Why drain soaked rice?

Draining soaked rice helps it cook better and taste nicer.

When you soak rice in water, the grains drink up some of the water, but they don’t want to be swimming in a pool, they want to be cooked like little happy bubbles. If you leave all that extra water around, the rice might get too wet and turn into a mushy pile instead of fluffy bits.

Draining soaked rice is like giving it a nice shower before cooking. You let the water go away so the rice can be happy and light when you cook it. Just like how you feel better after drying off after a bath, the rice feels better after draining, it gets fluffier and tastier.

Think of it like this: if your favorite snack is chips, you wouldn’t want to eat them while they’re still wet from being soaked in water, you’d want them crispy and dry! That’s what drained rice wants to be too.