There are many common problems in life, and many things are done every day, but mistakes can also happen. For example, even experienced chefs sometimes fail to make rice perfectly. Sometimes, if the water is not added enough, the rice will be undercooked. It is difficult to cook the undercooked rice well. So, how can we remedy undercooked rice?
All Rice is Undercooked
If all the rice is undercooked and the undercooking is not severe, you can poke a few small holes in the middle of the rice with chopsticks, directly reaching the bottom of the pot. Then add some warm water and let it simmer again. The rice will be fully cooked.
Note: When poking the holes, make sure they are evenly distributed, so that the hot steam can pass through the whole pot of rice and prevent localized undercooking.
Undercooked Layer on the Surface of the Rice
Sometimes, only the top layer of the rice is undercooked. This is mainly because there is too much rice in the pot or the heat has not reached the surface. To fix this, flip the undercooked layer to the middle or bottom layer, add a small amount of water, and simmer for a few minutes.
Localized Undercooked Areas in the Rice
If only a small portion or a few portions of the rice are undercooked while the rest is fully cooked, it may be due to uneven distribution of the rice when it was added or uneven heat distribution. In this case, the undercooked areas of the rice should be poked with a few small holes, add a small amount of warm water, and continue simmering.
Severe Undercooking of the Rice
If the rice is severely undercooked, with the inner layer still powdery or hard, it is the most difficult to remedy. No matter how you try to cook it using normal methods, it won't be fully cooked. In this case, you can crush the rice, mix it well, add an appropriate amount of boiling water, and heat it up to steam. Once it is cooked, it becomes a pot of porridge, which can still be consumed.
Recooking Undercooked Rice
When the rice is undercooked, scoop out the undercooked rice, refrigerate it in the fridge. When cooking new rice, put the new rice in the pot first with slightly more water than normal. Then, add a layer of undercooked rice on top. When it is fully cooked, it is no different from cooking new rice.
Tips and Tricks
When the rice is undercooked, do not stir the undercooked rice. Instead, add yellow wine evenly into the undercooked rice in a 10:1 ratio. Then, put the pot back on the stove and simmer with low heat. After about ten minutes, when most of the yellow wine has evaporated, the rice will no longer be undercooked. It will not only be free of wine flavor but also be especially fragrant.
