A bowl of fragrant & properly cooked rice is the main component of any meal for Asians, and an interesting fact is different people prefer different levels of doneness for their rice. That way, hard rice will get a hard no from people who like their rice to be soft & glutinous. Still, they have to devour hard rice sometimes if they don’t know how to fix hard rice.
Fixing hard rice is quite a tricky job, you can’t pour more water into the pot and leave it to cook more, that way there’s a high chance of the rice getting mushy. Cooked rice has a super delicate texture.
So if you vigorously stir the rice that hasn’t been cooked through, you will end up spoiling the rice even more. If you’re yet to know the proper way to fix hard rice or undercooked rice, don’t sweat it cause we are going to show you the proper method.
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How To Fix Hard Rice
When you add an inadequate amount of water to cook your rice, it may turn out to be hard or undercooked. Different types of rice require different water to rice ratio. If you don’t follow the proper ratio, your rice won’t be perfect.
Hard rice is actually easier to fix than mushy rice. There are actually several ways that are quite easy to pull off.
You can fix hard rice with your rice cooker, microwave oven, or even stovetop. Let’s see how you can use these appliances to solve this problem instantly—
1. Rice Cooker
If you have cooked your rice with a rice cooker, fixing the rice in the rice cooker would be convenient. For that, first, give a light stir to the rice and see if the bottom layer of rice is cooked.
If they are cooked, gently fold the rice with a wooden spoon or spatula so that the rice on top goes to the bottom and the rice in the bottom goes to the top.
Now sprinkle some water over the top, close the lid & leave it for a good 10-15 minutes. The rice should be in warm mode. Because the cook option may burn the rice and make it stick to the bottom.
After 15 minutes, check if the rice has the perfect doneness. If you are okay with the doneness, use a fork to fluff it up. Then again put the lid on and leave for 5 minutes, but this time the rice cooker should be turned off.
Another way to fix undercooked rice in a rice cooker is by using a damp kitchen towel. This method is super efficient to ensure a perfect cook on the rice too.
Just cover the rice cooker pot with a damp kitchen towel and then put the lid on. The rice will collect the moisture from the kitchen towel without drying out. That way you will get perfectly soft and fluffy rice, just the way you love.
2. Microwave Oven
Using a microwave is also an amazing method to fix undercooked rice. It ensures a perfect doneness on every grain of rice, so that you can get a perfect bowl of rice every single time.
The process is sorta similar to the kitchen towel hack we used for the rice cooker, with just a little difference.
To start, transfer the hard or undercooked rice to a microwave safe bowl that has a lid. Sprinkle some water on the top & give it a gentle mix. Now the fun part, take a damp kitchen towel and layer it on top of the rice and put on the lid.
Then place it in a microwave oven on 50-60% power for about 1 minute. After 1 minute, take out the bowl and check if the rice has been cooked properly. If not, again microwave it for an additional 30-60 seconds.
Take out the bowl and remove the kitchen towel. Be careful because the kitchen towel will be piping hot. Don’t forget to fluff the rice grains with a fork. After that, you are pretty much done!
3. On Stovetop
Cooking rice on the stovetop has the highest chance of being undercooked or overcooked. Many people can’t cook perfect rice on a stovetop even after years of practice.
It’s even harder to fix undercooked rice on the stovetop, but don’t worry, here’s how you can do that. Firstly, turn off the heat and determine the level of doneness of the rice. If it has cooked 80%, then check if any liquid is present at the bottom of the pot.
Drain the liquid and layer a damp paper towel on top. And if the rice is cooked less than 60%, discard the remaining liquid from the pot, add a dash of hot water & put the lid on. Turn on the heat, and cook it for 10 minutes on the lowest heat.
After 10 minutes, turn off the heat and check if the rice is cooked. When you are happy with the texture and doneness, take a fork and try to fluff up the rice. Then serve the rice with your favorite side dishes and enjoy!
Final Word
So that’s how to fix hard rice using three different methods. Do try these tips & tricks the next time your rice becomes hard or undercooked. Don’t forget to let us know which one you liked the most, or tell us your way of fixing hard rice. Until then, happy cooking!