Rinse it in hot water in a sieve, then steam it briefly. Crude, and it works.
• Fry it. Sticky rice makes excellent fried rice, especially after a night in the fridge. This is genuinely the best use for it.
• If it is wet and undercooked, take the lid off and cook on very low heat to drive off water.
• If it is dry and undercooked, add a few tablespoons of hot water, cover, and give it five more minutes.
• If it is burnt on the base, do not stir. Tip the good rice out from the top and leave the burnt layer behind.

When sticky is correct

It is worth saying that sticky rice is not a failure in most of the world. Japanese, Korean and much Chinese cooking wants rice that clings, because it is eaten with chopsticks and it should hold together. Sushi rice is deliberately sticky. Thai sticky rice is eaten with fingers.

So the question is not "how do I stop rice sticking" but "which rice does this dish want". A pilaf, a biryani and rice served alongside a curry want separate grains and basmati. A rice bowl, sushi and a risotto want the opposite, and the technique changes accordingly — risotto is stirred constantly precisely to release the starch that a pilaf carefully rinses away.

Common questions