Japanese rice is my favourite kind of rice because of of it’s sticky and soft texture, because it isn’t dry, and because it tastes delicious even on its own. I think everybody in Japan has a rice cooker but not a lot of people in non-asian countries have one since rice isn’t as much of a staple dish.
Even without a rice cooker, you can still easily make delicious Japanese rice in a pot! I was so shocked when I first came to Australia and saw the way some people were making rice here. They would over-fill the pot with water then cook the rice and then drain it! The rice would then end up so soggy and too fluffy! It seriously hurt me how they made rice…
Making rice isn’t complicated though and soggy rice can always be avoided. To make sure the rice turns out delicious, make sure that you never open the lid while the rice is cooking and leave it closed for 10 minutes after. Another tip is since Japanese rice is quite starchy, make sure you wash the rice thoroughly to remove the access starch. Once the rice is done, you can use it to make many delicious Japanese dishes like Onigiri and Katsudon (Fried Pork Rice Bowl), and you can use the plain rice to then make Perfect Sushi Rice!
How to Cook Rice Without a Rice Cooker
Ingredients
- 2 cups of Japanese rice
- 2 cups of water
Instructions
- Measure out 2 cups of rice and pour into a large pot.
- Thoroughly wash and drain the rice several times until the water is clearer (at least 3).
- After washing the rice a last time, drain out the remaining water.
- Pour 2 cups of water into the drained rice.
- Bring the pot to boil on high heat then once boiled turn the heat down to low.
- Leave the rice to cook on low heat for 12 minutes.
- Turn the heat off and leave the rice for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, stir the rice to make sure it doesn't dry out in the shape of the pot. Then serve!
Notes
Nutrition
Hi, I’ve tried cooking rice this way twice using a non stick pan but the bottom layer of the rice was dried out and hard. How do I stop this from happening?
Thanks!
Michele
Hi Michele, either the heat is too high or you may need a little more water. What type of rice did you cook?
Such a great idea. They are very useful article. This rice is so tasty. It was so delicious. Thanks for sharing more recipe.
Thank you Ravin.
I’m confused why the times are so long at the top of the recipe- 1hr total- when the instructions are only washing the rice then cooking & letting it set for 25 minutes. Did I miss something?
Hi Shelly Thank you for your comment. Could you read this updated post ? https://www.chopstickchronicles.com/how-to-cook-rice/
Hi! Can a regular pan work in you don’t have a clay pot?
Hi Elizabeth, yes of course you can but result will be different.
I want to make onigiri. Can I cook the rice in advance? When do I shape it?
Hi Malka, It will be made best when you cook rice. Shaping cold rice is not good idea. Shaping rice balls when the rice is still warm 😀
nice method thank you !
thank you very much 🙂
This is a great idea. Sometimes I just don’t want to use my rice cooker — it takes a long time. Mine is a “steamer” type and it’s really old. Is there a “type” of rice you prefer?
Hi Marisa, actually if you use those clay pot, the rice taste a lot better than using rice cookers. I prefer short grain rice called “Koshihikari” which is the best rice in my opinion. They are white rice but it’s GI is relatively low too.
I’d be lost without my rice cooker, I’m on my second one but it makes dinner so easy. I will pin this in case I do need to cook rice somewhere without it though!
Thank you Toni, yes you never know you might need to cook rice without a rice cooker one day 😀