If you’re a fan of Japanese cuisine, you might be familiar with the common practice of dressing cooked short-grain rice with a mixture of rice vinegar, sugar, and salt (and sometimes mirin or sake), also known as “sushi vinegar.” But did you know vinegar could also be used to flavor rice and ensure it cooks perfectly?
Any home cook knows that rice can be tricky to work with, and there is nothing more disappointing than a pot of soggy, clumped, or burned rice. Still, getting that perfectly fluffy bowl should be easy if you know a few basic things. First, consider the starch content of your rice, which is directly related to how sticky or fluffy it will turn out. Luckily, it’s easy to approximate starch content just by looking at your grains, as their length correlates with the final level of stickiness (via “Kitchen Smarts: Questions and Answers to Boost Your Cooking IQ”). Therefore, long-grain varieties like Basmati and Jasmine are the most likely to yield the best (least sticky) results.
But if you want to ensure that your rice turns out perfectly fluffy, add a teaspoon of vinegar to the water, along with the rice and salt (via Sweet Peas and Saffron). It will provide additional help in preventing the grains from sticking. And the best part? It doesn’t affect the taste!
