How to cook rice that’s fluffy

Why we’re never going against this grain.

Isabella Garrido

2 min read

April 3, 2024 - 11:44AM

Steamed-rice

Prawn and egg fried rice. Mexican chicken and rice bake. Thai green chicken curry with steamed rice. Paella. Ask any of us what our favourite dishes are, and there’s a high chance it’ll include our go-to grain.

How to get perfectly fluffy rice

A rice-based dish always hits the spot – think cloud-like, light and fluffy rice, soaking up delicious sauces and complimenting tender chunks of meat or vegies.

With rice being at the heart of so many of our favourite dishes, the texture of your rice can really make or break a dish, so it’s important to get it right. We want to avoid gluggy rice, and here’s now to do it.

How do you cook rice so it is fluffy?

Here are the steps you can take to ensure your rice is as fluffy as possible.

Choose the correct grain of rice. Long grain rice is more likely to turn out light and fluffy, whereas medium-grain rice and short-grain rice is more likely to stick together (which is fine, if you want to make sticky rice or sushi rice, for example).
Wash your rice. Always rinse your rice before cooking because this will help make your rice fluffier (once some of the starch has been removed).

Why do I need to wash my rice?

The purpose of rinsing rice is to remove any excess starch, which is what makes rice stick together. To rinse rice, all you need to do is place rice into a saucepan, add water and then pour it off.

Try to avoid stirring rice while it’s cooking (this will make the rice activate its starch and make the rice become gluggy and clumpy). The key is waiting for the rice to cook, then using a fork to fluff the rice before serving.

Our best tip for creating fluffy rice?

Taste Team member Marina Karris says the secret to making perfectly fluffy rice is to add more water.

So, what’s the ideal ratio of water to rice? And, how long should you cook rice?

Marina says: “I’ve had quite the battle with gluggy rice over the years but I’ve finally found a method that actually works. For fluffy rice every single time, I swear by the absorption method. I usually double the amount of water to rice, bring to the boil, simmer for about 10-15 mins, turn the heat off and place a paper towel over the top and cover with a lid. Let it stand covered for about 10 minutes and serve.”

Test our tips for making fluffy rice and using up leftover rice with these recipes:

Originally published as How to cook rice that’s fluffy