How to Clean Jasmine Rice

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: November 14, 2022 References Tested

Cleaning your jasmine rice might not seem like something that's super necessary, but it can actually affect the taste and texture of your rice. When rice is unwashed, it tends to be stickier and clump together. Washing your rice helps each rice grain separate as it's cooking for a fluffier texture. Rinsing your jasmine rice only takes a minute or two and can be done using a fine-mesh strainer or a bowl, leaving you with tasty rice.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Rinsing the Rice in a Strainer

1
Pour your rice into a fine-mesh strainer. Measure out however much rice you’d like to use and add it into a fine-mesh strainer. It’s important for the strainer to be fine-mesh so that the grains of rice don’t fall through.^{[1]
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- 1 cup (225 g) of jasmine rice is usually a good amount to begin with.
2
Place the strainer under cold running water and swirl it around. Hold the strainer full of rice under the faucet with the water turned to cold. Move the rice around with your hands gently to reach every grain.^{[2]
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- Wash your hands before handling the rice.
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3
Keep rinsing the jasmine rice for at least 30 seconds. Continue swirling the rice around in the strainer so that you remove as much starch and other impurities as possible. Clean the rice for 30 seconds to 1 minute so it’s super rinsed.^{[3]
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4
Remove the jasmine rice once the water runs clear. As you’re washing the rice, look at the color of the water that’s dripping out of the strainer. In the beginning, the water was likely cloudy, but the more you wash the rice, the clearer the water will become. Once it’s fairly clear, it’s safe to remove the rice and start cooking it.^{[4]
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- Don’t worry if the water isn’t perfectly clear—it’s still safe to eat!

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Washing Jasmine Rice in a Bowl

1
Pour your jasmine rice into a clean medium-sized bowl. Measure out the amount of rice you’d like to use and pour it into a clean bowl. Choose a bowl that’s large enough to fit the rice amount as well as double the amount of water.^{[5]
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2
Fill the bowl with clean, cold water so the rice is completely covered. Hold the bowl under the faucet and turn the water on to cold. Fill the bowl up with enough water so that there’s twice as much water as there is rice, and the rice is fully covered.^{[6]
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3
Stir the jasmine rice around in the bowl until the water is cloudy. Use your hands to move the rice around in the water. As you continue swirling the rice around, the water will get cloudy, showing you all of the starch that’s coming off of the rice grains.^{[7]
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- Wash your hands before you touch the rice.
4
Drain the bowl and refill it with water to swirl the rice around again. Pour the cloudy water out carefully and refill the bowl with clean water. Keep moving the rice round in the bowl to clean it, making sure that you try to move each grain.^{[8]
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5
Remove the rice from the water once the water is clear. Keep draining and refilling the bowl until the water stays mostly clear when you move the rice around with your hands. Once this happens, pour the rice into a fine-mesh strainer or use the lid to a pot to help you drain the bowl carefully.^{[9]
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- Once your jasmine rice is rinsed, it’s ready to be cooked!