Put the rice in a bowl, cover it with cold water, and gently swirl it with your hand. You’ll see the water turn cloudy – that’s excess surface starch.
Drain and repeat 2–3 times, until the water looks mostly clear (it doesn’t have to be perfect).
Don’t scrub the rice and don’t wash it under a running tap – you want to clean it, not break the grains.
Washing rice properly helps it cook lighter, fluffier, and less sticky, especially for fried rice and everyday steamed rice.