Rice-to-Water Ratio Chart | How Much Water for 1 to 5 Cups (Gō) of Rice in a Rice Cooker, Clay Pot, Saucepan or Pressure Cooker

The short answer: about 200 mL of water per gō of white rice, about 215 mL in a clay pot or saucepan

In Japan rice is measured in gō: one gō is 180 mL, which is exactly the plastic cup that comes with a rice cooker. For white rice, the guideline in a rice cooker is 1.1 times the volume of the rice after it has been washed and drained in a sieve. For 1 gō that is 180 × 1.1 = 198 mL, or about 200 mL. A clay pot (donabe) or saucepan lets steam escape through the gap under the lid, so it needs 10% more, 1.2 times. A pressure cooker loses almost no steam, so it needs 1.0 times.

• Rice cooker: 1 gō about 200 mL, 2 gō about 395 mL, 3 gō about 595 mL (1.1 times the rice volume)
• Clay pot or saucepan: 1 gō about 215 mL, 2 gō about 430 mL, 3 gō about 650 mL (1.2 times)
• Pressure cooker: 1 gō 180 mL, 2 gō 360 mL, 3 gō 540 mL (1.0 times)
• Wash-free rice: 18 mL (a little over 1 tablespoon) more per gō. New-crop rice: 15 mL (1 tablespoon) less per gō
• Brown rice: 1.5 times in a rice cooker (about 540 mL for 2 gō). Glutinous rice: 0.85 times in a rice cooker (about 305 mL for 2 gō)
• Firmer or softer: take away or add 15 mL (1 tablespoon) per gō

Because 1 mL of water weighs 1 g, you do not need a measuring cup: put the inner bowl or pot on a kitchen scale, zero it, and pour in water until it reads 395 g for 2 gō. If the inner bowl of your rice cooker has water lines, following those lines is the most reliable method. The figures in this article are for when you cannot use the lines, when you cook in a pot, or when you cook a different kind of rice or dish than usual.

The basics: why 1.1 times, and why it changes with the cooking method

Cooked rice weighs about 2.2 times as much as the raw rice. One gō of white rice (about 150 g) becomes about 330 g. The extra 180 g or so is water absorbed by the rice, and the water you add is that amount plus whatever escapes as steam during cooking.

Rice also absorbs about 10% of its weight in water while it is being washed. Dry rice needs about 1.2 times its volume in water in total, and roughly a tenth of that has already been taken up during washing, so the water added to washed and drained rice is 1.1 times. By weight, 1 gō of white rice (150 g) takes about 200 g of water, roughly 1.3 times its weight.

More rice obviously needs more water, but the ratio stays the same whatever the amount. Remember 200 mL per gō and you can multiply: 3 gō is about 595 mL (198 × 3 = 594 mL). Very small amounts such as 0.5 gō in a pot lose a larger share to steam and tend to come out hard, so 1 gō or more is better when cooking in a pot.

White rice water chart | 0.5 to 5 gō by cooking method

These are the amounts of water to add to white rice that has been washed and drained, rounded to 5 mL. If you measure with a cup, check whether it is a 200 mL kitchen measuring cup or the 180 mL rice cup that comes with the rice cooker, because the number of cups differs.

If the amount of rice itself is off, the result changes even with the right water. Level off the rice cup instead of heaping it. How many mL a gō is, and how to measure 1 gō with a 200 mL cup, is covered in How many mL is 1 gō?.

Water for wash-free rice, new-crop rice, brown rice and glutinous rice

Even at the same volume, different kinds of rice absorb different amounts of water. Starting from white rice, adjust as follows. The figures are the water for 2 gō.

• Wash-free rice (musenmai): because it is not washed, add from the start the water it would have absorbed during washing (about 18 mL, a little over 1 tablespoon, per gō). Japanese wash-free rice cups (about 171 mL) are made smaller so that one level cup weighs the same as one normal cup of white rice, so rice measured with that cup takes the same water as white rice.
• New-crop rice (shinmai): freshly harvested rice holds more moisture, so use 1 tablespoon (15 mL) less per gō. Once the new year comes and the rice has dried out, go back to the normal amount.
• Brown rice: the bran layer lets water in slowly, so it needs more water and a long soak. If your rice cooker has a brown rice line or setting, use it.
• Glutinous rice (mochigome): it absorbs water easily and takes up most of what it needs while soaking, so use less than for white rice. For glutinous rice on its own (as in okowa), use 0.85 times; when mixing it with white rice, go somewhere between the two according to the proportion.

For 3 gō in a rice cooker the figures are about 595 mL for white rice, about 650 mL for wash-free rice, about 550 mL for new-crop rice and about 810 mL for brown rice. The gap between wash-free and new-crop rice (about 100 mL) is bigger than you might expect, and for wash-free new-crop rice the +18 mL and −15 mL almost cancel out.

