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Rice will be 'fluffy every time' with 10-second restaurant trick
Reach Daily Express | June 7, 2025 7:39 AM CST

on the stove sounds easy, but for something that only requires two ingredients, it can actually be rather complicated and often goes completely wrong. Many can testify to the moments they've attempted to cook rice and have either been left with a pot full of or, even worse, completely burnt.

Once you've found the perfect rice-to-water ratio and discovered the correct heat level, there is still the risk of the rice not coming out right. However, recipe developer and cook Leah Colins has revealed a trick on the website that might just bring an end to the rice chaos.

"While I love sticky rice when it's meant to be sticky, when I'm cooking long-grain rice I want it to be fluffy and perfectly tender, with each individual cooked grain distinct, not clumped together," she writes.

But two decades ago, while she was working in restaurant kitchens, she picked up a technique that has completely made her "go-to weeknight rice routine" of cooking rice on the stovetop.

The trick in question is using a clean kitchen towel.

She added: "I learned this kitchen towel trick almost 20 years ago, and I've been using this technique at home ever since whenever I cook rice on the stovetop. It guarantees fluffy, perfectly cooked rice every time."

All you have to do is place a clean kitchen towel under the lid of the pot of cooked rice as soon as it is removed from the heat. Then place the lid back on the pot over the towel and let the rice sit without touching it for at least 10 minutes.

Once the minutes are up, go ahead and fluff the rice using a fork.

What happens is, as the rice finishes absorbing moisture and cooking off the heat, the towel traps condensation from the stream instead of letting it drip back onto the rice as it would with just the lid, which causes it to become sticky.

Leah dubbed the trick an "extra insurance policy," noting that it also works wonders for other rice dishes.

She continued: "Use it with stovetop rice pilafs, arroz con pollo, brown rice, or any other rice dish in which you want to eliminate excess moisture. It's a small extra step, but an important one to ensure perfectly cooked, well separated grains of rice that are ready to be fluffed and served.


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