23 Comments
Oct 5, 2023Liked by Liz Gumbinner

Ugh oh... am I supposed to be rinsing my rice??

Expand full comment
author

Ha! You may enjoy it!

Expand full comment
Oct 5, 2023Liked by Liz Gumbinner

Yes you need to rinse it to get the hulls out (common in brown rice) and to get out any pebbles or soil clumps. They are in there and they usually float around on top.

Expand full comment
author

It also gets fluffier when you eliminate the extra starch. (Is this a food blog now? Ha.)

Expand full comment

Rinsed two or three times is better - it doesn't get as cloudy each time but clear is the goal!

Expand full comment
author

I do probably 6-8 rinses. Clearly I enjoy it.

Expand full comment

Desperately need to rinse rice right now.

Expand full comment
author

Right?!

Expand full comment
Oct 5, 2023Liked by Liz Gumbinner

My parents have had the same Tiger rice cooker with the flowers on the side for over 30 years. Thing is built like a 90s era Toyota. I have a Cuckoo rice cooker at home that is more advanced, but seeing theirs is so comforting.

Expand full comment
author

Don't you love that feeling? I found a vintage pitcher online that suddenly jarred a memory of one we owned when I was a kid. I sent it to my mom, and turns out she still has it. She gave it to me for my birthday a few years back. 🥹 Looking at it feels like "home."

Expand full comment

Washing dishes and/or loading the dishwasher properly does it for me. BECAUSE NOBODY KNOWS HOW TO LOAD THE EFFING DISHWASHER PROPERLY!!! See? Calm.

Expand full comment
author

You are so on trend, CJ; for some reason my social algorithms only show me memes about loading the dishwasher lately.

Expand full comment

I'm self-taught.

Expand full comment

I, too, love silky rice water.

Expand full comment

I’m a little embarrassed that we use the frozen stuff from Whole Foods now. 😜 I haven’t had a rice steamer since the 90s. Am I missing out?

Expand full comment
author

I think you have to do you. But as someone with a limited amount of space for single-use appliances, we use it all the time and it is delightful. (and here I admit it did sit in my closet for several years unused until the pandemic. Now it’s our go-to!) Pop the rice in with the right amount of water- rinsed, obv - click a button, and in one hour you have wonderful rice with minimal cleanup. 🍚😋

Expand full comment

I got the steamer when I had a bunch of guys from China I taught ESL to decades ago—they preferred a simple lunch in-house to a caterer. We started using it at home all the time, but I’ve never heard of rinsing the rice! I’d say I was going to try it, but who am I kidding? I don’t even like to walk THROUGH the kitchen. But I’ll ask “the chef” about it. He knows things. 😜

Expand full comment
author

It’s more like a rice cooker machine to be clear. Although I want the bamboo steamer in addition so I can make dumplings every day. That seems to be my new comfort food. Let me know what you end up with!

Expand full comment

You are FAR more ambitious than I am, in SO many ways! 😜

Expand full comment

nice to see this again - and fun to re-read the comments (including mine) ... kudos the zen of rice rincing! As for your dad's multiple hospital visits, it reminds me of the many in the last 7-10 years of my dad's life. He called the RockyView Hospital as 'my second home' - extraordinary care. A nurse friend counselled me well back then (and it's a good message for me to remember as I age) 'beware the fall' .... because falls too often result in broken hips or other injuries that produce long hospital stays and they produce pneumonias and that is a recipe for doom. I've tried to avoid falls - I think they are more dangerous than so many other causes and diseases. Speaking of which, winter and ice has returned to Calgary and careful steps are recommended for everyone, especially me! Keep up the great work. Cheers, Mark

Expand full comment
author

Thank you for such a thoughtful comment, Marc! Do I need to send you some ice cleats? Please take care of yourself.

Expand full comment

No worries - albeit carefully, with appropriate footwear, "I'm walkin' here."

Expand full comment

To save everyone,

to fix the world by Sunday.

It's a booby trap.

Expand full comment