throughout the grains and heating them enough to gelate and soften the starch granules Indian cooks boil the rice in an excess of water that’s poured off when the rice is done, so the grains end up intact and separate Chinese and Japanese cooks boil rice with just enough water to moisten and cook it through in a closed pot, which produces a mass of grains that cling together and are easily eaten with chopsticks Where rice has always been an everyday staff of life, through much of East Asia, it’s usually prepared simply in water, and judged by the intactness of its grains and their whiteness, gloss, tenderness, and flavor Where rice was more unusual and even a luxury, in central Asia, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean, it’s often enriched with broths, oils, butter, and other ingredients to make such dishes as pilafs, risottos, and paellas Iranians, perhaps the most sophisticated rice cooks, make polo by partly boiling long-grain rice in excess water, layering it with a variety of cooked meats, vegetables, dried fruits, and nuts, then gently steaming to finish the cooking, and managing the heat so that a brown crust of rice, the prized tahdig, forms at the bottom Rinsing and Soaking An initial rinsing of the dry rice removes surface starch and thus a source of added stickiness Some rices, notably basmatis and Japanese varieties, are either soaked in water or allowed to rest for 20–30 minutes after washing; they thus absorb some water, which will speed the subsequent cooking Brown and wild rices can be treated similarly After Cooking: Resting, Reheating Once cooked, rice benefits from a resting period to allow the grains to cool down somewhat and become firmer, so that they aren’t as easily broken when scooped from the pot and served Leftover rice is often hard due to the retrogradation of the starch, which is cured by ... allow the grains to cool down somewhat and become firmer, so that they aren’t as easily broken when scooped from the pot and served Leftover rice is often hard due to the retrogradation of the starch, which is cured by... variety of cooked meats, vegetables, dried fruits, and nuts, then gently steaming to finish the cooking, and managing the heat so that a brown crust of rice, the prized tahdig, forms at the bottom... prized tahdig, forms at the bottom Rinsing and Soaking An initial rinsing of the dry rice removes surface starch and thus a source of added stickiness Some rices, notably basmatis and Japanese varieties, are either soaked