Indian expert advises soaking rice before cooking rice: Unexpected benefits and 4 steps to soak rice properly

Soak rice or not soak rice is a controversial question on many forums.

In September 2020, a culinary journalist wrote about the benefits of soaking rice on the Huffington Post. Journalist Amrita Amesur said that as an Indian who has eaten rice since she was a child, she was "panic" when she watched others "throw the rice straight into the pot" without washing and soaking the rice.

Therefore, she has compiled the opinions of leading experts on this issue.

Soaking rice before cooking helps the digestive system absorb vitamins and minerals from rice better.

Should rice be soaked before cooking?

According to the famous Indian nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar, soaking rice before cooking will help the digestive process. In other words, soaking rice before cooking helps the digestive system absorb vitamins and minerals from rice better. Rice after soaking also ripens faster and blooms more beautifully.

Phytic acid is a natural substance that reduces the body's ability to absorb iron, zinc, and calcium. This substance is found in particularly high concentrations in nuts, grains, and legumes.

"Phytic acid is found in plants, storing phosphorus in seeds," macrobiotic nutritionist and chef Shonali Sabherwal, who was recognized by Vogue India as the best nutritionist of 2020, tells Huffington Post.

"Phytic acid prevents mineral absorption and soaking rice in water removes phytic acid. People with zinc and iron deficiency need to be more careful with this substance," added Sabherwal.

Therefore, Sabherwal advises readers to soak rice before cooking to enhance its nutrition . Soaking rice has been shown to be effective in reducing phytic acid and increasing the bioaccessibility of zinc and iron (from grains), experts say.

Soaking rice not only provides good nutrition but also makes the rice more delicious.

Marina Balakrishnan, a chef in Mumbai, says that cereals are only truly cooked to perfection if they are soaked in water long enough.

"Soaking the rice speeds up the cooking process, the grains absorb water and heat better, and thus, softer," explains Balakrishnan .

According to Balakrishnan, whole grain rice, brown rice, black glutinous rice and dragon's blood rice are special types of rice that should be soaked to get a supple texture.

Rice soaking time

There are many different types of rice and many ways to cook rice in each culture. Rice types have different shapes and sizes (long grain, medium grain or short grain), starch and fiber content is also different. And rice is also used in different recipes to achieve consistent texture and flavor results.

Each type of rice needs to be soaked for a different amount of time.

It is these factors that determine the amount of water needed to cook the rice, the time it takes to soak the rice, and the cooking time. Based on the type of rice and depending on the cooking needs, the ideal soaking time could be from 15 minutes to 12 hours, according to experts.

Each type of rice and each recipe requires specific instructions, but in general this is the ideal time to soak rice, according to Indian experts:

• Whole grain rice: soak 6-12 hours
• Polished brown rice: soak 4-6 hours
• Thai sticky rice: soak overnight
• Basmati Rice, Jasmine Rice: Soak 15-30 minutes, unless the recipe specifically recommends otherwise
• Short grain arborio rice: Do not soak
• Polished regular white rice: soak 0-15 minutes (recommended but not required)

4 steps to soak rice

Soaking rice is a fairly simple task in the process of cooking rice. Here are 4 steps to soak rice, as advised by cooking website Minimalist Baker.

• Step 1 : Wash the rice, pick up impurities, pick up bad seeds.
• Step 2 : Put the rice in a bowl or pot, pour in twice the amount of water (for every 1 cup of rice, take 2-3 cups of water).
• Step 3 : Soak rice for recommended time, without lid, leave at room temperature.
• Step 4 : Pour out the water to soak the rice and rinse again if desired.

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