Yet Another Cycling Forum

Off Topic => The Pub => Food & Drink => Topic started by: Wowbagger on 09 August, 2019, 08:08:08 pm

Title: Has anyone tried boiling rice in a microwave?
Post by: Wowbagger on 09 August, 2019, 08:08:08 pm
We are cooking curry but because our kitchen is being refurbished and we are without a proper cooker, I am cooking the curry in a large cauldron on a single-"burner" induction hob and I have a basin in the microwave with basmati rice and water. I was wondering how long it was likely to take and how successful I am going to be.
Title: Re: Has anyone tried boiling rice in a microwave?
Post by: JennyB on 09 August, 2019, 08:25:00 pm
Never tried boiling it in the microwave,  but my usual method is just to put it in twice the volume of cold water, bring it to the boil, then take it off the heat and let it stand. Ten minutes does basmati, twenty does brown.
Title: Re: Has anyone tried boiling rice in a microwave?
Post by: hellymedic on 09 August, 2019, 08:32:20 pm
I've not done microwave rice and timings vary with the power of your machine and the size of its load.

Bring basin to boil with oven on FULL, watching like a hawk.

Switch to medium-low for 15 min.
Title: Re: Has anyone tried boiling rice in a microwave?
Post by: Jaded on 09 August, 2019, 08:33:32 pm
Rip the packet top halfway across, then pop in microwave for however long it says for your MW power.
Title: Re: Has anyone tried boiling rice in a microwave?
Post by: rafletcher on 09 August, 2019, 08:42:18 pm
Basmati cooks quickly, 6 minutes in boiling water. Ham’s method sounds right.
Title: Re: Has anyone tried boiling rice in a microwave?
Post by: Canardly on 09 August, 2019, 09:15:58 pm
We are cooking curry but because our kitchen is being refurbished and we are without a proper cooker, I am cooking the curry in a large cauldron on a single-"burner" induction hob and I have a basin in the microwave with basmati rice and water. I was wondering how long it was likely to take and how successful I am going to be.
Being able to eat edible food whilst having a kitchen refurb is a considerable success in itself. BTDT.
Title: Re: Has anyone tried boiling rice in a microwave?
Post by: fuaran on 09 August, 2019, 09:19:48 pm
Good excuse to buy a rice cooker.
Title: Re: Has anyone tried boiling rice in a microwave?
Post by: Kim on 09 August, 2019, 09:24:28 pm
At atmospheric pressure water boils at 100C, regardless of how it's being heated.  Cooking rice in a microwave is close enough to a pan on the hob as makes no difference, though it may take slightly longer to come to a boil.  IME main problem with this approach is that it ties up the microwave.


(When I was a PSO, I had a flatmate who lived on microwaved rice and sweetcorn.  Approximately once a week he'd burn a fish-finger or two under the grill to go with it.  I've not been able to abide the smell of sweetcorn since.)
Title: Re: Has anyone tried boiling rice in a microwave?
Post by: Canardly on 09 August, 2019, 09:32:51 pm
TBH nowadays for convenience we use Basmati microwavable rice fairly often and at 2 mins a portion it is very convenient and a  lot less faff. Catering for a group of peeps silmultaneously is a lot more problematic of course.
Title: Re: Has anyone tried boiling rice in a microwave?
Post by: Canardly on 09 August, 2019, 09:35:36 pm
PSO?
Title: Re: Has anyone tried boiling rice in a microwave?
Post by: Kim on 09 August, 2019, 09:37:22 pm
TBH nowadays for convenience we use Basmati microwavable rice fairly often and at 2 mins a portion it is very convenient and a  lot less faff.

I prefer rice cooked properly, but those are extremely convenient, and we tend to keep a few in the cupboard for emergencies and attacks of CBAness.
Title: Re: Has anyone tried boiling rice in a microwave?
Post by: Kim on 09 August, 2019, 09:37:40 pm
PSO?

Penniless Student Oaf
Title: Re: Has anyone tried boiling rice in a microwave?
Post by: Canardly on 09 August, 2019, 09:49:10 pm
I would describe you as many things, but Oaf would not be one of them.  :-D
Title: Re: Has anyone tried boiling rice in a microwave?
Post by: Wowbagger on 09 August, 2019, 11:39:16 pm
It worked surprisingly well, but as Kim said it took a long time to come to the boil. Had I boiled the water in the kettle first it would have been fine.

