In another subreddit, someone asked whether people rinse their rice before cooking.
Rinsing rice is very common in SE Asian cultures and Asian immigrant households. The harvesting and storage processes of rice can leave starch dust, dirt, or other nasty things. Rinsing is considered important for both texture and hygiene.
OP had said he was shocked that rinsing was so widespread because European (no country specified) supermarkets have cleaner standards. He/she seems to buy small bags and not bulk rice.
I understand that some dishes such as risotto require the extra starch, but on a country-by-country basis, is not rinsing before cooking the norm?
Comments
Depends what I’m cooking with it, and the type of rice.
If I’m making risotto with arborio rice, absolutely not.
If I’m making something South Asian with basmati, absolutely yes… not because the rice is necessarily ‘dirty’ but because the texture is better if the rice is rinsed before cooking.
Of course. My mom even soaks it beforehand.
Turkish pilav is supposed to be not sticky at all, with every grain separate. To achieve that, the starch must be washed off.
I would say that not rinsing is the norm here. But then again, I usually just make boil-in-bag rice, so I’m not sure how representative I am of the population as a whole.
I make it dish dependent. Fried rice or biryani basically don’t work without rinsing but a good socarrat doesn’t form as well with rinsed rice. My wife almost makes it a point of stubborn pride to never rinse her rise.
I grew up not rinsing my rice, but we did the pilaf method (when you kinda fry the raw rice in a bit of oil first, then add water and cook), and you need dry rice for that.
It depends on the rice. My mother used to wash it but during those times it was hard to find premium quality rice.. so most of the cheap one used to need a bit of cleaning and also checking for other types of grain. I only cook risotto and (my favorite one) Heer extra-long basmati rice. Both are fluffy and have a great texture without washing. I admit I like to wash it sometimes after it is cooked 🤷♀️ I just do a couple of cold water jets over it and use it in salads for example. Tbh it’s a dilemma I always had :)) should I always wash it or is it ok the way it is? :))
Yes, but I have also spent some time in Japanese households. Less gunky foam when cooking.
If I on rare occasions cook e.g. parboiled rice, I don’t, but Jasmin, short grained, basmati etc., I do rinse.
Yes…..it’s like rinsing your fruit and vegetables, why would you not rinse the rice?
Parboiled rice, doesnt need to be rinsed, many people eat this.
I prefer Basmati and that needs to be rinsed and soak or you have very weird rice.
I used to do it, but once I accidently forgot it and I was way more satisfied with texture. So no, I don’t rinse my rise (anymore). Maybe some types of rice need rinsing more than others. I only use basmati and jasmin rice.
I do rinse most of the time, but it ultimately depends on what dish I’m preparing. Rinsing the rice is not really a thing around here in general though.
I don’t. The rice I get isn’t dirty and I prefer the texture I get.
Not usually unless for some reason I think it’s dusty or something. My neighbor insists rice needs to be washed 7 times, dont know where she came up with that number but it seems excessive to me. I do think rice comes out a little nicer if it’s been rinsed at least once but, unless it’s a special dish or something, I just use it as is.
Our rice comes rinced in small packages you boil it in. When we have loose rice we wash it but that’s very rare we buy it that way.
European here: risotto has its own kind of rice to cook though. This is -i believe- is “parboiled” and therefore already rinsed during cooking. Abroad, Italian rice costs something like 9€/box so I never bought it. There’s also boil-in-bag and easy-cooking, which is great rice for portioning (1 bag is about 2-3 portions), however, this rice is also about 6€/box.
So I started to buy rice by the bulk now, both Asian and Middle-Eastern people use to rinse their rice and cook it on the pan/pot directly or with a rice cooker. Somebody used to joke with me, because I couldn’t cook that kind of rice before, but it’s just a matter of proper rinsing and timing.
edit: it’s not parboiled, but it’s still its own kind of rice.
Yes, I rinse it because even otherwise clean rice might contain flakes of rice dust, so rinsing helps with the texture. But it’s not viewed as necessary and I know people who never rinse their rice.
Always. But, i did work and learn cooking in a japanese kitchen so..
I always buy japanese rice in 5-10KG bags and always rince it.
