Rice still hard

Fix it now

1. Add a small amount of boiling water — two or three tablespoons for a normal pan of rice. Not cold water, which stops the cooking.
2. Put the lid back on tightly and return it to the lowest possible heat for five minutes.
3. Take it off and let it stand, still covered, for a further five to ten minutes. Much of the finishing happens during the rest.
4. Check a grain from the middle of the pan rather than the top. If it is still chalky at the very centre, repeat with a little more water.
5. If the base has caught, do not stir — lift the good rice off the top and leave the burnt layer behind.
6. In a real hurry: spread it in a microwaveable dish, sprinkle over a tablespoon of water, cover, and microwave in one-minute bursts.

Why it happened

• Not enough water. The most likely cause, particularly with brown rice, which needs much more than white.
• Heat too low, or a lid that does not seal. The rice never reached a proper steaming temperature, or the steam escaped.
• Lid lifted during cooking. Each time, steam is lost.
• Not rested. The ten-minute covered rest after the heat goes off does a genuine part of the cooking.
• Old rice. Rice that has been in the cupboard a long time is drier and needs more water and time.
• Too much rice for the pan. A deep layer cooks unevenly. Use a wider pan.
• Salt or acid added at the start can slow water absorption. Acidic liquids in particular — add tomato or lemon at the end.

Rice that needs more than you think

Brown rice

Around 2.25 parts water to 1 of rice, and 35–45 minutes. The bran layer resists water.

Wild rice

Even more, and up to an hour.

Red and black rice

Similar to brown. Soaking beforehand helps considerably.

Parboiled or easy-cook rice

Needs more water and longer than standard white, despite the name.

Rice cooked in a sauce

Fat and solids slow absorption. Add extra liquid and time.

Why the rest matters as much as the heat

When the water is gone the rice at the bottom of the pan is wetter than the rice at the top, and the grains have absorbed water unevenly. The ten minutes of covered resting off the heat is when that evens out, as residual steam redistributes through the pan and the last of it is absorbed.

Skip it and you get a pan where the top layer is dry and slightly hard and the bottom is wet — which reads as undercooked rice even though the average is fine. Lifting the lid to check partway through causes the same problem for the same reason.

This is also why rice cookers produce such consistent results. Almost all of them hold the rice warm for exactly this period after the water has gone, and that automatic rest is doing more of the work than the cooking itself.

Common questions