How to Cook Jasmine Rice on the Stove

Good rice matters more than anything you do later. Real jasmine rice smells like jasmine right out of the bag, so give it a sniff when you open it. Skip anything labeled instant or boxed. For the pot, pick one with a thick, heavy bottom so the heat spreads evenly and does not create hot spots. Do not go too big either. The rice roughly triples in volume as it cooks, so a medium pot is plenty for a cup or two.

Put the rice in the pot, cover it with cold water, and swish it around with your hand. The water turns cloudy fast. That cloud is loose starch, and if you leave it in, the grains gum together and turn sticky. Pour off the cloudy water, trying not to lose any rice down the drain. For plain jasmine rice served alongside other dishes, two rinses is enough. If you are making fried rice, rinse four or five times until the water runs clear.

Tip the rinsed rice into a fine-mesh sieve and let it drain. Get out as much water as you can. Any rinse water left clinging to the rice throws off your water ratio, and the ratio is what makes or breaks the batch. A quick shake of the sieve does the trick.

Put the drained rice back in the pot and add the water. For jasmine rice, the ratio is about 1 part rice to 1 and 1/4 parts water. If your bag says new crop, use a touch less, since fresher rice is softer and needs less water. When in doubt, start on the low side. You can always add a splash more at the end if it comes out dry, but there is no fixing rice that started with too much water.

Set the pot over medium heat and let it come up to a gentle simmer. If you are in a hurry you can crank it to high to get there faster, but watch it so it does not boil over. The moment it simmers, turn the heat down as low as your burner goes while still keeping soft bubbles. Low and slow is the whole secret here.

Put the lid on and leave the rice alone. No stirring, no peeking every minute. On the lowest heat it takes about 15 to 20 minutes. A rice cooker is really just a pot that knows when to shut off, and you are doing the same job by hand. Let it ride until the water has cooked off.

When the surface looks still with no more bubbling, it is time to check. Run a spatula down the side of the pot and gently push the rice aside so you can see the bottom. If the bottom is dry, the rice is done. If you still see water, pat the rice back down, put the lid on, and give it a few more minutes. Then taste a grain. That is the surest test.

Give the rice a gentle fluff with a spatula or rice paddle so it is not packed down. Fluffing separates the grains and keeps them light. Serve it straight from a tight scoop and you get a solid puck on the plate, but fluff it first and you get airy, separate grains. That is the finish that makes homemade rice feel like the good stuff.