Mostly yes. Do consider that the rice dishes we (finland) make are not finnish, besides rice porridge and karelian pies. So if it’s in the recipe yes I will rinse it, not like I have learned it from my grandma.
I’ve started to wash my rice lately, yes, but I haven’t always done so.
The authorities here issued a recommendation to wash your rice because of elevated levels of arsenic in rice.
I mostly buy rice from Asian markets and I wash it every time. There’s still starch remaining and washing it off improves the texture, stops it from clumping together.
For traditional recipes like pilaf or sarmale filling, not really. I think Asians would freak out seeing how we cook our rice :))
Ain’t nobody got time for that.
But it is true that I never make Asian- style rice, I prefer risotto style for basically anything.
Washing your rice eliminates starch, so you wash it to obtain a less sticky dish. If you are cooking an Italian risotto that’s the opposite of what you want, so you don’t wash it, but if you are cooking your rice for an Asian dish well, you don’t want rice to be sticky, then you wash it.
It’s not a matter of preference or habit, it depends from the outcome you are looking for and the kind of rice you are cooking.
Yes.
Not so much because of dirt but I like to get rid of the excess starch to get a better texture of the rice. Unless it is for risotto or rice porridge where i want it to be starchy.
Yes. To be fair I only use Basmati. My late wonderful husband was Persian and taught me how to make rice to his taste! I’m now superstitious about it. I wash the rice exactly 4 times in lukewarm water swirling it around with my hand and then draining it.
It seems to make the rice so much fluffier and you get each individual grain.
I wasn’t rincing it, but now that I’m married to a Chinese person of course I rince everytime, otherwise I’m in trouble.
I always wash it,sometimes even leave it in the water a little bit to get rid of some of the starch.
I tried washing it once. “Wash it until the water is clear” or whatever.
Well, it was clear to begin with, but I tried to give it a good rinse anyway and it made absolutely no difference after it was cooked.
In Portugal we cook a lot of rice(about 16 kgs/year) , we are the biggest consumers in Europe . We use mainly 3 kinds, agulha(needle rice) carolino, a variety the Portuguese housewives used a lot in old days and very popular here, and lately basmati has gained a lot of space, I guess more between younger people. My wife is Brazilian, other great consumers in the world,they consume almost 3 times(42 kgs/year) what we consume and I learn to do it the brazilian way, I fry the rice in a small amount of oil and garlic before boiling it. When we do white rice, we use basmati or Thai jasmine, when we do something like seashell rice whose purpose is to be soaked and with a lot of liquid we use agulha.
Just for curiosity I never knew rice could be cultivated in dry lands. My reference was the Asian countries and Portugal where rice is cultivated underwater. First time I went to Brazil I saw rice planted in dry land and it was a surprise to me because I never thought it could be grown like that. I use rice directly from the pack and I never wash it, but my mother use to wash it.
I rarely eat rice. If I eat rice I buy a small bag in the supermarket.
Nope, but I cook my rice in a normal pot, not a rice cooker as I like my rice firm (10 min cook)
I have a rice cooker and i wash my rice until the water becomes clear.
I do. I also use a rice cooker, so at least I’m not letting the majority of Asia down too.
I always rinse my rice before cooking. Although I don’t buy the parboiled rice in cooking bags, I know you’re supposed to rinse those too as well. However I often get surprised by others saying they don’t rinse those, even if it says to do that on the box.
In my grandparents generation, nobody knew rinsing rice is a thing. Also we knew nothing about the existence of different types of rice. Rice was rice. This is of course changing with access to information and various ingredients. So yes, when I want asian style rice (I even own a rice cooker), I rinse it.
Also, bulk bags of rice are not really common. Normal supermarket size is 1 Kg, which is ridiculous to Asians. Sometimes, you can find bigger bags, but mostly in asian stores.
Depends on the rice (basmati you usually don’t) and the dish (paella doesn’t need to be rinsed) but the normal rice for plain white rice, you rinse it.
Also, rice sometimes can come with extra protein, so cleaning it is a good idea.
