"Feed your habit with Pear's Crackpot"
Rice!
No, I'm not shipping rice. You can find all kinds in your local supermarket these days. The reason we make our meals so intense and pack with flavors is because we know that rice will balance that out a little bit. It's our base layer of the food pyramid, our pasta.
I personally prefer jasmine rice for its fragrance and fluffiness. I know, white starch...ew. Brown rice is a good alternative. To me, Thai food doesn't taste the same without Jasmine rice though.
I cook mine with lots of water. My mom always says I eat like an old person. (I'm using my own grandparents as reference. I love old people. Please no hate mails.) She likes hers al dente. Rice usually takes about 20 mins to cook. If you plan on having your Thai meal with rice, I suggest cooking the rice first. If you don't have a rice cooker, a pot with a lid works just as well. Rinse the rice first. The ratio of rice to water is 1:2 cups.
When I cook rice in a regular pot, I cook it on a low heat. Tilt the lid to let some steam escape. Check on it after 15-20 min.
If it's soft enough then turn off the heat. Leave it alone until you're ready to eat.
If it's still undercooked, and still has water, then don't forget to check on it again later.
If it's still undercooked, and there's no water left then add a little bit of water then stir. This way the bottom doesn't get too crusty. If you like the "crusties", then no stirring is necessary. Heh heh...
If you like rice soup or Congee, try Thai Congee .
On Thursday 14th of January 2010 07:11 PM dmitreyg said:
I love rice!
to eliminate "crusties", double boil. put the rice in a thin metal pot and that inside a big pot with more water, separate the bottoms of the two pots with anything metal that makes minimal contact with the inner pot. start the 20 min at the first sign of bubbles in the rice. oh yea, cover the outside pot. don't let the outer water jacket boil dry or loose touch with the inner pot.