Cooking rice should be straightforward, as it typically requires only rice and water. However, that isn't the case for many, as small mistakes can lead to the cooking method completely failing.

When it comes to making rice, the ratio between the quantity of rice and water is absolutely crucial, along with the heat that cooks the rice at various points of the process, and how long you cook it for. Under or overcooking it can leave you with rice that is completely ruined in taste and texture, and often people find themselves with sticky, mushy rice as a result of trying hard to avoid undercooking the side dish.

That being said, home chefs can easily prepare rice that comes out perfect if they avoid one common mistake.

Even when you have the correct quantity of rice and water, your rice can still come out mushy, and that's because of the amount of heat that is used. Using more heat to get the water boiled faster might sound like a good idea, but actually, that is the very thing ruining your rice, according to Linda, the founder of the food blog The Wanderlust Kitchen.

Linda warned in her method for rice to "make sure not to turn the heat up to get it to boil faster, as this will make the rice mushy".

Fortunately, she didn't just leave home chefs with the caution, but actually revealed her method for perfect rice.

Step 1

Measure out 1 1/2 cups of uncooked rice and pour it into a medium saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Go to the sink and run room-temperature water over the rice until it covers the rice by about an inch. Use your fingers to swirl the rice and water in the pan.

Step 2

Pour the contents of the pot (both rice and water) into a fine mesh strainer to let the water drain off. Return the wet rice to the pan, add room-temperature water where it covers the rice by an inch, swirl again, and drain again. Repeat that process one more time, and you're good to go.

Step 3

Once you've finished, draining the rice, return the rice to the pot. Then measure 2 1/4 cups of water and add it to the pot. Stir the rice as you add in the water, but do NOT stir it again once you've turned the heat on - ever.

Step 4

Set the pot on your stovetop and turn the burner on to medium heat. Wait patiently as it comes to a boil. Make sure not to turn the heat up to get it to boil faster, as this will make the rice mushy. Once it comes to a boil, keep an eye on it and wait until the water level dips below the level of the rice, showing a few mounds of rice peeking out above the water.

Step 5

Once the water level dips below the rice, turn the heat down to the lowest setting possible. Lay the kitchen towel over the top of the pot, then put the lid on the pot and ensure the whole thing is as sealed up as it can be. The towel absorbs the condensation coming off the rice as it steams, preventing it from "raining" back down onto the top of the rice, which would make it soggy.

Step 6

Bring the edges of the towel up and twist around the handle of the lid so they aren't dangling down near the stove burner or heating element, as you don't want the towel to catch on fire.

Step 7

Set a timer for 15 minutes and don't mess with the towel or the lid.

Step 8

Once that timer goes off, turn the heat off entirely and let the rice sit for 10 more minutes before taking off the lid and towel.

Step 9

After 10 minutes, remove the lid and towel and fluff the rice with a fork. Serve hot.