I remember I have read that before WWII pellagra was common in SE Asia because people eat mostly polished rice, to fight pellagra the Japanese government decided to add finely crushed rice bran to white rice so that the vitamins it contained were not lost. This practice is still done today, unfortunately SE asian either didn’t like the taste of bran or believe in conspiracy theories (the japs wants to kill us all) and think that fine powder is some poison that is why the wash carefully the vitamins from their rice …..
If you want sticky rice don’t. If you want lose and well seasoned rice do.
It depends on the dish and if the recipe I follow calls for rinsing the rice. I don’t know any Frenchie who rinse rice by default.
Most of the time, yes. I typically prefer my rice to be less of a starchy mess and more individual grains. Rinsing until the water is clear instead of white does wonders for that.
Sexy Mulan man is going to appear and scream at you to WASH YOUR RICE…
Yes.. I always wash my rice, unless im making risotto. I even have a rice cooker. I am European.
I just depends on what I cook. Asian food with basmati/jasmine rice, I rinse. For a risotto with arborio rice the starchy texture is a core element of the dish, so I don’t.
Usually not, but for example when making rice for sushi yes. I buy rice mostly in 5 kg bags.
Depends on the variety. And a little on the desired result. Most cheap varieties need to be rinsed very thoroughly until the water becomes clear. Also change the water 1-2 times during the cooking process. Again, with good rinsing. Cheap rice varieties release a lot of starch during the cooking process, and without careful repeated rinsing you will get window putty, and not what is commonly called boiled rice. Of course, if managed to buy basmati or jasmine, then this is a completely anothher story.
I rinse rice very well and let it sit in warm water at least 2 hours, preferably overnight because of Arsenic in rice. It’s said that rinsing and soaking supposed to reduce Arsenic in rice. Don’t know if it’s true but I do it anyway
Rinsing rice is not for cleaning debris, is for removing surface starch from the processing so the rice gets fluffy and separated grains
Of course in some cases like risotto, paella, arroz caldoso, etc. that is a feature not a bug, so no rinsing required
As an Asian, I do rinse rice to remove other debris and to lessen starch. I don’t want my rice to be sticky. Some people here soak it too. This is not needed.
Risotto is different and no need to rinse.
Yes, it is recommended here in Denmark to lower the amount of arsenic.
I do whatever it says I should do on the packaging. It often says explicitly NOT to rinse.
Most of the time yes but usually just once and not until the water is actually clear.
I do it because someone online said to do it but I hate doing it
Depends really on the brand, if it’s an Asian brand then yes, I rinse it.
No. I almost always make Italian risotto, so the starch accumulated on the surface makes it better. I sometimes make sushi, i used to rinse it, but i noticed it was better when i forgot to rinse it.
I rinse thoroughly regardless, and soak prior to a final rinse and cooking. I buy sacks from the Asiatic market and know that it’s treated almost like gravel in the production chain.
Yes of course. The more you rinse it, the better it gets.
I’ve tried, but it then messes my measurements between rice & water up. I don’t understand that finger thing is supposed to work too.
Yes. Thrice I rinse the rice.
My pinay told me to do so.
Didn’t know about soaking the rice n just recently told I have to rinse except for Rossiter. Never new it was a thing til my son insisted I do it for health reasons.
Yes, usually (risotto or plav are exceptions, but I do these rarely) – not for hygiene, but texture. And I buy rice in big (4-5 kg) bags, and use rice cooker.
Sadly here in Poland boiling rice in small plastic packages is still the default way 🙁
In my family its not something we do, but since I like making asian dishes I almost always wash them
I cook it directly in a pot filled with boiling water + salt. I cook it like pasta, I’ve never felt the need of rinsing it
Never bothered to rinse it. Sure it gets cooked anyway which kills any bacteria etc in it.
I don’t eat rice very often though, except for when I’m in the mood to eat 1000 of something.
Always always always rinse your rice people. You don’t pull a potato out of the soil and whip it in the pot too. Rinse it
I always wash my rice first. Whether I’m doing basmati or risotto.
I’m Dutch but with Indonesian heritage and I do wash the rice.
