The Key To Chinese Restaurant-Style White Rice Is Simpler Than You Think

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Ever wish you could make Chinese restaurant-style white rice at home? The kind that's steamed and fluffy, with each grain distinct and separate? I'm talking about rice that is the perfect vessel for flavorful, aromatic stir fries, like Din Tai Fung-inspired green beans. 

As a cookbook author who has spent years developing Asian recipes, including those in my second cookbook, "Modern Asian Kitchen," the real key to great white rice comes down to three simple things: The type of rice you're cooking, washing that rice properly, and using a rice cooker to cook it.  

Commonly, you'll find long-grain white rice or jasmine rice in Chinese restaurants. Personally, I prefer short-grain Japanese rice. Ultimately, the white rice you use comes down to your own taste and preferences. I recommend you invest in a higher quality rice, so head to your local Asian supermarket or poll random Asian aunties to see what their favorite brands are. Once you've chosen your rice, before you cook it, wash it properly. I wash my rice in a small-grain colander (like Oxo Good Grips from Amazon) under running water, sifting through the grains with a clean hand until the water runs clear. I collect the starchy in a bowl beneath the colander and use it to water my plants. Then, the rice goes directly into a rice cooker (I do not use the stove).

While I have nothing against folks cooking rice on the stovetop, the truth is, most Chinese households and restaurant kitchens rely on rice cookers. I was a child in the '90s and can't remember a time when my Cantonese relatives, like my mother and grandmothers, did not use one. And in restaurants, when things are fast-paced and there are many mouths to feed, the rice cooker is key. Of course, the ones used at home versus the ones used in restaurants tend to differ. Most restaurants likely rely on commercial-grade models. At home, I've used the same Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy rice cooker since 2018 and consider it one of the best rice cookers out there. 

Admittedly, when you're ordering freshly steamed rice at a restaurant, a bit of the magic disappears when you discover it was made in a rice cooker. But we've relied on rice cookers for decades, for good reason. For one, there's consistency. Modern rice cookers have inner pots that come with measuring lines to tell you exactly how much water you should use when cooking different types of rice. And, instead of watching the stove and setting a timer, all you have to do is push a button.

The key to Chinese restaurant-style white rice has always been simplicity. And if anyone asks where you learned to cook rice perfectly, tell them you learned it from this Asian auntie.