Rice is the staple food for millions of people, and there are two types of it – white and brown. Both are good as a food source while brown rice is typically considered to be a bit healthier option.
Brown rice is a whole grain and in it, you can find fibrous bran, the nutrition germ and the carb-rich endosperm. White is pretty much the same without having the bran and germ, which are removed. This means that white rice has only a few essential nutrients compared to the brown one. In 100 grams of cooked white rice, you get 0.4 grams of fibre while in the same amount brown offers you 1.8 grams.
No matter the science behind the rice, it is truly a beloved food. It doesn’t take much to prepare, it isn’t all that demanding and it sure is tasty. Preparations are different from region to region, from country to country. Rice is mostly considered a salty food and can be a main meal or a side dish, depending on the recipe, but it can also be sweet. It all depends on the preparation and your personal preference.
When it comes to preparation, we have two main ways of preparing rice – traditional boiling, or newly invented microwaving it to save time. This article, with the help of some recipes online from sites like minuterice.com/recipes/microwave-egg-fried-rice/, has researched and made this article that will tell you the differences between microwave and boiled rice and which one is better and healthier.
Microwave
Microwave is one of those inventions that saved us all a lot of time, and it was debated for a long time, whether it is good for us or bad?! The consensus is – that it is. It saves time and prepares food just as good as a stove. Now when it comes to rice, we also managed to figure out how to prepare the perfect rice in it as well.
It is not as hard as most think, on the contrary, when you do a good preparation, you will make near perfect rice right in your microwave in a short amount of time. Since microwave requires a bit more care, you need to make sure you have a microwave-safe container in which you are going to prepare rice, so you avoid any mishaps or accidents, God forbid.
When preparing rice, rinsing it in a few waters is a generally good idea to clear all the impurities. This is the number one step in both preparation methods, by the way. You will know that the rice is clean when the water in which the rice is clear as well. Now if you want to prepare rice for you and your family then you need 1 ¼ cup of water on 1 cup of rice. By now you all know that cooked rice doubles in its size so if it looks a bit little for you all, don’t be afraid you will have more than enough when it’s fully cooked.
Now when the measurements are done and everything is in a microwave-safe container put the lid on it and put it in the microwave. The general rule for cooking a bowl of good rice is 15 minutes on 600W.
After everything is done you will have a full bowl of nicely cooked rice that hasn’t been spilling around or sticking and burning on the bottom of your dishes.
Boiling rice
Now when it comes to traditional boiling there is not much to it. The steps are almost the same. Rinse the rice well in a few waters and put it in a dish that has a nonstick surface. It is always a good option to have nonstick dishes around especially when you are cooking rice. You can easily overshoot the temperature on your stove, have your rice boiling sooner which will make it burn or stick to the bottom of the dish.
To avoid this use one measure of rice and double the amount of water by volume. When you do a 1:2 ratio of water to rice it always cooks nicely and doesn’t stick to surfaces. A good pan for cooking rice is, besides a non-stick one, one that has a heavy bottom and that has a lid that tightly fits on top. The best way to boil the rice perfectly is to lock the steam in and allow the rice to absorb all that liquid you prepared for it.
When your rice boils you should turn down the heat and close the lid and the best part next – leave it alone. This way of boiling the rice is very low maintenance and it will be closer to microwaving it. The time to make this sort of rice is pretty much the same as microwaving it – around 15 minutes tops. After it is done all, you are left with is to serve it and enjoy the fruit of your labour.
The conclusion
The last thing we can say about microwave vs boiled rice is that is mainly up to you. We are aware that most don’t have time sometimes to deal with pans, dishes, preparation and hovering over it to check if it is going the way it should.
If time is imperative then microwave over boiled rice because it has a lot less checking around and a lot fewer dishes to clean.
If health is your concern that boiled food is always a healthier option. You know that boiled food without grease, oils and other unhealthy ingredients are the way to go. The same goes for rice. When boiled rice is a lot firmer and has a more distinct grain with a certain taste that can be obtained in the microwave. Since there are several types of grain boiling and steaming rice works for long-grain varieties of rice. If you are keen on only steaming your rice then the best use for it is in sushi because the rice steamed is a lot stickier which makes it perfect for chopsticks. In addition, Honest Food Talks also shares different variations on how to cook boiled rice which you can make a dessert out of it like dango recipe.
When it comes to preference, well, that is easy. Choose whatever you are comfortable with and whatever feels best for you. Steam it, boil it, microwave it, do whatever you want and however you love it.