My (European) mom always does and I used to wash it too. Then I moved out and started adulting and stopped doing it, because frankly the rice we buy nowadays is no way near like the one we used do (i distinctly remember my mom picking little stones and other debris from rice sometimes). But then I learned rinsing/washing it removes some of the starch and it actually cooks a few minutes faster. So I rinse it now.
I pre-boil the rice (add boiling water and boil it for a couple of minutes or so) to get anything off them, then drain, sometimes an extra rinse, and add fresh water before leaving it to cook.
The rice I buy specifically says on the bag not to rinse it so I never do
I grew up rinsing the rice, letting it almost dry, then putting it on a bit of oil before cooking in 1:1.2 water.
(Edit: now I do as many steps as I care to, with 1.3-1.5 x water)
Imo rinsing is for better texture and grime, some say that it is for removal of arsenic, but as I understand it studies have shown that you have to boil the rice in a lot of water or possibly even change the water during cooking. I considered it and then decided to believe that the amount of arsenic present in the amount of rice I eat is gonna be fine.
(There was another reddit post about it on r/nutrition)
I live in Europe now. I like sticky rice so I never rinse although I was brought up in a household that not only rinsed rice but also picked out the black bits from the cheap poor quality rice my Mum bought
I usually eat Basmati rice. When I remember I wash it, when I forget I don’t, and I honestly don’t notice much of a difference. I never go “wow, this is so much better” with one method or another. There’s a bit of a texture difference I suppose, but I like both, so, meh.
Obviously not. I paid for that starch, so I’m going to use it. And our rice seems clean enough.
People who complain about this because they think rice is dirty never seem to be able to answer why they don’t need to wash their noodles then.
Have an SE Asian gf and she teaches me to rinse it before putting it in the rice cooker as well. But only if it is from a big 5 kilo bag of rice from an Asian supermarket. I do not rinse the small packs of rice from my local supermarket but we only buy local rice if our big pack ran out
I do so since I learned about how to cook rice properly a couple of years ago.
As you say, it depends on the dish. Do I want it starchy? I won’t rinse it. In most cases though, I do not want that so I rinse it most of the time.
I learnt to soak rice and have done so gorvyhe last couple of years. Having said this, I still can’t cook rice correctly, which I feel is the European way.
Yes, it’s very important to rinse rice to remove toxic substances
Im the UK here and will double rinse rice.
I’m a bit shocked people are not rinsing rice to be honest.
Although I do recall the infamous Uncle Roger video calling out a British Imdian influencers shocking guide to cook rice.
Absolutely. I’d just say it’s preferential now, but that’s how I grew up.
When my partner makes rice, she foregoes rinsing entirely. And I can only imagine my 人人 shaking her head sadly. 🙁
I do if I don’t want my rice sticky. When I want my rice sticky I don’t rinse.
Yes, rice has been cultivated in the area where my family is from in Bulgaria since the 1300s and people who cultivate rice rinse it. I have only heard 1-2 other people, here on Reddit strangely, that do not rinse the rice or not entirely.
In the past I only rice in small bag that you put directly in boiling water. No point rinsing.
Now I use a rice cooker.
Sometimes I rinse, sometimes I don’t.
Depends on the rice used mainly.
Also I noticed that finding the right ratio of water is more important than rinsing it.
I do rinse good then fry with butter. All dishes the same.
Depends on the rice doesn’t it? Jasmine and basmati, soak and rince yes , arborio just rince.
After living with my
Asian American and Hispanic friends in the US, yes, I do.
No. Only in case I’m making some Japanese or Chinese dish that asks for eat. No Catalan dish asks for rinsing. In fact, rinsing you remove starch from rice and it loses texture. If you were to rinse rice in any Catalan rice dish, the result would be quite a mess, I think.
Sometimes I do, but most of the time I don’t. For me it doesn’t make much of a difference at all.
In Romania, I was taught to rinse rice. Everyone in my family rinses the rice. But honestly I’m too lazy to do it, I don’t really care one way or another. My grandmother would for sure throw a fit if she found out.
Growing up in Denmark I only ever ate basmatis or jasmin rice unwashed. Later on I learned about short grained rice but I only rinse if I am making sushi.
Yes! Since I’ve got a Xiaomi rice cooker I’ve been doing so and it makes a difference.
