If the water looked dirty or an opaque, milky white, you can repeat this process with a second bowl of water. As long as there is no dirt or pesticides in the water, you can save it to add to recipes. The most common use of starchy water is as a thickener for sauces.
The water that the rice is sitting in will get clearer after 4-5 cycles of washing.
Soaking your rice lowers the cooking time. The exact amount of time it saves depends on the type of rice and how long you soaked it, so you may need to experiment. Aromatic rices such as basmati and jasmine rice benefit from soaking in another way. The flavor components that create the aroma are destroyed by cooking, so shorter cooking times means a more aromatic final dish.
Short-grain rice is the most likely to stick together, while long-grain rice like basmati tends to cook into dry, separated grains. [4] X Research source If you want to make risotto but the rice is dirty, rinse it, then add a couple spoonfuls of homemade rice flour to the recipe. This will return the starch to the dish. [5] X Research source
Contaminants may be more likely in bulk bags of rice.
This rice is typically low in dirt and other contaminants, but it does still contain surface starch. In the United States, some enriched rice labels include a warning not to rinse the rice for this reason. If U. S. enriched rice does not have this label, you can rinse it for one minute without major loss of nutrients. [7] X Research source
