Short-Grain Rice, Direct Absorption (with optional guoba crust)
Everyday rice the way a rice cooker would do it, in the 1.0 L container: rinse, soak, one gentle setting, and a rest with the lid on. Glossy, tender-springy grains, no standing water, nothing to watch.
Ingredients
- — All in —
- 200 g short grain rice, rinsed until the water runs clear
- 240 ml water, poured from a measuring jug
- 1.8 g salt (about ¼ tsp), spooned level
Method
- Short grain rice, its cooking water and the salt into the 1.0 L container. Stir once and level the grain under the water, then leave it to soak: set a timer for 20 minutes. The soak pre-hydrates the grain and shortens the cook — it is a step, not a suggestion.
- When it goes off, cooking lid on loose. Set the heat once: gentle — about 4 of 9 on a fitted induction hob, level 1 on a portable hob (see Heat below) — and set a timer for 30 minutes. On a plug-in portable hob, level 1 runs gentler on this pot — set the timer for 41 minutes there instead. No stirring, no peeking: that single setting takes it from cold to cooked.
- When the timer goes off, lift the lid just enough to look: the surface should be dry, with small steam holes right through it. Water still pooling? Lid back on and set a timer for 4 minutes.
- Heat off, lid on, and set a timer for 10 minutes — the rest finishes the cook, and skipping it is why grains disappoint.
- When it goes off, fluff with a fork and serve from the container.
- To reheat from the fridge: storage lid off, sprinkle 2 tablespoons of water over the grain, cooking lid on loose, onto a gentle heat — about 5 of 9 on a fitted induction hob, level 2 on a portable hob. Set a timer for 6 minutes; when it goes off, fluff with a fork and give it 2 minutes more if it is not steaming hot right through.
Heat
| Stage | Heat into the pan | Induction hob (settings 1–9) | Portable induction hob | What to look for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cook — one setting, cold to cooked | about 78–130 W (gentle, steady) | about 4 of 9 | level 1 (the 114 W setting) | it comes up quietly, then the surface goes dry with steam holes |
| Reheat from the fridge | gentle | about 4 of 9 | level 1 (the 114 W setting) | steaming hot right through |
Hob settings are not standard — the same number means different heat on different hobs. The power figures show how hard the pan is actually being heated. The settings shown are for a typical fitted induction hob with settings 1–9, and for a plug-in portable induction hob with power settings. Go by what you see in the pan, then remember the setting that gave it on your own hob.
Cook’s checks
- Surface dry with steam holes; no water pooling; grains tender after the rest.
- Water still pooling at the timer: lid back on, 4 more minutes. Dry but firm after the rest: 30 ml boiling water, lid on, 5 minutes off the heat.
- Cook with the cooking lid loose or vented; never heat with a friction-fit storage lid sealed. Container and lid get very hot — cloth or oven gloves.
- Test Kitchen recipes are created by our recipe creation team and are awaiting our kitchen team to capture the recipe's visual representation.
Nutrition
| Serving | Calories | Protein | Fat | Saturates | Carbohydrate | Sugars | Fibre | Salt / sodium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 347 kcal | 6 g | 1 g | 0.1 g | 79 g | 0.0 g | 0.0 g | 0.4 g sodium (0.9 g salt) |
Nutrition information is provided for general reference only. Values are estimates based on typical ingredient data and will vary with brands, cuts, portion sizes and preparation. They are not intended as precise nutritional, dietary or medical guidance.