Cooked rice
Rice grains softened by cooking in water or another liquid. It is eaten as a staple food and used as an ingredient in dishes around the world.
Starch gelatinization: The process in which heated starch granules absorb water, swell, and lose their ordered structure. It softens rice grains as heat and water make their starch swell.
Rice: The edible seeds of grasses in the genus Oryza, cultivated as a staple crop worldwide. Cooked rice begins with these grains, whose varieties behave differently in water.
Rice porridge: A dish made by simmering rice in abundant liquid until it becomes soft and spoonable. Long cooking in excess liquid turns rice into a smooth, comforting meal.
Boiled rice: Rice cooked in water until tender, with excess water drained when the method calls for it. It is a common water-based method, though the term can imply a particular cooking approach.
Amylose: A mostly linear starch molecule made of glucose units linked mainly by α-1,4 bonds. Its proportion helps determine whether cooked rice is separate and firm or cohesive.
Rice grain: The seed of a rice plant, consisting of an outer bran layer, germ, and starchy endosperm. Its endosperm supplies most of the starch that swells during cooking.
Fried rice: A dish of cooked rice stir-fried with ingredients such as vegetables, eggs, or meat. Chilled cooked grains are often fried because they separate readily in the pan.
Steamed rice: Rice cooked primarily by steam, often after soaking or partial boiling. Steam cooking can yield grains with a texture distinct from rice simmered in measured water.
Amylopectin: A highly branched starch molecule made of glucose units. Its abundance contributes to the stickiness of many cooked rice varieties.
Jasmine rice: An aromatic long-grain rice variety associated with Thailand and neighboring regions. Its fragrance and soft, slightly sticky texture make it a common cooked-rice variety.