Francis Lam's Baked Rice

It may have to do with the fact that in just over 24 hours I'll be on an airplane to Paris with my girlfriends, for my first trip there since my mother and I met up in the Marais for a weekend four years ago, but I can't seem to focus on any kind of proper recipe at all right now. Instead, I'm thinking about being in Paris.

It's funny, how each time there gets sorted under a different rubric. For a long time, I associated Paris with my father, who took me there a few times in college, and who has his own ongoing love affair with the city. I lived there for a year myself, working and struggling, because despite the glorious city around me and the interesting work I had, it felt like a struggle to this then-21 year old, to be seen, to feel connected, to find a way - any way - to feel a little less alone there. I had to take a break from Paris when I left, had to banish it from my thoughts, because my experience had turned into something quite painful, a lost love haunting every memory I had of the place. But I've slowly been finding my way back, through blogs and stories and the soft passage of time. And now I'm so excited I can't sit still, can't wait to be back for a new experience this time: Paris with my girls. It's a whole new thing.

I'll be back next week with photos and stories for you, but before I go, I have to tell you about something that seriously made my week (already): Francis Lam's method for cooking rice. Embedded deep within an article he wrote for Gourmet.com were just a few short sentences that me both smile and sit up straight:

"Warm up a heavy saucepan with a tight-fitting lid over medium-high heat. Give it a few nice glugs of olive oil. Don’t be stingy. Now throw in your rice and stir it around...until...maybe half the rice has turned opaque. Pour in your water; it will probably boil immediately. If not, make it boil. Then cover it and drop it in the oven. Pull it out 13 minutes later. If you’re one of those freaky people who can cook rice perfectly on the stove, do whatever it is that you do. Weirdo."

Freaky, indeed! Who, exactly, can cook rice perfectly on the stove? Not even my 12-grade boyfriend's Iranian mother and she had, like, 5,000 years of culinary perfection in her DNA. I use Martha Stewart's method and not even that is foolproof. So, clutching my computer and feeling determined, I marched straight into the kitchen and turned the oven on.

I had an inkling about those lines of Francis's, you know, that they would somehow change my life. Some of you might scoff, but the others know what I mean, right? Yeasted doughs, homemade pasta, soufflés, caramel, the supposedly difficult achievements in the kitchen that make you feel so proud when you master them, those achievements all fall away after being confronted by yet another pot of overcooked or undercooked, slightly chewy or frustratingly soft rice. So simple in theory, yet so difficult to master.

But my inkling was right, my life changed: perfect rice, suddenly within reach. Plus, so easy, so stress-free. The oven did all the work and all I had to do was show up when the timer screeched. It was quite the mid-week surprise. We scooped out our nice grains of rice, cooked with just the right amount of moisture, and munched happily away, with plenty left over for fried rice the next night.

(The fried rice, you ask: I used Mark Bittman's recipe, which was okay, but next time I'll try something that looks more like this, or like this. Or maybe one of you has a fried rice recipe that you think I can't live without? Pretty please!)

Life-Changing Baked Rice
Serves at least 4

1 tablespoon olive oil or butter
2 cups basmati or long-grain white rice
3 cups (or 2 3/4 cups, if you like dryer grains) water
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Pour the olive oil or place the butter in a heavy saucepan with a tight-fitting lid (I used my Le Creuset soup pot) and set the pan over medium-high heat. Throw in the rice and stir it until the oil or butter coats all the grain. Cook, stirring, for a few minutes. The rice will look glassy and smell toasty.

2. Pour in the water, add the salt, and bring to a boil. Stir the rice once, then cover the pot and place in the oven. Set the timer for 13 minutes.

3. After 13 minutes, remove the pot from the oven. Do not remove the lid from the pot and let the rice rest for five minutes. After resting, fork through the rice to fluff it and serve.

Comments

[Amber]

Thanks for the tip! This is my recipe for fried rice - nothing fancy (and not the best picture), but very tasty!

http://mrsdlovestoeat.blogspot.com/2009/03/shrimp-fried-rice.html

[Adrienne]

Oh, brilliant. Thanks for the suggestion. And have a WONDERFUL time in Paris. Bring us back a croissant or two, won't you?

[Molly]

I know! Perfect rice, right? That Francis. He's good.

P.S. Have a wonderful, wonderful trip. xo

[Christine]

I saw that recipe for rice the other day! I of course didn't even think of it, even though yesterday I made overcooked rice, and my oven was already in use! rats!

Oh do try the Thai fried rice, I make it very similar to that only I'll add a smidge of curry paste if I have it, and usually add extra basil and cilantro - YUM.

[Madhu Menon]

Glad you liked my recipe. Thanks for linking to it. :)

[Chilli]

If I sound like a rice snob, forgive me, I don't mean to. But I've seen my mom turn out perfectly cooked, not-stuck-to-the-bottom rice fresh off the stove daily forever. No oil added. So I'm a little confused to see your post and realise what I considered mundane is in fact, a feat. A new reason to appreciate my mom's prodigious culinary expertise!
I can't stake the same claim because I make my rice in the microwave, simply because it frees my stove for other things. That works pretty well too. Previously used a rice cooker for the same reason but then that took up too much space on the counter; the tragedy of a small kitchen in San Francisco. The rice cooker was a bad, bad idea. Rice stuck everywhere.
My mom also sometimes made rice in a pressure cooker, with a seperate smaller vessel holding the rice and water inside the cooker. At the base of the cooker is a tiny bit of water added as well. The stovetop method yielded much softer, less starchy rice but took longer than the cooker.

