Rice sticking to the bottom of the rice cooker lessens the advantages of using a rice cooker. It causes a slightly burnt smell in the rice and costs you plenty of time for cleaning the cooker. It happens due to a lack of appropriate cooking strategies. If you adopt some measures, you will be able to cook rice in a rice cooker without the risks of sticking and burning.
A Rice cooker is a necessary kitchen appliance that saves your effort and time while cooking rice. However, rice sticking to the bottom of the rice cooker obstructs getting perfectly cooked rice. Rice sticking can be caused by various reasons. You just need to find out the reasons of the sticky rice in rice cooker and avert them from making sure that rice does not stick to the rice cooker.
How to Avoid Sticky Rice in Rice Cooker
There are many reasons that contribute to the problem of rice sticking to the bottom of the rice cooker, such as too much starch, overcooking, lack of water, a faulty rice cooker. If your rice cooker is faulty, you should immediately change it. You can consider buying a top microwave rice cooker. It is almost impossible to overcook rice in a microwave rice cooker. So, it eventually decreases the chance of rice sticking to rice cooker.
Although it is easy to cook perfect rice, sometimes rice becomes sticky and gets stuck to the cooker. Act in accordance with the following steps to prevent the rice from sticking to the cooker.
Step 1: Rinse The Rice Before Cooking
You probably have or have not noticed that rice has powdery dust on its surface. The powdery dust is starch. If you do not wash rice, the loose starch will also be cooked along with the rice. The cooked starch makes the rice sticky. As a result, the rice sticks to the bottom of the cooker. Hence, we advise cleaning rice before cooking.
While washing rice, you need to be careful that you do not overdo it. Rice has a nonstick coating that prevents it from sticking. Excess washing makes the coat wear away, and rice becomes sticky.
Step 2: Stir The Rice Into The Water
Once you are done with rinsing, add a 1:1 ratio of rice and water to the rice cooker. The ratio might change based on your rice cooker and the type of your rice. Be careful not to use extra water. Extra water will make the rice soggy, overcooked, and tasteless.
Now use a spoon and stir the rice thoroughly into the water. Stirring the rice before cooking makes is very helpful to avoid sticky rice in rice cooker sure that the grains are separate from each other and not stuck with the bottom.
Step 3: Add A Teaspoon Of Oil
It is not mandatory for you to follow this step if your rice cooker has a non-stick coating. Anyway, you can add a teaspoon of any cooking oil to make sure that the rice does not become sticky. You can grease the inside of the cooker by using butter and oil to avoid rice sticking to the cooker what we actually do with the carbon steel pans.
Add oil just before you switch on the gadget. At first, the oil will float above the water. When the rice starts cooking, the oil will immerse with the rice.
Step 4: Let The Rice Steam After It Is Cooked.
Do not remove rice immediately after cooking. Before removing the lid, keep the rice on the “Keep Warm” mode of the cooker for about 5-7 minutes. This will evaporate the extra moisture on the rice and thus will make the rice dry and fluffy.
The Reason for Rice Sticking To the Bottom Of The Rice Cooker
Overcooking
When rice is overcooked, the grains stick with each other and are easily stuck at the bottom. The main reasons for overcooked rice are using extra water and setting the wrong timer.
Small Cooker
Cooking rice in a cooker smaller than necessary can make the rice stick to the cooker. Look at the package direction about the maximum amount of rice to be cooked in your rice cooker. Do not exceed the limit of the instructed amount; otherwise, the rice will be overcrowded after swelling and stick to the rice cooker.
Lack Of Water
Like extra water, inadequate water can make the rice stick to the bottom of the rice cooker. When you use less water, the rice will absorb all of the water in a short time and become sticky. By the time the cooker shuts off, the rice will get stuck to the bottom and be burnt.
Dirty Pot
To avoid sticky rice in rice, you should clean the rice cooker well before you begin cooking. If there are any residues or grease in the pot, it will stick the rice to the bottom of the cooker.
Damaged Layer
The majority of the rice cookers have a non-stick layer. A careless use or a long time use damages the non-stick layer. No matter how pro cooks you are or how carefully you follow all of the given steps, the damaged layer of the rice cooker is enough for sticking the rice to the bottom of the cooker.
How To Keep Rice From Sticking Together
When people find how to remove rice stuck in rice cooker, in the same time they should know how to stop rice sticking together. Rice tends to stick together; nonetheless, it is quite easy to cook soft, fluffy, and non-sticky rice. You are probably not aware of some trivial mistakes you are making that lead rice to become sticky.
Some people prefer to soak rice before cooking to reduce the cooking time. However, little do they know that soaking breaks the rice and releases the starch, which coats the rice. Overcooking also releases starch, which is mainly responsible for making rice sticky.
Bottom Line
A Rice cooker is great for cooking perfect rice without the extra efforts you would have put in while cooking without a cooker. However, It is quite annoying when you find rice sticking to the bottom of the rice cooker. With the aim of preventing the rice from sticking to the bottom of the cooker, follow the steps given in this guide. If the rice still gets stuck to the bottom, you should consider buying a new rice cooker.
