After rinsing the rice properly, we need to soak the rice in water.
The reason is to make evenly cooked rice and to make each rice grain sticky and resilient (”gelatinization”). However if you soak it too long, it can become brittle and lose some nutrition. So we need to do it for the right amount of time. Then what is the right amount of time?
-V How long to soak the rice-
- Soak the rice in water for 30 minutes in summer and 1-2 hours in winter minimum.
(The temperature is based on the Korean climate ; Seoul’s average daily high temperature - summer : 27℃, winter : 3℃)
Once the soaking is done, we can finally start boiling.
First we need to add an adequate amount of water to the rice. The adequate amount can vary depending on the the type of rice, condition of the rice and type of cooking method, but we usually need to add 1.5 times more water compared to the rice weight or 1.2 times more water compared to the rice volume.
(However, I always measure it manually. The so called “Knuckle method” - Add the water until it covers near my knuckles when my hand is flat on the rice. Does it sound logical to you? A lot of Koreans seem to use this method too. It’s not just me. 
)
The rice cooking process goes Boiling - Simmering - Thoroughly steaming. If you use an electric rice cooker like I do, we just put the rice and water into the cooker and press the button. However if you use the stove top method then there are a couple of things you need to be aware of.
-V How to cook Korean steamed rice on the stove-
:Recommended by a rice expert in the Rural Development Administration (Korean government)
- Boil the rice for 5-10 minutes on high heat (The water gets absorbed into the rice and the rice expands).
- Turn the heat down to medium and simmer it for 7-8 minutes (During this time we are accelerating the gelitinization process - making each rice grain sticky and resilient).
- As the water gets absorbed into the rice or evaporates, reduce the heat to low gradually. Do not open the lid at this point. When the water has nearly disappeared, turn the heat off.
- Let the rice sit (thoroughly steam) for 10-15 minutes with the lid on.
- Then stir the rice around (top to bottom, side to side) lightly with the rice scoop (It is to evaporate extra moisture, even out the rice taste, and keep the good shape).
Now, theoretically, we should be able to make perfect Korean steamed rice. Fingers crossed for you all!
Comments
If you are interested in buying a Korean rice cooker, you can try Hmart online shop. They seem to sell the top brand Korean rice cooker “Cuckoo” and I am using one of their models. Or if you are interested in buying a Japanese brand like zojirushi you can try amazon
electric rice cooker, how to cook the Korean rice, Korean Food F.A.Q
I am so thankful for my rice cooker, but if I had to do it with the stove, I think I could do it using your tips! Thanks!
I love the knuckle method, but I think my hand is wider than most of my pots. I’m going to have to stick to a rice cooker as well!
I’ve heard about the knuckle method but like Jeff, my hands are wider than my rice cooker pot, so I’ll just estimate about 1cm of water above the rice for whatever volume of rice I add to the rice cooker pot.
The “knuckle” method words like a charm, my grandma taught me well!
I use a similar method to the knuckle method (good for people with big hands). Stick the index finger on the surface of the rice (make sure it’s uniformly flat) and bring the water level up to the first joint. It works every time with every kind of rice I’ve ever cooked!
My Aunt taught me the knuckle method. My mom taught me how to cook rice,on the stove, when I was very young and she told me to always rinse the rice.
I’ve been told that much of the Japanese and Korean types of rice grown and sold in the US doesn’t have rice bran coating it but corn starch instead. You still need to wash the rice, as far as I’m concerned, except for (supposedly) the new musenmai type that claims that no washing is needed.
Thank you for this great blog!! My kids and I just returned from Korea and I was determined to make authentic Jajangmyun, not that stuff from the packet.
Thanks for the great recipe. I will stop back often.
I’ve been so spoiled with a rice cooker all my life that my friends were shocked, beyond speech that I had to look up how to cook rice on stovetop!!!!
Eun Jeong taught me the knuckle method. Yet my hands are way too big for the rice cooker, so I use the “inverse knuckle” method, where I turn my hand knuckles down and see if the water goes above my fingers.
And, yeah, *I* had to teach her how to cook rice on the stove top.
My mother taught me this method, and it works every time. Pull all the rice to one side of the pot. Then fill the other half with water to the same level as the rice. No knuckles, no hands, nothing. easy.
Ah~ I always use the 1.5 times method, using the rice measurement bowl. But sometimes the bottom part burned. :O
I never know we must soak the rice first…I always rinse, rinse, put on the rice cooker, push button, and wait. Rice never met stove in my life.
Thanks for all the tips~ I’ll start using them ^^
A Korean friend of mine showed me the knuckle method, too, and ever since I have used it, my rice comes out just fine! Also, I rinse the rice in a fine-meshed sieve under running water, swishing it around with my hands a few times until the water runs almost clear.
This is a great tutorial. Thanks!
I never washed my rice that much but will start~~