Vent: I spent 3 weeks trying to figure out why my rice kept coming out mushy, and the answer was a $6 lid

Ben Campbell · 2026-09-23T22:40:04.27012+00:00

So about a month ago I decided I was done buying those little microwave rice pouches at $3 a pop and would just make rice from a bag like a normal adult. Easy enough, right? Wrong. First batch came out like paste, so I blamed the rice and bought a different brand. Same glue. Then I figured my pot was too thin, so I used my roommate's heavy one. Still sad and sticky. I read about rinsing it, soaking it, using less water, using more water, salting it, not salting it. I burned through a 5 pound bag in 3 weeks and ate a lot of bad rice, and at one point I was standing over the sink at like 11pm googling 'why is rice hard' with no shirt on. The answer turned out to be the lid. Mine didn't sit flat, so steam kept escaping and the whole thing cooked wrong the entire time. I grabbed a $6 glass lid at the restaurant supply place near me on a whim, and the very next batch came out perfect. Has anyone else chased a problem for weeks only to have it be one dumb little thing like a lid?

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Vent: I spent 3 weeks trying to figure out why my rice kept coming out mushy, and the answer was a $6 lid | Budget Friendly Meals - Pinecone Attack