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c/family-recipe-swapjanariverajanarivera22d agoMost Upvoted

My grandma’s trick for fluffier rice finally clicked after her neighbor scolded me

I was at my grandma’s house last summer in Tampa, helping her cook for a family dinner. Her neighbor Mrs. Reyes came over to borrow eggs and saw me rinsing the rice under cold water before cooking. She stopped me and said “Don’t run it that long, you’re washing away all the starch that gives it body.” I thought she was being picky, but she showed me her method: a quick swirl and drain twice, then let it sit in the pot for 10 minutes before adding the water. I tried it that same night with the jasmine rice we were making, and it turned out way fluffier, not sticky like I usually get. Now I do that every time, even for plain white rice. Has anyone else gotten a random cooking tip from an unexpected person that actually stuck?
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carr.lee
carr.lee22d ago
Picked up the same thing from my aunt's old roommate from Vietnam. She showed me to rinse the rice just once, real quick, and let it sit in the pot with the lid on for a good 10-15 minutes before adding water. Completely changed how my jasmine rice comes out, no more gluey mess. Now I do that soak step even for basmati and it works perfect every time.
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the_jennifer
Funny how the real pros are always the neighbors.
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claire_gibson
Do we really know enough about our neighbors to judge who's a "real pro" at anything, lol?
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