What is one food you just can't cook?

[ThreeNoSeep]

77. Location and type specific

It took me 30 years to figure this out.
All stovetop recipes take water adjustments based on the type of rice (and maybe even brand) and your location on the planet. I've literally moved less than a mile (without changing altitude significantly) and had to adjust my rice recipe at the new location.

It takes two or three tries to get it right, but after cooking rice the first time, adjust the package recipe for water by adding (if dry) or subtracting (if soggy) 1/2 cup of water to the next batch you make. I'd keep an index card in the dry rice container with my adjustments. Once you find the sweet spot, the rice works almost every time.

Here's my process, for which I've had consistent results (even better than a rice cooker):
1. Measure your rice and rinse it if you want (I used to rinse uncooked polished white rice, but found that it had little effect on the final product once I had puzzled out my water amounts).
2. Boil your water and measure it out according to the package directions. Add salt to the water (1 teaspoon per cup of dry rice)
3. For each cup of dry rice, preheat a tablespoon of oil in the pan until it is just starting to smoke.
4. Add the dry rice to the hot oil and fry it, stirring the grains often, until the rice is starting to smoke.
5. Add the just-boiled water and salt to the pan. The pan and rice should be hot enough that the water immediately returns to a boil. (The flash boil can be surprising).
6. Cover with a good-fitting lid, tunr heat to low, and don't look at it for 20 minutes.
7. After 20 minutes, remove from the burner and let it rest, covered, for five minutes. Fluff the rice and see how it came out. If the rice is soggy, reduce hot water by a 1/2 cup next time/if dry, add 1/2 a cup of hot water. I've had to adjust the water by as much as a cup's difference between the package recipe and what finally works. Keep a note in the package of how much water you plan to use next time per cup of dry rice.