Perfect Jasmine

How to Make Perfect Fragrant Rice

Khao Hom

The main thing is you have some fun with your cooking and you discover something new along the way
On to the job in hand, I don’t know about you, but I always found that making perfect jasmine rice was a bit hit and miss…

Sometimes it was too hard. Sometimes it was too mushy. Sometimes it was sticky. Often I burned it.  Just occasionally it was perfect.

Jules And KhwanjaiThen I met Khwanjai….

Jasmine rice is a lot softer than other long grain rices and Jasmine Rice has a lovely aroma when cooking, surprisingly, it doesn’t smell of jasmine though, it is light and fluffy and a joy to eat.  In my humble opinion it is the Rolls Royce of rice and although quite cheap, it is far more expensive than other rices in Thailand.

There many tutorials on how to cook long grain rice but jasmine rice, although a long grain rice, is somewhat different

Freshness Tip:
New, fresh Jasmine rice is totally different to dried up old Jasmine rice.  I explain in the video how to tell the difference.  In our opinion ‘Tilda’ brand is not only not usually fresh but horrendously expensive, they seem to be the one moslty found in supermarkets in 1kg bags. It keeps for a few months in an airtight container so we would always recommend a large (busy) wholesaler and buy a 10kg bag knowing it will be fresh and the larger bags tend to have the crop daye on them.

How To Cook Jasmine Rice

2 Different Methods:
Wash and rinse off the rice at least 3 times before cooking, this removes excess starch (which makes it stick together) and any talcum powder used in processing.  It is unlikely you will have to pick out any black bits in modern retailed rice, however as we usually get our rice direct from the family farm we have to do this little chore first.

Rice Steamer Method:
Using a rice steamer is absolutely the easiest “set it and forget it” method.

This is possibly the first video we ever made, can you tell?  We got better, honest..

A blooming great big cloud came over as we filmed the second half, thought we were in for a soaking, when it rains here, it REALLY rains, BIG style!

Cooking Jasmine Rice in a Rice Cooker

Khwanjai’s Top Tip:
Remember, that Jasmine rice DOES NOT need to be soaked before cooking, you only need to rinse it a few times.  Soaking it first will only make it soggy.

With Jasmine rice…. for every 1 cup of rice you will only need 2/3 of a cup of water to cook it.  Or…. for every 3 cups of rice add 2 cups of water.  Got that? ….   Great!

Simply bung in about 1 cup per person and then add COLD water to cook.  If you are cooking for a large number of folks, ensure the water and rice together does not fill the steamer more than 2/3 full.  The steamer needs the space for steam to build up above the rice to help it cook, doing this will also ensure it doesn’t overflow.  Turn on the cooker and forget it because it will switch itself of when finished, I still don’t understand how it knows

Vegetable Steamer Method:
This is probably the most flexible method, meaning, it is not so critical how much water you start with.  This is because the vegetable steamer is not a sealed vessel so it’s OK to go 50/50 with the rice/water.  This method will also work with the harder varieties of rice such as Basmati rice

Ensure the steamer has water in the bottom reservoir.  Then using the solid bottom tray add about 1 cup per person of rice.   (Don’t forget to rinse)  Place the rice tray in the steamer and top up with water.

Switch on for 1 hour and watch TV, read a book or prepare the rest of your meal.  Or……. Take a look at this article  Thai Food Lovers Lament written by one of our viewers.  It is full of useful insights into Thai food

Cooking Jasmine Rice in a Vegetable Steamer

Veggie Steamer Bonus Tip:
If you have some rice left over, you only need to add more fresh water to the reservoir to re-heat it back to perfection, no need to add any water to the rice, adjust the timer depending on quantity

Now that you know how to cook Jasmine Rice properly you might want to practice and have some handy for the next tutorial in the series, you will receive an email from us in the next few days, keep an eye on your inbox, we’ll be building on what you just learned.  Enjoy!

Feel free to share and ask any questions below…

1 comment… add one
  • jeanne Link Reply

    i use a zojirushi model ns-wxc10 fuzzy logic rice cooker. i use 3 lady brand jasmine rice. pre-rinsing is NOT recommended from the brand of rice or the electric rice cooker. i’m glad 10 pounds was on sale for $9.99, so i can afford to trash my mistakes. i graduated from a professional cooking school, but i cannot make any type of rice. i really like all types of rice, so this really frustrating. thank you in advance for any advice.

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