Adjusting for firmer or softer rice

To move towards your preferred texture, 1 tablespoon (15 mL) per gō is an easy step. Changing by 2 tablespoons or more at once makes the rice feel completely different, so start with 1.

• Firmer suits: fried rice, curry and rice bowls, and packed lunches (less sticky once cold)
• Softer suits: small children, people who like soft rice, and rice you plan to reheat in the microwave
• Sushi rice is meant to be firm, so skip the firm/soft adjustment and use 10% less water instead (see below)

Soaking times | 30 minutes in summer, 1 to 2 hours in winter, half a day for brown rice

Soaking lets water reach the centre of each grain so the rice cooks up plump with no hard core. Rice absorbs water more slowly the colder the water is, so the same rice needs different times in different seasons.

• Wash-free rice starts absorbing later because it is not washed, so soak it a little longer than white rice.
• Leaving rice at room temperature for hours in summer can make it smell or spoil. For long soaks or when preparing the night before, put it in the fridge.
• Many rice cookers include a soaking stage in their normal programme. If you have already soaked the rice, the quick-cook setting still gives fluffy results.
• When soaking brown rice for a long time in summer, changing the water halfway helps prevent odours.

Cooking in a clay pot, saucepan or pressure cooker | Heat and timing

When you cook in a pot, the heat matters as much as the water. The basic pattern has three stages, “bring to the boil over medium heat → cook over low heat until the water is absorbed → turn off the heat and let it steam”, and you do not lift the lid while it cooks. Here is an example for 2 gō of white rice in a clay pot.

1. 1

   Wash and soak

   Wash the rice, drain it in a sieve, put it in the clay pot with about 430 mL of water and soak for 30 minutes to 2 hours depending on the season.

2. 2

   Bring to the boil over medium heat (about 10 minutes)

   Put the lid on and set it over medium heat. When steam puffs strongly from the hole or gaps in the lid and you hear bubbling, it is boiling. The time is only a guide, so move on when you see the steam.

3. 3

   Cook over low heat (about 13 minutes)

   Turn the heat right down and keep cooking without lifting the lid. When you hear faint crackling, the water has been absorbed.

4. 4

   Turn off the heat and let it steam (about 10 minutes)

   Leave it covered for 10 minutes, then fluff the rice by turning it over from the bottom with a paddle. For a crispy bottom layer, turn the heat to high for 10 to 20 seconds before the steaming stage and switch off once you hear crackling and smell a toasty aroma.

A clay pot takes longer to heat up, so it takes longer than a saucepan to reach the boil. With a pressure cooker, use high heat, turn it to low once the weight starts rocking or the pressure indicator pin rises, and after switching off wait until the pin drops before opening the lid. With any pot the times vary with your hob and the thickness of the pot, so move to the next stage based on the steam, the sound or the pin.

Water for sushi rice, seasoned mixed rice and rice with grains

For anything other than plain rice, adjust the water for the liquid added later or the grains cooked alongside. The idea is always the same: keep the total liquid the rice needs unchanged.

• Sushi rice: the sushi vinegar is mixed in afterwards, so use 10% less water. For white rice in a rice cooker that is about 180 mL for 1 gō, about 355 mL for 2, about 535 mL for 3 and about 890 mL for 5.
• Seasoned mixed rice (takikomi gohan): reduce the water by the total of the liquid seasonings such as soy sauce, sake and mirin. For 2 gō with 1.5 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 of sake and 1 of mirin (52.5 mL in total), subtract that from 395 mL to get about 345 mL.
• Mixed grains, pressed barley and mochi barley: leave the rice water as it is and add water equal to twice the weight of the grains. For 2 gō of white rice with 30 g of mochi barley, that is 395 mL + 60 mL, about 455 mL.

Add the seasonings for mixed rice after soaking, because salt makes it harder for the rice to absorb water. If you add the seasonings first and then top up with water to the line or measured total, you get the same result without subtracting. Lay the other ingredients on top of the rice without stirring them in, so the water can circulate and the rice cooks evenly. If you use a lot of ingredients that release water, such as mushrooms or Chinese cabbage, you can take away another 1 to 2 tablespoons.

How much rice to cook | Working back from people, bowls and rice balls

One gō of white rice cooks up to about 330 g. With a normal 150 g bowl that is just over 2 bowls, and with 100 g rice balls (about convenience-store size) just over 3. Divide the total you want to eat by 330 g and round up to the nearest 0.5 gō.

Ten 100 g rice balls need 1,000 g in total, and 3 gō (about 990 g) is just short, so cook 3.5 gō. Brown rice cooks up to about 2.1 times its weight (about 315 g per gō) and glutinous rice to about 1.9 times (about 285 g per gō), less than white rice, so cook a little more for the same number of people.

