(This is part II of How to Make Perfect Korean Steamed Rice. Click here for part I and part III.)
After buying good rice, now we can start making perfect Korean steamed rice.
The first step we need to do is to rinse the rice. Do you rinse your rice? I always do.
The reason is to get rid of impurities such as dust, rice bran, and potential agricultural chemicals. There are some brands that are pre-rinsed before they are packed, but they are usually 20-30% more expensive. So we might rinse it ourself, shouldn’t we?
While you are reading the list below, check your habits if you are rinsing the rice right.
How to rinse the rice
- Run the cold tap water until it covers the rice. Swish the rice with your hands a couple of times and change the water quickly (To avoid rice bran odor getting into the rice).
- Repeat the “step 1” 3-5 times until the water clears out (However, you do not need to rinse it until the water is crystal clear. This only means you have lost more nutrition).
- Soak the rice straight away after rinsing it (this is recommended), but for some reason, if there is going to be a time gap then it is better to sieve it and set it aside until you proceed to soak it. (Again it is to prevent the rice bran odor getting into the rice and the loss of nutrition). (I will cover “how to soak the rice” on the next post).
Things to remember
- Do not scrub the rice too hard (Otherwise it can lose its nutrition and it can possibly break the grains).
- If some rice floats on the water, pick it out and throw it away (It has been eaten by rice weevil – bugs).
What were your results? Have you been doing it right?
I need to fix some of my habits like changing the water quickly to prevent the rice bran odor getting into the rice and throwing out the bug eaten rice. I always thought that throwing the rice is an unforgivable waste (trained by my mom 🙂 ) and I had no idea that rice has an odor too. Did you?
