Your coworker is right: boiling and draining can produce good, fluffy rice. It works much like cooking pasta. Plenty of water won’t make it mushy if you stop when it’s done and drain it. [USA Rice’s cooking guide](https://www.usarice.com/docs/default-source/thinkrice/rice-in-the-culinary-classroom/part_iii_cooking_rice.pdf?sfvrsn=1f3fd28d_10) describes this method as producing tender, separate grains.

The cooking methods differ in how they use water:

- Boiling and draining means cooking rice in plenty of water until tender, then draining it. Some released starch goes out with the water, so the grains tend to be separate and less sticky.
- Absorption cooking uses a measured amount of water in a covered pot. The rice absorbs much of it, and some evaporates. People often call this “steamed rice,” though it initially cooks directly in simmering water.
- True steaming cooks rice above boiling water, usually after soaking. Steam supplies the heat.

The rice variety matters too. Draining sticky rice won’t make it behave like basmati. With the same variety, both boiling and absorption can give excellent results. Draining generally gives looser grains; absorption retains the starch and anything you’ve added to the cooking water.

To try it, rinse some basmati and add it to a large pan of boiling water. Start checking for tenderness around 10 minutes. When it’s ready, drain it, let it stand for about five minutes, then fluff it. [Tilda’s boiling method](https://www.tilda.com/en-nz-foodservice/blog/tips-advice/secret-to-cooking-perfect-rice/)

Your concern applies when you add too much water and keep cooking until it all disappears. The rice may be badly overcooked by then. Draining lets you remove the excess water as soon as the rice is done.