5 steps to: The perfect rice

Half a cup per person is usually the right amount. Tip: leftover rice freezes excellently and when defrosted is perfect for a quick weeknight supper of Spicy Nasi Goreng (a Thai fried rice) 

For every 1 portion of rice, add two portions of boiling water – so, for every ½ a cup of rice, add 1 cup of water. For example, if you’re cooking rice for four people, that would be 4 x ½ cups of rice (2 cups of rice in total) and 8 x ½ cups of water (4 cups of water in total).

Tip the rice into a pot, followed by the water, ½ a teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of butter. Bring this back to the boil over a high heat.

Once the liquid has come back to the boil, turn the heat down to medium and let it cook for 8 minutes.

After eight minutes, switch the heat off but keep the pot on the plate with the lid firmly closed for a further 10 minutes. The rice will absorb the remaining water, and the result will be perfectly fluffy and separate grains of rice.

Note: different stoves have different temperature settings, so when trying this method the first time keep a close eye on the pot to ensure that the liquid doesn’t boil over or absorb too quickly.