How to make the perfect rice

1. Remove Excess Starch: Put rice in a deep bowl, run cold tap water over it. Once the bowl is full of water, use your fingers to swish the rice around. The water will start getting murky. Now gently pour this water out. Repeat this process till the water is mostly clear. This will take at least 4-5 washes.

2. Let it stand in water: Now fill it up one last time. Don't wash the rice again. Just leave it in there, covered with water, for about 30 minutes or so. It results in a much fuller, softer grain. After the soaking, you will notice that the rice grains have turned a nice milky white.

3. Cooking the rice: Drain the water out. Put the rice in a heavy-gauge pan that has a flat bottom. If your pan is made out of some thin flimsy metal, your rice will get nicely burnt at the bottom while the grains at the top may not cook properly. You also need one with a tight lid, or else the precious steam will leak and your rice won't cook right. Now put in the water. Normally, a long-grain rice recipe calls for twice the amount of water as rice. Because our rice has already been sitting in some water for a while, and has absorbed a bit of it, we need just 1.5 cups per cup of rice. Moreoever, there is still some leftover water after you drained it, because no one can drain it absolutely dry.

4. Salt: Add 1/2 teaspoon salt to the rice if you like.

5. Boil then simmer: Put the pan on medium high heat. Wait till the water boils and starts bubbling. Now turn the heat down as low as you can, cover with the tight lid, and let it just sit there for about 15-20 minutes. Resist the urge to lift the lid and peek at the rice. Not even a peek.

6. Turn off heat: After the 15-20 minutes is up, turn off the heat. No, you still can't lift the lid. Now you have to let it "stand" for another 10 minutes or so. This will help the rice to "settle" so you don't have dry grains on top and wet grains at the bottom.

7. Eat: After 10 minutes, lift the lid, take a fork and fluff the rice. You will have nice separate grains without having used any oil, butter, or other fat in the cooking process.

This method of cooking rice is known as the "absorption method".

(Via Shiokfood. Picture courtesy ehow.com)

How to Defrost Frozen Meat

Thawing Frozen Meats (and no, leaving it on the counter isn't one of them!):

The absolute best way to thaw frozen meats is by leaving it in the fridge until it's completely thawed. If you're crunched for time, take the meat out of it's package, put it on a plate, and place it under cool RUNNING water. This carries away any bacteria that is already present or that grows on the surface of the meat and gently thaws the meat in about 20 minutes (for small cuts) or an hour or two (for large cuts).

You can also safely thaw meat in the microwave, though be careful since your microwave can actually start to cook the meat before it's completely thawed.

(Source: thekitchn.com)

How Long Can You Leave Cooked Food Unrefrigerated?

Leaving Food at Room Temperature: Four Hours

Four hours is a good rule of thumb for most buffet foods. After four hours, the potential for you to get sick from eating food left at room temperature increases drastically. If you're throwing a party and afraid you might forget, try setting a timer to remind yourself when four hours is up.

Ice cream and other frozen foods are of course another story - try putting those back in a little sooner!

(Source: thekitchn.com)

How to blanch asparagus.

Don't try this with really thick spears - use the thinnest, freshest ones you can find.

Put a kettle of water on the stove to boil. Wash the asparagus spears. Trim the dried or hard ends off the bottom of the spears and lay them in a thin layer in a glass baking dish.

When the water comes to a boil, pour over the spears and let them sit for 3-5 minutes. Pull out a spear and test it after a couple minutes - it's easy to check for your preferred texture. When they are crisp-tender pour off the water and salt lightly.

Serve with melted butter or a vegetable dip.

(Source: thekitchn.com)

How to peel ginger.

Begin by cutting off the amount of ginger you need and then trimming it of any small nubs so that you have a relatively uniform piece to work with.

Then, hold the ginger in one hand and use the tip of your spoon to scrape off the peel. You’ll find it comes off very easily and that you get a smoother, more uniform end result than when you use a knife or vegetable peeler.

(Source: thekitchn.com)

How to hard boil an egg.

• First place the eggs in a small sauce pan and cover with cold water by about 1 inch.

• Bring to a boil over medium high heat.

• Turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let sit for exactly 12 minutes.

• Rinse with cold water until the eggs are cool.

The whites will be light and tender, not rubbery, and the yellows will be bright and creamy, not greenish and powdery. Perfect for egg salad, deviled eggs or just a nice little snack.

(Source: thekitchn.com)

How to boil potatoes in 2 minutes

I'm pretty excited about this! I learnt that you can boil potatoes in 2 minutes. No more waiting endlessly (and anxiously) in front of the cooker. Or put off making the vegetable because of the time it takes to cook.

Just peel, cut, cover (not immerse) with water and microwave for 2 minutes. Voila perfect potatoes!

How to buy fish at the fish market

1. Poke the body - If it's soft and squidgy, give the fishmonger a dirty look. Good fish always has a firm body.

2. Check the eyes - If it's dull and murky, give it a miss. The fishmonger will know that you are a discerning fish lover and pull out better fish.

3. How pink are the gills - lift the flap, if the gills are dark and veering on black, walk away. The fishmonger will call you back with the freshest catch with fresh pink gills.

(Courtesy: Mrs Gouri Majumdar)