How to cook rice

-Just some old pics of food-

We, humans, love food! When we don't have to cook it, that is. It is a common fantasy to have a personal cook. For the first 18 years of our lives, our mommies did a good job filling in that position. Now, 4 years on, we are expected to take over. "Like, why?!" I hear some whine. A Malaysian answer: What to do. Big girl already. Must know how to do house chores and cook!

Some might even add: "Hey, at this age last time, you already have 6 kids!"

How typical but we hear less of this nowadays. Standard of living is on the rise(6 kids?!How about college?!). Also, parents are trying hard to keep their kids from unwanted pregnancy and stuff.


OK, back to the point. Last week, Shobeedee raised the point that her mom was worried about her cuisinability. So this post is dedicated to Shobie and all you college students. Here's how to cook rice for one person(or two to appease Sathya) quickly, without wastage (such as rice sticking to the rice pot) and with minimal mess (such as washing the damn rice out of the rice pot). And the results are almost always guaranteed because of the cooking method. Here goes:


















First, measure the amount of rice in the little cup usually provided with your rice cooker. If you don't have this, I think you can use your yogurt cup. Anyways, for one person, it should be 1/2 cup. For 2, then 1 whole cup. For Yvonne, it usually is 1/3 cup because I believe in eating more dishes than rice. :)



















Next, pour the rice into a glass/porcelain/clayton bowl and wash with clean water.



















After draining the water which you washed the rice with, add more clean water to cook the rice with. Measure the amount of water by placing your fingers flatly on the surface of the rice. If the water level is about where the picture shows, then it should be alright. I think. This is when you need to "agak-agak". Trial and error. However, there won't be much damage because we are using the Steaming method.



















Next, place the bowl of rice and water into your faithful rice cooker which was earlier washed and filled with some water.



















Always remember to press the lever! I once waited so long just to find out that I was keeping the water warm. -_-



















Check on the rice in 15-20 minutes(Not every 5 minutes because then you will lose the heat and steam). If it has risen and looks solid, then it is done! Use a chopstick or fork to "loosen" up the rice and steam for another 3 minutes.



















Ready to serve! But you can choose to decorate it a bit. Make it look Kim Gary-ish or Japanese. For that moment when I was taking these pictures, I only had limited resources (egg and canned meat). Here are some suggestions.



















Et voila! Healthy food! (Munch on a cucumber to make it balance and make mommy proud)


Here's another serving option:

Well, as long as you get the basic rice done, it should be no problem. The accompanying dishes can be any vege, some eggs and meat to make it a balanced meal. Happy cooking and bon appetit!


ps: I miss mommy's cooking. :(