Measuring when the water lines are worn off or you have no cup

1. 1

   Weigh it (most reliable)

   Water is 1 mL = 1 g. Put the inner bowl or pot with the rice on a scale, zero it and pour in water to 395 g for 2 gō or 595 g for 3 gō. If you weigh the rice too, 1 gō is 150 g.

2. 2

   Use a 200 mL measuring cup

   595 mL for 3 gō is 2 cups of 200 mL plus 195 mL. With a 180 mL rice cup it is 3 cups plus 55 mL. Make sure you know which cup you are using.

3. 3

   Make up the rest with spoons

   1 tablespoon is 15 mL and 1 teaspoon is 5 mL. Measuring one cup and topping up with tablespoons keeps the error to about 5 mL.

The old “fill water to the first joint of your finger above the rice” method is handy when you always cook the same amount in the same pot. But the depth of water needed depends on the width of the pot and the amount of rice, so it drifts when either changes. When you cook an unusual amount, measuring in mL or g is more reliable.

What went wrong and how to fix it

When changing the water, the quickest route is to change one thing at a time, by 1 tablespoon. Even the same brand of rice varies in moisture with the time since milling and how it was stored, so fine-tune a little each time. Write down the “right mL” for your usual rice and method and you will not have to think about it again.

Working out the water with the rice water calculator

1. 1

   Enter the amount of rice in gō

   You can also pick 1, 2 or 3 gō with the buttons. Amounts in steps of 0.5 gō, such as 2.5 gō, work too.

2. 2

   Choose the type of rice and the method

   Choose from white, wash-free, new-crop, brown and glutinous rice, and from rice cooker, clay pot, saucepan and pressure cooker. For wash-free rice you can also say whether you used a wash-free rice cup.

3. 3

   Choose the dish, texture and season

   Choosing plain rice, sushi rice or seasoned mixed rice shows the sushi vinegar or the water after subtracting the seasonings. You can also enter the weight of grains or mochi barley.

4. 4

   Check the water and soaking time, then cook

   It shows the water to add in mL and in measuring cups, plus the soaking time, the cooked weight and the number of bowls or rice balls. For a clay pot, saucepan or pressure cooker, the step timer sounds at each stage.

The “How much should I cook?” tab works back from the number of people, the bowl size and the number of rice balls to the amount of rice to cook. To convert rice weight or water between g, mL and cups, you can also use the unit converter.

FAQ

How much water do I need for 3 gō of rice?

For white rice in a rice cooker, about 595 mL (1.1 times the 540 mL volume of the washed rice); in a clay pot or saucepan about 650 mL (1.2 times); and in a pressure cooker 540 mL (1.0 times). With a 200 mL measuring cup that is 2 cups plus 195 mL for a rice cooker. For wash-free rice measured with a normal rice cup, add 18 mL per gō for about 650 mL; for new-crop rice, take away 15 mL per gō for about 550 mL.

How much water for 2 gō of rice?

For 2 gō of white rice (about 300 g), about 395 mL in a rice cooker, about 430 mL in a clay pot or saucepan and 360 mL in a pressure cooker. With a 200 mL cup that is 1 cup plus 195 mL for a rice cooker, or 2 cups plus 35 mL with a 180 mL rice cup. For firmer rice use about 365 mL, for softer about 425 mL.

How much water and how long when cooking rice in a clay pot?

For 2 gō of white rice, about 430 mL of water. Soak for 30 minutes to 2 hours depending on the season, bring to the boil over medium heat for about 10 minutes, cook on very low heat for about 13 minutes, then turn off the heat and steam for 10 minutes. Do not lift the lid while it cooks; move to each stage by the strength of the steam and the crackling sound.

How much more water does wash-free rice need?

When measured with a normal rice cup (180 mL), add a little over 1 tablespoon (18 mL) per gō. For 2 gō that is about 430 mL instead of about 395 mL for white rice. When measured with a wash-free rice cup (about 171 mL), the cup already makes the adjustment, so use the same water as white rice. Soak it a little longer than white rice.

What is the water ratio for brown rice?

Relative to the volume of washed brown rice, use 1.5 times in a rice cooker (about 540 mL for 2 gō), 1.8 times in a clay pot or saucepan (about 650 mL for 2 gō) and 1.3 times in a pressure cooker (about 470 mL for 2 gō). The bran layer lets water in slowly, so soak it for 6 to 8 hours in summer and 12 to 18 hours in winter. If your rice cooker has a brown rice line or setting, use that first.

What happens if I cook rice without soaking it?

Water does not reach the centre of the grains, so the rice tends to keep a hard core or turn soft and sticky only on the surface. Many rice cookers include soaking time in their normal programme, so cooking straight away still gives edible rice, but white rice is plumper after soaking for 30 minutes in summer or 1 to 2 hours in winter. When cooking in a pot or clay pot, soaking is essential.