Pro Tips for Cooking Jasmine Rice in a Rice Cooker

If you don’t know how to cook jasmine rice in a rice cooker, you are missing out on an easy way to make your menu more lively. Jasmine rice has a terrific smell and flavor, yet it is quite effortless to cook. You can’t go wrong by including it in your daily meals.

Cooking jasmine rice is child’s play, but that doesn’t mean you just toss it blindly into the rice cooker. There are many things you need to pay attention to create a pot of fragrant, steaming hot rice. All you have to do is spend a few minutes reading this short and concise guide!

A Brief Overview Of Jasmine Rice

Jasmine rice is an aromatic, long-grain variety of rice. You may not know this, but jasmine rice doesn’t derive its name from its fragrance (it actually smells like popcorn). Instead, this type of rice is called so because its milky white color resembles that of jasmine flowers.

Southeast Asia is home to the best jasmine rice in the world. A few countries in the region stand out as producers of premier jasmine rice. The most popular one is Thailand, but products from Vietnam and Cambodia don’t fall far behind in terms of fame and quality.

Besides its fabulous floral aroma, jasmine rice is well-known for its moist texture as well as sweet and nutty taste when preferably cooked. It is fairly sticky, but just enough to leave a pleasant mouth feel, not to mention a lingering buttery aftertaste.

While jasmine rice is a fantastic side dish, you shouldn’t eat it too often. Otherwise, your senses will take its aroma for granted and grow dull, meaning that after a while, you will no longer feel anything special about the rice.

Therefore, having a bowl of jasmine rice once in a while will ensure that you will always enjoy the best experience with it and appreciate this aromatic rice variety for what it truly is.

One last thing: Jasmine rice can be available in white or brown forms. This recipe focuses on the latter. In case you want to cook brown jasmine rice, just soak it in water for 30 minutes before following other instructions.

Tools

Generally, people cook jasmine rice in pretty much the same way as with other types of rice. As a result, you only need common kitchen gadgets for this task.

Rice cooker: This specialized cooking appliance will make it easier to produce the best jasmine rice. It is possible to cook rice with a slow cooker or an oven, but those options aren’t as effective as a reliable rice cooker.

Moreover, if you use a rice cooker, your worries about how to know when rice is overcooked are gone. This cookware is designed to cook your rice perfectly, as long as you use it properly. 

Rice paddle: to fluffy or scoop the rice. It may come along with the rice cooker, or you can buy one from a grocery store. You can also replace it with a spatula or a large spoon.

Measuring cup: Many rice cooker packages come with a measuring cup. The one I use for this recipe has a capacity of 160 ml (135 grams of uncooked rice).

Mug: to pour the water into the pot.

Small bowl: to contain salt and olive oil.

Ingredients

You can easily buy these ingredients from a supermarket or convenience store. Besides jasmine rice, you need a few other things to make your rice more flavorful.

Jasmine rice: Most of the best jasmine rice brands come from Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia, but you can try products from other countries as well (it is cultivated in several US states). Pay attention to the expiration date: old jasmine rice may lose its distinct aroma.

Water: For the best experience, you shouldn’t use chlorine-containing tap water for cooking jasmine rice or any aromatic rice for that matter. Bottled or purified water will do a better job of keeping the rice fragrant and delicious.

White jasmine rice requires as much water as other types of rice. If you plan to cook brown jasmine rice without soaking it first, use at least two parts of water for every part of rice.

Salt and olive oil: They prevent the rice from drying out as well as improve its flavor. You can also replace olive oil with avocado or sesame oil.

The Tried And True Method To Cook Jasmine Rice In The Rice Cooker

Let’s get to the crux of the matter! The following instructions will guide you to prepare the fluffiest and most fragrant jasmine rice you have ever savored.

Step 1: Rinse The Rice

Measure the suitable amount of rice with the cup. (I use 2 cups for this recipe). Pour the rice into the inner pot of the rice cooker or a bowl, fill it with enough clean water to cover it, and cleanse by stirring the rice grains with your hand. Remove any piece of dirt that you find.

Drain the rice by tilting the pot until the water has run out and the rice is nearly exposed. Don’t forget to put your hand just below the flow to stop rice grains from falling out.

An alternative method that is a little water-consuming is to pour the rice into a mesh strainer or sieve and wash it under a running faucet.

Pick either of the two methods and do it 2 – 3 times. Don’t do more than that because excessive washing will strip out the nutritious outer bran layer of rice, reducing its nutritional profile as well as making it more likely to dry out.

Note: Rice water is particularly good for skin care; you can save some to wash your face with it. Just make sure that it doesn’t contain any dirt or contaminants: you shouldn’t use the water from the first washing time.

If you choose to cook brown jasmine rice, soak it in cold water for 30 minutes at this point to reduce the cooking time.

Step 2: Measure The Water

The best water-to-rice ratio is 1:1 to cook jasmine rice in the rice cooker. So for 2 cups of rice, I apply 2 cups of water. People who want to cook more or less rice can change the amount of water accordingly.

But you don’t have to stick with this ratio if you prefer other types of cooked rice. You can decrease the amount of water to cook dryer rice or pour a little more water into the pot for softer rice. Just don’t overdo it too much, or your rice may turn out dehydrated or mushy.

Step 3: Activate The Rice Cooker

Dry the surface of the inner pot carefully with a towel before putting it back into the exterior pot to avoid possible electric shocks.

Next, add ½ teaspoon of salt and a little olive oil into the pot. Stir them well with the rice. These condiments will improve the look and flavor of your rice. Also, they decrease its stickiness, causing fewer rice grains to cling to the pot and helping you clean up more easily.

Lastly, close the lid and turn the rice cooker on. Let it cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Step 4: Fluff The Rice And Serve

The rice cooker will automatically switch to “Warm” mode after finishing the job. You can enjoy the rice right now, but I recommend leaving it undisturbed for another 15 minutes to ensure the best fluffiness.

Now, unplug the rice cooker and open the lid. Watch out for the rising hot steam. The rice should have your desired consistency and release a slightly grassy aroma. Fluff the rice with a paddle (or a large spoon) and serve it with your favorite meat, fish, or vegetable dishes.

Have You Cooked Jasmine Rice Yet?

When you crave something other than bread or cereals, let’s turn to rice for a healthy source of gluten-free starch. There are many varieties to choose from, but an exotic Southeast Asian flavor in the form of jasmine rice is certainly a choice that you won’t regret.

It is delicious and quite versatile. Whether you want to serve it with soups, stews, or salads, the resulting combo will always be awesome. In case there is leftover, let’s save it for the best and most fragrant fried rice you can ever make.

If you like this post, you can encourage me to by sharing it with your friends. Do you have new ideas about how to cook jasmine in a rice cooker? In that case, feel free to tell other readers and me all about them in the comment section. Many thanks!