Put the rice in the pot and cover with plenty of cold or room temp water. Swish the rice around with your hands until the water is very cloudy. Pour off most of the water. Repeat, but this time, pour off as much water as you can. If you have a sturdy sieve, you can place the bottom of the sieve over the pot so you can pour the water out easily without losing your rice to the sink. If making fried rice, rinse the rice 4-5 times until the water runs clear.

Add a measured amount of room temp water to the rice (see tips above for how much water). If you have a clear pot lid, put the lid on now and bring to a simmer over medium heat. If your pot lid isn't clear, leave the lid off for now so you can see when it reaches a simmer. If you're in a hurry, you can put it on high heat so it will simmer faster, but keep an eye on it cuz it can boil over if you're not paying attention!

Once it comes to a simmer, turn the heat down to maintain a very gentle simmer. Let the rice cook, undisturbed, for 15-20 minutes or until it is done. Keeping the heat low will prevent your rice from burning on the bottom in case you let it go for too long.

Once the rice looks done (it's still, no bubbling, it's fluffy), check that the bottom of the pot is dry by inserting a rubber spatula along the side of the pot so you can see if the bottom of the pot is dry. Once it's dry, taste the rice to see if it's good. If the bottom of the pot is dry, but the rice is still crunchy, it means you need to add more water. Sprinkle a little water evenly over the rice, cover, and let it cook for another 5-10 minutes.