You Have Been Cooking Rice Wrong The Whole Time: Here Is What You Need To Do Once The Water Starts Boiling

Written by Ravi Teja Tadimalla, BSc, Professional Certificate in Food, Nutrition and Health  • 

If you are alive and reading this, chances are you would have consumed rice at some point in your life (unless you are an Eskimo residing at the Arctic).

But that’s not the big deal.

The big deal is, you probably haven’t cooked rice the right way. Not once. Not ever.

Image: Istockphots

Eh?

I can see you gazing at the screen in utter perplexity. But don’t worry – keep reading, and you will understand what I am saying.

What’s With Cooking Rice?

There is a lot to do with it, my friend.

I don’t have to tell you why rice is so popular amongst most people. It’s relatively inexpensive, and it can be paired with a whole lot of different foods.

But there’s a catch – white rice is not good for you.

What?

Yes. You read that right.

A single cup of cooked white rice contains about 200 calories. Most of these calories come in the form of starch, which then turns into sugar, and ultimately into body fat.

So Should I Never Eat Rice Again?

Well, not exactly. Because there is good news.

Scientists have discovered a simple way of cooking rice that can dramatically reduce calories.

Wow!

The process is simple.

When the water starts to boil, before you add the raw rice, add coconut oil (about three percent of the weight of the rice you are cooking).

After it’s cooked, you can store it in the refrigerator for about 12 hours.

That’s All? How Does This Work?

Trust me when I say that it works wonders. And to understand how, we need to delve a little into the chemistry involved in the process.

Starches can broadly be classified as digestible and resistant. The former take only a little time to get digested. They, in fact, quickly turn into glucose, and then glycogen, and ultimately add inches to your waist if not burnt away. On the other hand, resistant starches take a long time to get processed in the body, and they don’t get converted to glucose or glycogen as we don’t have the ability to digest them. Hence, they add up to only a few calories.

According to research, it is possible to change the type of starches found in foods by changing their way of preparation. So, one can reduce the calories in steamed white rice by reducing the amount of digestible starch present in it, which can ultimately happen once the way of preparation is modified.

Adding a lipid (coconut oil) before cooking the rice, and then cooling the rice once it is cooked can change its composition drastically. This results in lower calories and other health benefits. According to the scientists, the test was conducted with rice of low quality, which still showed a 12 percent reduction in calories. With better quality rice, a 50 to 60 percent reduction in calories can be expected.

Rice doesn’t have to be bad if you cook it the right way. Follow the method suggested in this post and embrace healthfulness!

Tell us how this post has helped you. Do comment in the box given below.

Was this article helpful?
thumbsupthumbsdown
The following two tabs change content below.

Latest Articles