Rinsing rice, should I or shouldn’t I? Or even a soak it for a whole night before cooking it? There are countless debates about this topic. There is a reason for that. What is the truth and nonsense of rice rinsing and soaking?
I always rinse rice, except when I use it to make risotto. If you rinse rice, you rinse off the extra layer of starch. That layer often makes it sticky and ‘greasy’. I am not a fan of that and like it better when it’s washed away. With risotto, of course, you want it to be creamy and sticky. Then you shouldn’t rinse the rice. If you rinse off the starch, you also lose a lot of calories/carbs… also nice for some of us maybe…
Soaking rice has a different function. I always do that when I don’t use the rice as plain white rice. The idea is that you already open the rice to absorb other flavors. So if I use the rice for a pilav, for example, the idea is that the sauce and the flavors mix well within the rice. The soaking has done its job and the taste penetrates more easily and deeper into the grain. I soak the rice about 30-60 minutes before I start preparing it.