Portugal is the European country with the highest rice consumption per capita. It’s not normal to rinse the rice here. It’s as strange as rinsing pasta before cooking it.
Yes, for two reasons: to reduce the arsenic content and to make it less sticky by removing the excess starch
But that doesn’t (or shouldn’t) depend on the country or culture. That’s entirely dependent on the type of rice and the dish/recipe. For example you shouldn’t do it for a risotto or a paella but you should def do it for sushi.
I read somewhere relatively recently that you need to rinse the rice as there is a lot of bacteria that grows on rice grains (it is one of the worst foods for food poisoning apparently) but it doesn’t matter how much you rinse further to get rid of the starch, the type of rice just determines starch level. So I just give a quick clean and do whatever with it. I don’t really cook risotto as too time intensive for me.
yes, i rinse jasmine or basmati until the water runs clear.
i also use my middle finger to measure how much water to use when cooking rice
🇩🇪 I wash it everytime. Much better texture and I feel like dirt and dust coming off. (Which is most likely just an illusion, the bags are coated and sealed shut) I buy Basmati rice in 3-5 kg bags and cheaper qualities from China.
In Denmark it’s recommended by the health department to rinse your rice due to the arsenium residue in imported rice. It’s also recommended not to give toddlers and small children rice crackers for the same reasons.
I don’t know how many people that actually follow the recommendations but I do.
I grew up always rinsing my rice multiple times throughoutly.
It’s a common practice and knowledge where I come from.
We use mainly Basmati rice – occasionally Jasmin.
I do. But we mainly eat jasmin and basmati rice and I was always taught to rinse them.
In my childhood we ate a very bland kind of rice (which I dont know the name of) but they were never as dusty as jasmin and basmati and my parents did not rinse them as far as I remember.
Excess starch just makes the rice sticky I find. I always rinse before cooking.
I do wash it a bit but I’ve tried to put washed and unwashed rice in my rice cooker and I find no noticeable difference.
Never seen any dirt in rice ever. I don’t do much Basmati or Jasmine tho. I mostly make Round/Japonica.
You really should always rinse your rice unless you like arsenic.
My mom rinsed rice when I was a kid. Back then we also checked if everything was fine with it and picked out any impurities.
I was never into rinsing as I wanted to keep the starch for stickiness and it’s also not necessary nowadays to check the rice before cooking. My mom also doesn’t rinse anymore.
I do because after 2 asian girlfriend I still have nightnares of the looks they’d give me if I cooked rice without rinsing it.
Yes, I do. But I use a collander. I find it to be easier than the pot’n’swirl method. I do however know people who do not wash it. I, personally, have seen too much Uncle Roger not to wash my rice.
Growing up my mom always used the quick version of rice baggies, so there’s no rinsing required there.
Me once I started cooking, I usually like my plain boiled rice (I’m weird in how much I absolutely love rice). I always rinse because the texture is so much better.
It totally depends on the dish goddamiit!!!!
Sincerely a half italian
Ever since I saw a picture of rat poop in unwashed rice: Yes, I do.
Rinsing Rice also greatly reduces the amount of arsenic. Rinsing Rice should be standard practice for a variety of reasons.
California rice is mostly prewashed. Check the packing. There should be a note.
But yeah we wash every time the rice my wife is Japanese
I never wash it. It’s clean and I don’t really care about the texture that much. Also I’m pretty sure it’s clean outside of Europe too. I watched a video on the topic, and apparently in the past dirty rice was a thing, but nowadays is clean in most places. The hygiene myth is just a leftover. And of course the texture is also changed by the washing, so even if people know the truth they could still continue washing
I never did until I heard about it in a Youtube cooking video ages ago. Tried it, and my rice suddenly started turning out nice! Unbelievable…
So now I wash my rice religiously, unless it’s for congee or rice pudding.
No. We cook the rice like pasta with a good excess of water, that way the rice is effectively rinsed as it cooks.
I systemically do, but we’re also Malagasy and we’re p similar to many Asian cultures in that aspect.
I rinse, always has. My stepmom showed me how to rinse the rice. She was danish
Yes, I do. But I also have an SE Asian aunt, so this might not be the average for Germany