Dad, I still love rice even now

My father loves to cook.

When I was a child, my father would cook on his days off because he came home late on weekdays.

Breakfast was muffins packed with ingredients. Lunch was yakisoba loaded with vegetables. Dinner was our family's signature white fried chicken.

My father taught me how to make things like fried eggs and a slightly elaborate salmon cream spaghetti.

What I can't forget is the time he taught me how to cook rice.

I became captivated by the sensation of washing the rice with a firm, squeezing motion, and I accidentally washed it too much.

The soaked rice grains broke apart, and if I had cooked them as they were, they would have turned into something like porridge...

...I realized that had happened when I saw my father secretly stop the rice cooker and reduce the amount of water.

Thanks to my father, the rice was cooked perfectly fluffy. My mother and sister also ate the "rice I cooked for the first time," saying how delicious it was.

The "rice I cooked for the first time" was cooked through my father's love, as he didn't want to hurt my feelings.

That is why, when I moved out to live on my own, even though I chose a room without a stove, I made sure to bring my rice cooker with me.

I still love rice even now.

As for whether I've gotten better at washing it since then...

Dad, you know...

I've stopped washing my rice!!!

It's not pre-washed rice or anything like that.
It's regular rice that's supposed to be washed.
If you cook it without washing, it turns out with just the right al dente firmness.

#WhatAreYouTalkingAbout

The steps for cooking al dente rice are as follows.

Cooking 2 cups is best.
First, put 2 cups of rice into the rice cooker's inner pot.

Next, adding about 1.5 tablespoons of mixed grains gives it a nice touch.

Finally, you add water, and the amount of water needed for 2 cups of rice is generally the same volume as the rice (2 cups).

When measuring this water with a measuring cup, make it about 1 to 2 millimeters below the brim.

You might feel like the volume of water changes depending on the cup, but since I'm just guessing every time, guessing is fine.

With this, use the "quick cook" setting!

After about 30 minutes, your al dente rice is done.
It gets hard if you leave it overnight, but if you have some ochazuke seasoning, that's no problem.

My husband also likes the al dente rice.
He is also working hard every day to learn how to cook the same kind of al dente rice.

So, while the taste of the rice my father cooked wasn't passed down to me, thanks to the fact that he secretly reduced the water back then, I grew to love rice.

To the point where I've even come up with my own way of cooking it. (That sounds better than it is)

Al dente rice has a nice chewiness and you can really taste the sweetness of the rice, so if you don't mind firm rice, please give it a try!

#WhatAreYouTalkingAbout