Chinese White Rice Food

CHINESE TAKE-OUT WHITE RICE

Steps:

• Pour the rice into a mesh strainer and run cold water through the rice while stirring it around with your hand. This washes the excess starch from the rice.
• When the water runs clear, combine the rice and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil for 2 minutes, then cover and reduce the heat to low.
• Cook the rice for 18 minutes, remove it from the heat, and let it rest with the cover on for 5 minutes.
• Serve immediately.
• Tip: to reheat rice, place it in a metal colander or mesh strainer set over 1 inch boiling water in a large pot. Cover the pot and steam the rice for 5 minutes.
• Do not refrigerate cooked rice unless you plan on using it for fried rice, rice pudding, etc. Refrigerated rice becomes hard and never regains it's fluffy texture after being chilled.
• Cooked rice can be kept at room temperature for up to 2 hours.

CHINESE WHITE RICE

Steps:

• (The 2 cups in an arbitrary measurement so that I can get the servings/yield number---this is really more of a method, so you can make as much rice as you need -- just use about half as much rice as you want for a finished product.).
• Pour desired amount of rice into a pot with a good fitting lid (rice must cover bottom of pan and should be an inch or more deep, so use the proper sized pot for amount of rice you are cooking).
• Cover rice several inches with water.
• Stir rice and water with your hand. Water will turn milky (this is the extra starch coming off the rice).
• Pour water off the rice using your hand or the lid to keep rice in the pot.
• Repeat rinsing and draining two more times. Water should be clear on last rinse.
• Cover rice with clean cold water to the depth of your first knuckle with the tip of your pointer finger touching the top of the rice (this will be a bit less than an inch).
• Put pot on stove and turn burner to high.
• Bring to a boil, uncovered, and continue boiling until tunnels form from the steam coming through the rice - most of the water will no longer be visible. (Looks like someone poked it several times with a drinking straw).
• Cover pot with lid and turn stove down to low.
• Keep covered and cook for 30 minutes more.
• Uncover and fluff up a few grains to test to see if it's done.
• If necessary, cover and cook for a few more minutes.
• When done, fluff rice with fork and serve.
• If you're making fried rice, it's best to use day old rice so put this in the fridge after it has cooled a bit and enjoy it tomorrow!

CHINESE FRIED RICE

Steps:

• Heat 1 tbsp oil in wok; add chopped onions and stir-fry until onions turn a nice brown color, about 8-10 minutes; remove from wok.
• Allow wok to cool slightly.
• Mix egg with 3 drops of soy and 3 drops of sesame oil; set aside.
• Add 1/2 tbsp oil to wok, swirling to coat surfaces; add egg mixture; working quickly, swirl egg until egg sets against wok; when egg puffs, flip egg and cook other side briefly; remove from wok, and chop into small pieces.
• Heat 1 tbsp oil in wok; add selected meat to wok, along with carrots, peas, and cooked onion; stir-fry for 2 minutes.
• Add rice, green onions, and bean sprouts, tossing to mix well; stir-fry for 3 minutes.
• Add 2 tbsp of light soy sauce and chopped egg to rice mixture and fold in; stir-fry for 1 minute more; serve.
• Set out additional soy sauce on the table, if desired.

CHINESE-STYLE RICE

Steps:

• Put rice in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan and, using your fingers as a rake, rinse under cold running water. Drain rice in a colander.
• In pan bring water (4 cups for white rice and 5 cups for brown) to a boil with rice. Simmer rice, covered, over moderately low to low heat until steam holes appear on surface and water is absorbed, about 16 minutes for white rice and 35 to 40 minutes for brown. With a fork fluff rice and spread in a shallow baking pan. Cool rice completely. Chill rice, covered with plastic wrap, at least 12 hours. Rice may be made 2 days ahead and chilled in a sealable plastic bag.

CHINESE RESTAURANT-STYLE STICKY RICE

Steps:

• Place rice in fine-mesh strainer set over bowl. Rinse under running water, swishing with hands until water runs clear. Drain thoroughly.
• Bring rinsed rice, water, and salt to boil in saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, uncovered, until water level drops below surface of rice and small holes form, about 5 minutes.
• Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until rice is tender and water is fully absorbed, about 15 minutes. Serve.

CHINESE CHICKEN FRIED RICE I

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and saute until soft, then add chicken and 2 tablespoons soy sauce and stir-fry for 5 to 6 minutes.
• Stir in carrots, celery, red bell pepper, pea pods and green bell pepper and stir-fry another 5 minutes. Then add rice and stir thoroughly.
• Finally, stir in scrambled eggs and 1/3 cup soy sauce, heat through and serve hot.

FLUFFY WHITE RICE

Steps:

• You will need a small pot with a lid. A capacity of 1 to 3 quarts is good.
• Bring the water to a strong boil at highest temperature.
• Add the rice to the boiling water. Swirl the rice once with a spoon so that it covers the bottom of the pot uniformly.
• Watch the rice boil until you see the bubbles form a pock-marked pattern with its vigorous boiling. This takes 1 to 2 minutes.
• Lower the heat to simmer. About 2.5 out of 10 on the dial is about right on my stove. Your stove may need to be set slightly higher or lower. You want the heat to be high enough so that steam is always being formed in the pot, but not so hot that the rice scorches on the bottom of the pot.
• When the boiling dies down a bit, cover the pot and set the timer to 20 minutes.
• Remove the lid of the pot, and your rice is done. For your first batch, test the rice with a fork and give it a taste test. It should be fluffy and tender.
• (The texture of fried rice benefits from a firmer rice kernel. Use 1 1/2 cups of water instead of 1 2/3 cups of water to achieve this texture. When it is done, leave the lid off the pot and allow the rice to cool. Then use the cooled rice in your fried rice recipe. The cooling is optional.).