Rice with milk

Use short-grain pudding rice: its starch thickens the milk and gives a soft, creamy texture. Don’t rinse it first, or you’ll wash away some of that starch.

Cook it gently in a heavy-based pan, stirring often and scraping the bottom and corners with a wooden spoon. Keep the milk at a low simmer rather than letting it boil hard; add a splash more milk if it thickens before the rice is tender.

Yes. Put cooked rice in a pan with milk and simmer gently for about 15–20 minutes, stirring often, until creamy. It won’t release as much starch as uncooked pudding rice, so mash a little against the side of the pan if you want it thicker.

Simmer it with a strip of lemon or orange zest, a split vanilla pod or a cinnamon stick, then remove the flavouring before serving. Ground cinnamon, grated nutmeg, jam or stewed fruit also work well on top.

Cool it quickly, transfer it to a covered container and refrigerate within two hours. Eat it within one day; reheat only once, stirring until it is steaming hot throughout, and add a little milk if it has become too thick.

Yes. Oat or soya drink makes a creamy version; simmer gently and stir frequently, as plant drinks can catch on the pan too. Choose an unsweetened one if you want to control the sweetness.

They are similar, but rice with milk is usually a sweet, thick pudding made with milk and pudding rice, while rice porridge is often looser and may be made with water or a mix of water and milk. Rice porridge has 86 kcal per 100 g, compared with 92 kcal in rice with milk.