Cooking Rice by Absorption

Rinse long-grain rice in a sieve until the water runs mostly clear; that removes surface starch that makes it gummy. Use 1 cup of rice to 1.5 cups of water, plus a pinch of salt. Bring it to a boil, cover, turn the heat to the lowest setting and cook 15 minutes. Then take it off the heat and leave the lid on for 10 more minutes, which finishes the grains evenly. Fluff with a fork. Don't lift the lid early to check, because the steam does half the work. Brown rice needs 2 cups of water and 40 minutes.