The curry was generally well received and the quantities were sufficiently industrial that there is plenty for the freezer.

In a week's time we will have our spanking new AEG cooker with induction loveliness.
Title: Re: Has anyone tried boiling rice in a microwave?
Post by: nicknack on 09 August, 2019, 11:45:28 pm
I always cook rice like this. It's usually Aldi's basmati. Put rice in covered pot with double quantity of water. Bung in microwave. Rice for 2 takes 15 min in our ancient micro.
Title: Re: Has anyone tried boiling rice in a microwave?
Post by: bludger on 10 August, 2019, 12:02:31 am
My uncle does rice beautifully in a microwave. Another guy in my club is from Singapore and microwaves his too, his hot tip is to really really thoroughly wash the rice, as in 5-6 times.
Title: Re: Has anyone tried boiling rice in a microwave?
Post by: T42 on 10 August, 2019, 08:22:21 am
PSO?

Penniless Student Oaf

I've felt like that all my life.
Title: Re: Has anyone tried boiling rice in a microwave?
Post by: The Family Cyclist on 10 August, 2019, 08:25:51 am
Indeed it must be possible. I've never done it but once a teenage son of one of our friends came round and for whatever reason it came up we didn't have a microwave. His question was how do you cook rice? We now have a microwave but I've yet to cook rice in it.
Title: Re: Has anyone tried boiling rice in a microwave?
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 10 August, 2019, 10:12:37 am
I think I would done it the other way round and cooked the curry in the micro and the rice on the hob. Or cook the curry on hob and then keep warm in the micro while the rice cooks on the hob.
Title: Re: Has anyone tried boiling rice in a microwave?
Post by: rr on 10 August, 2019, 11:26:17 am
Cooking rice is more about mass transfer (getting water into the grain) than heat transfer, heating it accelerates the process. Any method that gets basmati rice in contact with twice its volume of around boiling water for around 10 minutes will do.
I'm told that soaking it in cold water overnight will also work, but I am wary of this due to the ability of rice to grow some very nasty toxins.

Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk

Title: Re: Has anyone tried boiling rice in a microwave?
Post by: caerau on 10 August, 2019, 12:07:44 pm
Why not just chuck the rice in the curry?  Home made biriani, lovely.
Title: Re: Has anyone tried boiling rice in a microwave?
Post by: Cudzoziemiec on 10 August, 2019, 12:26:30 pm
I think I'd have boiled it for a couple of minutes then left it to soak in the boiled water with the lid on for another 10 or so, freeing up the hob for the curry.
Title: Re: Has anyone tried boiling rice in a microwave?
Post by: rafletcher on 10 August, 2019, 01:16:41 pm
I think I would done it the other way round and cooked the curry in the micro and the rice on the hob. Or cook the curry on hob and then keep warm in the micro while the rice cooks on the hob.

Yep, curry on the hob, then set aside for the 5 or 6 minutes the rice takes would have been my method.
Title: Re: Has anyone tried boiling rice in a microwave?
Post by: Vernon on 10 August, 2019, 10:58:01 pm
I use the (hob) method given by Madhur Jaffrey: bring the rice to the boil in twice its weight of water (125g rice, 250g water for two) in a saucepan with a close fitting lid. When boiling, stir once, put the lid back on and take it off the heat. It will be ready to eat in 25 minutes, fluff with a fork before serving. You can probably do the same with the rice in a bowl in the microwave.
Title: Re: Has anyone tried boiling rice in a microwave?
Post by: ian on 12 August, 2019, 10:12:31 am
I just add the rice to well-salted boiling water and let it boil for a minute and then take off the hob and let stand for the required amount of cooking time. Before serving, I rinse it through with boiling water from the kettle. Job done.
Title: Re: Has anyone tried boiling rice in a microwave?
Post by: Valiant on 16 August, 2019, 12:55:30 am
I do it a fair bit, 2 to 1 ratio, 8-10 minutes.
Title: Re: Has anyone tried boiling rice in a microwave?
Post by: Vince on 16 August, 2019, 11:22:09 am
We had a special microwave rice cooker as a wedding present. It had a pressure seal on the lid.

We never used as we didn't get a microwave until much later, by which time the seal had gone AWOL.

Title: Re: Has anyone tried boiling rice in a microwave?
Post by: ian on 16 August, 2019, 12:26:16 pm
Honestly, bring it to the boil and leave it. It works. And there's no risk of overcooking to a stodgogeddon.