How do I cook rice in the microwave?
A genuinely good method rather than a compromise, once you use a big enough bowl and the two-stage power setting that stops it boiling over.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 20 min
- Read
- 3 min
- Safety
- caution
Short answer
Rice and water in a bowl at least three times the volume of the finished rice, roughly 1 part rice to 1.5 parts water, covered loosely. Full power until it boils — around 5 minutes for two portions — then medium or 50% power for 10 minutes, then stand covered for 5 minutes off. The boiling over that puts people off is entirely a bowl-size and power-level problem.
Microwaved rice is not a lesser version of hob rice. The water is absorbed by the same mechanism, nothing can catch on a base, and it is genuinely hands-off. Two things go wrong — it boils over, or it comes out unevenly — and both have simple causes.
Safety
Step by step
- Use a much bigger bowl than looks necessary.Rice roughly triples in volume and the starchy water foams up well above that. For two portions, a bowl of at least 2 litres. Most boil-overs are a 1 litre bowl doing exactly what it was always going to do.
- Rinse if you want separate grains, then measure.Drain well after rinsing. Roughly 1 part rice to 1.5 parts water by volume for white long grain and basmati; 1 to 2 and a much longer cook for brown. Add salt now.
- Cover loosely, not tightly.A plate resting on top, or a lid set ajar, or a microwave cover with a vent. Sealed cling film balloons and can burst, and a fully sealed lid pressurises. You want the steam contained but able to escape.
- Full power until it boils.About 4–6 minutes for two portions in an 800–900 W oven, longer for a bigger batch. Watch for the point where it is clearly bubbling. Microwave wattages differ a lot, so establish this once for your machine and remember it.
- Drop to medium power for the absorption phase.50% power for 10 minutes for white rice, 20–25 for brown. This is the step people skip, and it is what stops the foam climbing the bowl while still keeping the rice at absorption temperature. Do not stir during this phase.
- Stand covered, then fluff.Five minutes standing outside the microwave, still covered, lets the moisture even out. Then fork through. Rice that looks wet on top and dry underneath at the end of the timer is nearly always right after the stand.
- Take real care lifting the cover.There is a lot of steam under it and the bowl will be very hot. Lift the far edge away from you with a cloth, and use a cloth on both sides to move the bowl.
Tips
- Microwave rice cookers — a vented plastic pot with a lid — are inexpensive and remove the boil-over question entirely by being the right shape.
- This method scales badly upwards. Beyond about four portions the outside cooks long before the middle; use the hob or the oven for a crowd.
- Reheating cooked rice in the microwave is a separate and easier job: add a splash of water, cover, and heat until piping hot throughout, stirring once.
If it doesn't work
Boiled over across the turntable
Cause: Bowl too small, or left on full power for the whole cook — Fix: Bigger bowl, and drop to 50% power once it boils.
Dry and hard on top, wet underneath
Cause: Not enough standing time, or cover too loose so steam escaped — Fix: Cover properly and always stand for five minutes before judging it.
Cooked at the edges, raw in the centre
Cause: Too large a batch for the microwave, or no turntable rotation — Fix: Cook smaller batches, and use a round bowl rather than a square dish.
Questions people ask
Is microwaved rice as good as hob rice?
For plain long grain and basmati, yes, and it is more forgiving because nothing can catch. For anything where you want a browned base or a pilaf built in the pan, the hob wins.
Do the pouches of microwave rice work the same way?
No — those are already cooked and commercially sterilised, and you are only reheating them. Two minutes in the pouch is heating, not cooking.