Rice can be deceptively difficult to cook if you don’t know what you’re doing.
It’s all too easy for the grains to go dry, gloopy or claggy if you’re not careful. But thankfully, there are tips to make the process much simpler if it’s something you struggle with.
Andy Hearnden, a Michelin-trained chef from New Zealand, recently shared the ‘knuckle’ technique that’s been used by ‘Asian grandmothers’ for decades.
On his popular Andy Cooks YouTube channel, he told his five million subscribers: “The old knuckle in the rice method. You ask Asian grandmother how much water to use in their rice and they’ll probably use this method.”
So how do you do it? Andy explained: “First step – wash your rice three times, until your water runs almost clear.” This helps to get rid of any excess starch, which should stop the grains sticking together.
The professional chef continued: “Next – put enough water in where it reaches the first knuckle on your finger. When the tip of your finger is touching the top of the rice.”
You can then throw it into a rice cooker or pan on the hob if you don’t have one of those. It really is as easy as that!
Andy explained: “But why does it work? First of all, the knuckle from here to here is roughly the same size in adults. Give or take about 10%.
“But really it’s all about two things – absorption or evaporation. The water on top of the rice is for evaporation, the water around the rice is for absorption.”
Andy added: “If you’re doubling the amount of rice in your rice cooker, you’re also doubling the amount of space between the rice. This will take into account all that extra liquid you’re going to need for the absorption part of the cooking.
“Not the evaporation part. The amount of water that evaporates, it always happens to coincide with the same amount of water that it is between the tip of your finger and the top of your knuckle.
“So there you go, the knuckle method is the simple way to get perfect rice every time.”
Andy’s viral video has garnered more than 2.3 million views and 116,000 likes – and it’s safe to say many have found it helpful.
One wrote: “I’ve used this method for years after learning it. I find that it works every time but never really gave it much thought as to why it works. Thanks for the great explanation.”
Another said: “Learned something new today. Thank you. I always wondered how. Now I know.” And a third added: “Legit. Done it for years and literally did learn it from an Asian grandma.”
