Cooking rice can be considered a science.
It also can be considered an art.
Both of them compose the two sides of a coin. However, particular distinctions make cooking rice a science and, separately, an art.
It is a science that employs basic concepts of chemistry, thermodynamics, and physics to come up with a bowl fit for our satisfaction.
It is an art for it grants the user creative freedom to utilize their learned skills—which they may have garnered through experience, study, or observation—to produce a serving marked with refined finesse.
Because of this, countless individuals throughout the years have transformed this humble grain into a constant fixture of their meals. They have even come up with various innovative methods to cook this complex food staple.
Although technology has rendered the process of cooking rice to be easier and more accessible than ever, we all can agree that we have messed up preparing it at some point in our lives—either coming out as wet, mushy, or salty.
If you are reading this article because you are looking for answers on how to fix wet rice, how to fix mushy rice, or how to fix salty rice, then this might just be for you.
How to Fix Wet Rice
So what is the answer to the question “how to fix rice that is too wet?”
Well, the rice is too wet because of one thing: water—excess water.
Because of this, there are two possible scenarios that you might be dealing with: your rice is already cooked, but it is too watery, or you are halfway to cooking it, and you realize that you may have messed up the rice-to-water ratio.
How to Fix Wet Rice When Your Rice Is Already Cooked
To salvage your cup of carbohydrates, you might need to bake somewhat.
Lay a parchment paper on a clean baking sheet and spread your wet rice there. Then, place the baking sheet in the oven with the heat on “low range.”
Make sure to check in intervals whether the rice is already moisture-free. If so, turn off the oven and leave the rice to rest for a minimum of two minutes. Bring it out of the oven afterward and serve.
How to Fix Wet Rice When Your Rice Is Still Cooking
In this scenario, if your rice is still simmering and not yet fully cooked, the best thing to rescue it is to remove the container from the stove and drain the remaining water slowly from the pot.
After this, you can return the pot to the stove and set the flame to low. Additionally, leave the pot uncovered to stimulate the heightened evaporation of the remaining excess water that may still be in your rice.
Once checking that your rice has dried to your standards, put out the flame and let the pot rest for a minute. It is ready to serve afterward.
This can also answer the question, “how to fix wet rice in a rice cooker?”
But if you want a more specific way of salvaging your rice when you are preparing it in a rice cooker, just uncover the pot and let the rice cook so that the evaporation process hastens.
Just make sure that the button of your rice cooker is set to the right temperature.
How to Fix Mushy Rice
A quick explanation on why poorly cooked rice becomes mushy can be traced to two possibilities: cooking with the incorrect amount of water or cooking it for too long that it becomes overcooked.
How to Fix Mushy Rice In A Rice Cooker?
Immediately stop cooking your rice if you happen to see it getting dry from possible overcooking.
If there is remaining water, drain it from the rice cooker and just let the rice rest for at least 10 minutes.
If it is overcooked to the point that the rice has absorbed all the water, in turn becoming mushy, scoop out the rice from the cooker and gently spread it evenly on a flat surface. You can then dry it with a fan. However, the rice is not hot anymore for eating.
There is also a way on how to fix mushy rice with salt: all you need is to put a handful of it in a sauce bowl and put it inside the pot for 10-15 minutes so that it can absorb the excess water.
I’m a brown rice eater…
If you don’t know how to fix mushy brown rice, rest assured that the surefire way of salvaging it is to cook it the right way.
Observe the 1:6 ratio (one part rice, six parts water) to avoid having mushy brown rice. All you need to do is to add the rice to the boiling water of an uncovered pot. Make sure to maintain a steady boil for 30 minutes.
After the 30-minute mark, drain the cooking water and return the rice to the pot to let it rest for 10 minutes.
How to Fix Mushy Fried Rice
Whereas steamed mushy rice can be salvageable through various means, how to fix mushy fried rice can be tricky and challenging. In other words, you have limited means to fix it exactly.
For starters, many people admit that trying to save your mushy fried rice is an unfortunate chore—you basically cannot keep it as much as you can. After all, a bowl of mushy fried rice only becomes one of the rice you are frying is already mushy.
But you can avoid this by refrigerating your rice, preferably overnight, and finally frying it in the morning. This is so that the remaining moisture on your rice will be dried out first.
Moreover, some forums discuss the possibility of salvaging your mushy fried rice by adding more oil to it. Because if you want to fry hot, you need a higher smoke point. If the rice is not popping in the skillet, that simply means that the oil is not hot enough.
How to Fix Salty Rice
Some people like their rice to be somewhat flavored. Hence, they usually add salt.
But sometimes, one can add too much salt while preparing rice, rendering it a little saltier than usual.
If your rice is still simmering, you can drain the salty boiling water and refill the pot with fresh unsalted water. From there, you can finish cooking the rice to your desired quality.
You can also add a raw potato to your rice while it’s simmering in the rice cooker. The potato’s high starch content can act as a sponge to absorb the excess salt on your pot. Once the potato is cooked, remove it, and voila! You can serve it.
How to Fix Salty Fried Rice?
Salty fried rice can be alleviated by adding more rice, which will lessen the saltiness because it is now distributed thoroughly.
You can also directly add raw eggs into your fried rice, as the eggs will coat the rice when you finish frying it. Because of this, the saltiness of your fried rice can be lessened.
