How To Cook Perfect Rice Without A Rice Cooker Using The 10-5-5 Rule

If you have a good rice cooker, rice is one of the simplest things to cook. If you don't, it can be pretty tough to nail the perfect texture — al dente, with just the right amount of fluffiness, without being too soggy. The good news is that it is possible to make restaurant quality rice without a rice cooker, or any other kitchen gadget. All you need is some rice, a pot, your stovetop, and the legendary 10-5-5 rule.

Before implementing the rule, start with the basics. Rinse your rice under cool water to wash away the excess starch. Then, pop the rice into a pot and use the rice cooking method that ditches measuring rules: the knuckle test. Simply place your finger on the rice and fill the water up to your first knuckle to get the right amount of water to rice. This should work for most people, but feel free to add a splash more or less to get your desired texture. 

Once you get the water going to a good boil, that's where 10-5-5 rule kicks in. Drop the heat to medium-high for exactly ten minutes (trust us, set that timer). Next, reduce to medium-low heat for five minutes. Finally, kill the heat completely and let the rice steam for another five minutes, keeping the lid put the entire time. Once that final timer goes off, the rice will have absorbed all of the water to make perfect rice — all without a rice cooker!

When it comes to cooking rice without a rice cooker, the lid plays a big role. It has to stay on from the moment you put the pot on the stove for the first 10 minutes of the 10-5-5 ratio, up until it's ready to be served — which means you'll have to stop checking your rice as it cooks. Just a quick peak can ruin everything, allowing the hot steam to escape. Remove that lid even for a second, and you'll likely end up with dry, chewy rice.

While we're on the subject of steam and heat, you'll want to stay flexible when you're cooking your rice. The 10-5-5 rule is more of a guideline rather than a strict culinary rule, and if your gut is saying something isn't right with the rice, you should trust it. That's especially true if you're working with brown rice, which plays by a different set of rules completely.  

Brown rice takes a lot longer to cook than white rice, so you'll have to cook it a smidge longer at each stage if you want to get the best results. Once you've figured out the proper timing for each stage, be sure to jot it down somewhere. Then, next time, just follow those notes and you'll get as close to a guarantee of perfectly cooked rice as you can get, no rice cooker needed!