Steamed Rice – Arróz Blanco

To use a rice maker or not? That is the question. I am not partial to them. Rice is so easy to make that I don’t see the point of not making it from scratch. It’s not rocket science.

I have been making rice my whole life and except at a party when a freind took off the lid and stirred the rice, it has always come out nothing less than perfect.

The Dominican housewife or cook would not even think of cooking rice in anything other than a caldero: a round bottom pot, usually made of cast iron that makes it easy to scrape the concón (the stuck crispy rice at the bottom of the pot). Puertoricans call it pegao. It is a delicacy and something you offer to your guests. So, that’s, yet, another reason to not use a rice-cooker.

Steamed White Rice, Arroz Blanco

Ingredients

  • 2 cups of rice
  • 4 cups of water (if you like a grainy rice, reduce this amount to around 3 3/4 cups)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp olive oil
Tips

This is a caldero. This beauty is available at Walmart.

Caldero

Step by Step Instructions

Step 1

Mix water, oil and salt and bring to a boil.

Step 2

Add rice and stir. Lower heat to medium. Cook uncovered until the level of the water is just below the level of the rice.

Step 3

Cover and cook over low heat for 20 minutes. (Don’t be tempted to look at it or stir it. Leave it alone). If you let out the steam it won’t be steamed rice!

Step 4

Remove from heat. Stir and leave covered for another 5 minutes.

Step 5

Serve.