Traditional methods of cooking rice involve simmering it in water on the stove top, and using the exact amount of water and the precise cooking time called for in a recipe. But you can cook rice like you cook pasta, boiling the rice in an excess of water and straining it to get perfect rice every time. If you've been struggling with rice that always ends up too toasted or mushy, try a technique for cooking your rice that treats the tiny grains more like pasta noodles.

Rinse rice in a fine mesh strainer set over the sink. Rinse the rice with fresh water to remove acids left during the harvesting process and wash away starches that can make your rice sticky.

Fill a large pot with 12 cups of water and set it on the stove over high heat. Bring the water to a boil.

Pour the rice into the pot and use a wooden spoon to stir the rice once. Bring the water back to a boil and boil the mixture uncovered.

Cook brown rice for 30 minutes, and cook white rice for 18 minutes.

Set the strainer over the sink and pour the rice into the strainer, draining all of the excess water. Allow the rice to sit in the strainer for 10 seconds.

Dump the rice back into the pot, turn off the stove, put the lid on the pot and let the rice steam, undisturbed, for 10 minutes.

Open the pot, use a fork to fluff the rice and season it to taste with salt.