Have a great time in Paris!

[maggie (p&c)]

Wow, I have never heard of doing rice this way! Brilliant.
I like that the Tigers and Strawberries blog's version of fried rice includes ground bean sauce / fermented beans. http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2009/04/09/leftover-makeover-got-extra-stir-fry-make-fried-rice/

Have a lovely, lovely trip! I hope, selfishly, that you take lots of photographs!

[Kate]

Oh! I admit (shamefacedly) that I have been buying precooked microwaveable frozen rice (which is both ridiculously overpriced and takes up room in my tiny freezer) even though I own a rice cooker, mostly because even the ricecooker burns the rice (I have the $15 model) and I'm too lazy to clean it. But this? This is brilliant. I might actually cook rice again! (Because the stove is just a no go. I made my own wedding cake and I can't cook rice).

[TheKitchenWitch]

Have a wonderful time in Paris! I can't wait to hear and see what you did, who you saw and what you ate.

I make my brown rice in the oven a'la Alton Brown's method, but I never thought about doing white rice in the oven. Will try this tonight!

[Alison]

I love, love, love rice...every which way. Yum. Here is a link to a post on my blog about fried rice. It's quick, cheap and I eat it all the time for lunch. :)
http://tiny.cc/we85l. BTW, have a fabulous time in Paris.

[thecatskillkiwi]

umm are you all going to put the HEX on me, when i fess up that i HATE rice??

[Dawn in CA]

Two things. This recipe looks amazingly simple and yummy. If it really does make perfect rice, my husband and I will be forever in your debt. Can't wait to try it.

The downside? When I saw the title of this post, I was hoping you were going to give us a great SWEET baked rice recipe. I have yet to find a rice pudding recipe (baked or otherwise) that works well for me. However, "perfect" rice may just make up for my initial disappointment. :)

I hope you have a wonderful trip to Paris!

[Anna]

I thought I was the only one who could never get rice to come out well! Now I feel better, but I usually make brown rice, so I wonder how this recipe would work for that.

[Sues]

Yumm that rice looks amazing. BUT not as amazing as all the food you're going to eat in Paris!! Have SO much fun, take lots of pics, and share all your stories when you come back!

[debbie]

Hi Luisa. I'm making fried rice for dinner tonight--just about to start cooking! This particular one is a verrrry loose version, with leftover chicken, brown rice, zucchini, carrots, broccoli, and--of all things--sauteed artichoke. I'll be writing it up & posting later, I think.

[Larin]

Try Alton Brown's Baked Brown Rice, success every time. I can do white rice on the stovetop, but baking gives me a fluffy brown rice that I adore.

[DrDomestic]

Thank you thank you! I can't wait to try the baked rice. I love cooking but I'm the WORST at rice. I even manage to mess it up in the "rice cooker". I hate the rice cooker by the way. Great tips!

[hannah]

Ah ha! That's the same method Sally Schneider advocates in a New Way to Cook. I did that for a long time but have had equal luck with a stovetop method from an early Christopher Kimball book- follow step one and two (minus turning on the oven) with a 1:2 ratio of rice:water. Turn the heat down as low as it can get once the water boils, and cover the pot. Simmer 15 minutes, turn off heat. Uncover perfect rice 10 minutes later.

Equally easy and saves me from having to turn on the oven.

[Pete at Kitchen Decanted]

Have a great time in Paris. I spent quite a while there (and met my wife there) in my late teens and adore the place. Most importantly it's the home of the best ice cream I've ever had. Home made cinnamon with little clusters of brown sugar (just round the corner from the Picasso museum).

Nice recipe above too, but I have to agree with Chilli a bit further up - I only ever cook rice on the stove top. I had no idea this was seen as the strange way to do it. The Delia method works really well - twice the volume of water to rice, bring to the boil, turn down low and cover. Never failed me yet :)

[elizabeth]

Beautiful, Luisa. Just beautiful. As you embark for Paris, know that I am thinking of you--we are making a veggie version of a croque monsieur with a simple arugula salad on a local style show tomorrow--and it's completely inspired by bar francais cusine.

Bon voyage! Cannot wait until you return!

[Honeybee]

Oooh, Paris. For the first time my husband and I went away together, we went to Paris. I discovered that we were very compatible when it came to choosing restaurants (e.g. leave immediately when you are offered a table downstairs) and I found that so reassuring.

Have a wonderful trip!!

[Madhu Menon]

But if you do want perfect rice on the stove, I have something for you on that too. :)

[Madhu Menon]

My hyperlink got swallowed. :(

http://www.shiokfood.com/notes/archives/000022.html

[Sarah]

This is fantastic - I have always struggled to cook rice. Somehow it's the simple things, like boiling rice, or poaching an egg, that still elude me. I will try this tonight.

