Take-out fried rice or sticky rice (jasmine?)

I can't cook rice. Yeah make fun. I can do a lot of things: moles, beans...
but rice=No
And it looks so simple! #-o
I don't have a rice cooker unfortunately. Can anyone recommend a local place to just get an order of good rice for take out: fried, fluffy, sticky or jasmine (yum!)?

dude. I'll teach you how to make rice. but. in the meantime, go to your nearest bulletproof chinese joint and get an order of white rice. you'll be fine.

xo

I've tried, I always make it runny or burnt.
I blame it on never eating homemade plain rice till my late teens. Except for arroz con pollo or rice in the milk/raisin/cinnamon stuff ... all of it not needing the fluffy soft end product.

I know, WTF, I fail.

I can't make rice either. Uncle Ben's has some new 90 second microwave in bag things which come in tasty flavors. I still put ketchup on the white ones, because I'm freaky like that

god really? should I have a course? rice is always easy. I was going to say "then again, I'm cuban" but I realize I have a cuban and mexican I'm dealing with here. for chrissakes, ladies. this is do-able!

hee hee, yeah, really I just need to stop feeling discouraged. I'm crashing your place so you can teach me.

But more to the point. Where do I get a tasty bad-for-you fried rice around here. all this talk is making me hungry! Something without a puddle of grease at the bottom of the box, but still flavorful?

seriously, I'm a failed Cuban. No arroz con pollo for m

bad for you fried rice = bullet proof chinese joint

I'm going to have a paella party for you guys. we'll do rice. we can do this! (hopefully after I'm unemployed. can't wait)

Don't worry. People who cook perfect rice suck.

Star of India on 5th Avenue near Carroll Street will give you some if you walk in and beg.

Don't know about fried rice but El Viejo Yayo has decent white and yellow rice you can get for takeout. Carneviento too.

Flexichick wrote: seriously, I'm a failed Cuban. No arroz con pollo for m

i thought you were french. you're not french? after we spent the day together?

also, regular rice (i like carolina for plain, so let's start there):

gas stove:
1 cup rice, 1 3/4 cups water
bring to a boil then put on lowest setting and cover *lightly*. wait ten minutes. repeat. rice will be ready in approx 20 from when it started boiling the first. watch it closely or it will burn.

electric stove:
1 cup rice, 1 1/2 cups water
bring to a boil then lower to lowest possible setting. cover. wait 20 minutes. you're done. (again, check it a couple of times to make sure it's not boiled over or burned.)


each stove is different, but this is the basic recipe. i've find i have more heat on the lowest setting on a gas stove than electric, so i use more water and let the cover be slightly askew

brooklynpotter wrote: [quote=Flexichick]seriously, I'm a failed Cuban. No arroz con pollo for m

i thought you were french. you're not french? after we spent the day together?

Half-French (Parisian), half-Cuban. I'm a Fruban! :cheers:

I'm descended from cajuns who founded the first rice plantations in Louisiana... that being said, I only recently learned how to made decent rice.

Double water to the amount of rice (normal amount - 1 cup rice 2 cups water), a tablespoon of butter and some salt... then bring to a boil (while covered), lower heat to low, and let simmer for 20 minutes, stirring about 3 times.
The butter helps keep it from sticking, and the stirring is essential to keep it from burning. I like a bit of a crust on the bottom of the pan, but its not for everyone.

I have this great rice from LA that smells like popcorn when it cooks... so yummy!

If all else fails, Nana has delicious rice - especially the coconut kind.

weird...I always hear "no stirring".

my mom uses a little olive oil and a clove of garlic (which she removes after cooking)

i was always told never to stir. and no butter--i learned from my grandmother who kept kosher--this would have made it a dairy only meal

Well, no butter if you're keeping kosher of course. And stirring (quickly, not major stirs) really helps it keep from sticking together.

Alton Brown has a great recipe for making brown rice - he bakes it. I love the stuff, but I know a lot of people don't like brown rice. If you do, though... it's so easy to make this. I burn brown rice whenever I cook it, but never with this recipe.

i like brown basmati, sorta. really, i wish brown rice tasted as good as white rice.

when we were kids, did we ever think things like white rice (and whole milk, real dressing for your salad, cheese!...) would be treats? wtf?

The secret to non-sticky rice? Rinse the rice before you begin cooking it. I know it sounds crazy, but my very southern mother swore by this and she made perfect rice.

Just pour your rice in a strainer, run cold water over it, then dump it into the pot an cook as directed above. Reduces the need to stir which aerates the rice making it cook less evenly.

No stirring! Bring it to a boil, cover it, reduce heat to low, turn off heat 20 minutes later, let sit 5 minutes -- then and only then take the cover off.

So where can I get yellow rice, red beans, and a side of fried plantains?

I'm Irish-Scottish, but this is what I learned from my Chinese friends:

Get a rice cooker!!

Yummy rice now.

...of course its distinctly likely that I'm missing the subtleties...but...

++1 rice cooker (with built in timer) FTW!!

If you eat rice with any frequency, it's crazy not to have a rice cooker. A cheap basic model without fancy electronics will cook perfect rice every time as easily as auto drip coffee. It will run you less than $25 and will basically last forever (I've been using the same 3-cup Panasonic model since 1992).

just remember the effect rice has on your body, and eat accordingly. ;-)

What effect does rice have on your body? I'm more of a potato girl, maybe because of my Irish forebears, but I keep hearing potatos = bad carbs, and i thought brown rice = good carbs. But I'm pretty weak on nutritional knowledge.

Bagels = good carbs, right?

let's just say it makes you need more fiber

a rice cooker? yeah, we had one. used it once or twice before condemning it to the storage locker. takes up too much space for something so easy to make on the stove.

we eat rice almost every day, fwiw.

there are lots of good ways to make it. it's not hard.

mamacita -- i have a feeling from your description that you're leaving the heat too high.

alafair -- i have a paella pan and a history of paella parties. i make good flan, too -- let's do this thing.

I just need one of my paella pans back from a certain home where someone named .... brooklynpotter lives. and then I'm in.

I love brown rice. and wild rice. I think they taste way better than white. however. white rice with a bit of salt, sesame seeds & seaweed (aka those sprinkly things from the asian markets) can be orgasmic. especially if you're drunk.

and the super high end rice cookers (aka the ones that cost like $50) have a congee setting. I covet one but have not yet purchased.

I ended up going to star of india on 5th and for 2.50 I got a big order of rice.
Worked perfectly.

I am sooo down for a paella party. I can make a tres leches cake or just a ton of sangria.... and salsa..... mummm paella

I love rice. Here is how I make brown rice.

One cup rice=two cups liquid. I use one cup chicken stock and one cup water.

Put the liquids in a pot. Bring to a boil. Put in the rice. Lower the flame to just above a simmer. Cover. Come back in 40 minutes. Bingo, perfect every time.