I love Bill Granger's recipe for fried rice: lightly beat 3 eggs with a fork and a spoonful of water. Heat a tablespoon of canola oil in a wok over medium heat, add the egg, and scramble very lightly. Remove from the wok when half-cooked - the egg should still be quite runny. Wipe down the wok, then add a splash of sesame oil, 3 cups of cooked white rice, 2 finely sliced spring onions, and a cup of fresh (or frozen) blanched peas. Stir fry on high heat for a few minutes, then add egg, toss through until cooked, and serve with sweet chilli sauce.

Enjoy Paris!

[Sara]

This seems like such a simple, elegant way to make rice.

[Daily Spud]

I don't have a bad record with rice, but I am certainly willing to give this method a try!

[Tricia]

I used a recipe for baked rice in Cooks Illustrated's "New Best Recipe" that requires boiling the water before adding it to the rice, and then putting it all in the oven. This sounds simpler - I'll give it a try. Do you think it will work for brown rice?

[Arlene]

I just do what my Japanese friends do and put the rice in a rice cooker.
It is the one, absolute must-have, appliance in my cupboard.

[Mélanie]

You're lucky, the weather is just perfect right now here in Paris. We have a beautiful blue sky everyday, I just hope it will stay that way for your arrival!!!

[Mélanie]

You're lucky, the weather is just perfect right now here in Paris. We have a beautiful blue sky everyday, I just hope it will stay that way for your arrival!!!

[A Mouse Bouche]

I am SO jealous of your Paris excursion. why does it always seem you are off to some magical place? isnt there room in your suitcase? I am but a wee 5 feet...

[Francis Lam]

Hi Luisa,

You are a dear. Thank you! I'm glad the method works nicely for you. Travel well!

Cheers,
Francis.

[hannah]

I should add that as I was typing that comment about the never fail stovetop rice method... the stovetop rice I had just put on simmered over, something that hasn't happened in years. Hubris!

[Ganda]

Luisa, I hope you will post your Paris recs so I can pretend to be you when I go at the end of May!

I am going to toot my own horn and say that I cooked perfect rice on the stove today (but only after undercooking the first batch of rice).

Still, I worship at the altar of the rice cooker. Great quality rice cooker rice is just a matter of a 10+ minute soak before plugging in.

[unconfidentialcook.com]

I am absolutely dreadful at cooking rice....And, after many trips to lavish trips to Paris for work, the best trip ever was when I took my girl when she was in first grade.

[charlotte]

how are you able to travel so much? we are so jealous!

[Claudia]

I have a love affair with Paris ... and Venice ... and San Francisco... have a wonderful time. I have been challenged by fried rice and absolutely adore it - so I will be trying this. Many thanks.

[Robin]

I've been doing this for years now, and it works perfectly! I could never get rice to turn out properly until I read about this technique in Sall Scheider's "A New Way to Cook" - still one of my favourite cookbooks of all time.

[IP]

"Martha Stewart's Cooking School" has a recipe almost identical to this one... I guess she is foolproof nevertheless ;)

[klp]

My husband can make perfect basmati every time on the stove top. I don't know how he does it. He just cooks it until it's done and perfect.

I started making oven rice from Rick Bayless's gulf rice pilaf, and I've been delighted by his variations.

[Olga]

my rice cooker makes the best rice in the world!

[Marina]

Try Jaden Hair's recipe for fried rice...we love it! You can find the recipe on simplyrecipes.com or this is the direct link http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/007316shrimp_fried_rice.php
Have fun in Paris!

[Sneh]

There is something very robust and flavorful about baked rice, isn't there? I use this method to cook my Dum Biryani and it turns out delightfully exploding with a million flavors everytime.http://www.gelskitchen.com/view/recipes/rec/10254/-/

[Recipe man]

some people find cooking rice so complicated. this seems to be abit of an easier way. and looks very tasty

thanks

[Sally]

I've always cooked my rice on the stove and it might not be perfect, but it's good enough. Perfection in anything is overrated IMO.

[Rachel]

http://rasamalaysia.com/fried-rice-recipe/

...although I always double the seasonings.

[Treehouse Chef]

I love your style of writing. It is very enjoyable to read. Can't wait to hear about your trip. Thanks for the perfect rice reicpe. I will give it a try.

[Hanna]

Hmm...have any good kimchi handy? I love a good kimchi-fried rice...this link is close to what i like to make: http://www.zenkimchi.com/FoodJournal/?p=316

Have a great trip!

[Laura]

I broke down and bought a rice cooker since I was so incompetent with the stove. This is quite a lot cheaper though...have an amazing time in Paris...this is the absolute perfect time to go!

[yasmin]

wow, the way you described your return to paris...i look forward to seeing what you share when you get back! i went back recently and wish i caught you before you left to recommend you check out le timbre and le louvre ripaille.

this is my favourite way to have fried rice--very very simply: http://lesauce.typepad.com/le_sauce/rice/