How do I make brown rice taste good??

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  • SanteMulberry
    SanteMulberry Posts: 3,202 Member
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    If you've switch from white rice, switch back. No point eating something you don't like. Basmati and jasmine are two staples for me and they take on flavor easily.


    So comforting to read this ^. I too just don't like brown rice and would rather not eat it. I needed to hear having my jasmine rice is okay :)

    There is evidence that white rice is just as nourishing (if not more so) than brown rice. Has to do with the phytic acid in the brown rice blocking the uptake of minerals in the gut. All those orientals developed polished white rice for a reason, it seems. Now, when rice is all that you are eating (such as they did in famines) you could get a nasty case of beri-beri (from a deficiency of B vitamins). But anyone with a normally varied diet is going to get their B vitamins from lots of other foods--so no worry. :smile:
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
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    From Alan Aragon
    White rice actually has an equal or better nutritional yield & also has a better nitrogen-retentive effect than brown rice. This is because the fiber & phytate content of brown rice act as antinutrients, reducing the bioavailability of the micronutrients it contains. Since no one is reading the fricking link, I'll just lay things out here:

    Comparison of the nutritional value between brown rice and white rice

    Callegaro Mda D, Tirapegui J. Arq Gastroenterol. 1996 Oct-Dec;33(4):225-31.

    Cereals are considered an important source of nutrients both in human and animal nourishment. In this paper nutritional value of brown rice is compared to that of white rice in relation to nutrients. Results show that despite higher nutrients contents of brown rice compared to white rice, experimental data does not provide evidence that the brown rice diet is better than the diet based on white rice. Possible antinutritional factors present in brown rice have adverse effects on bioavailability of this cereal nutrients.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9302338

    Effects of brown rice on apparent digestibility and balance of nutrients in young men on low protein diets

    J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 1987 Jun;33(3):207-18. .Miyoshi H, Okuda T, Okuda K, Koishi H.

    The effect of brown rice with low protein intake was studied in five healthy young men. Feces were weighed, the digestibility of nutrients was determined, and blood tests were made. Each subject followed a diet consisting mainly of polished rice for 14 days and one consisting mainly of brown rice for 8 days. Both diets contained 0.5 g protein per kg of body weight. The brown rice diet had 3 times as much dietary fiber as the polished rice diet. On the brown rice diet, fecal weight increased, and apparent digestibility of energy, protein, and fat decreased, as did the absorption rates of Na, K, and P. The nitrogen balance was negative on both diets, but more negative on the brown rice diet. The phosphorus balance on the brown rice diet was significantly negative, but other minerals were not affected by the diet. The levels of cholesterol and minerals in the plasma were not significantly different on the polished rice diet and the brown rice diet. Comparing these results with data on standard protein intake (Miyoshi, H. et al (1986) J. Nutr. Sci. Vitaminol., 32, 581-589.), we concluded that brown rice reduced protein digestibility and nitrogen balance.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2822877
  • Stormi06
    Stormi06 Posts: 1
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    Try browning some onions and garlic and grating in some fresh ginger! MMMMmm! Tastes like what you get at one of those Japanese Steak houses!!!
  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
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    Don't eat stuff you don't like.
  • SanteMulberry
    SanteMulberry Posts: 3,202 Member
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    From Alan Aragon
    White rice actually has an equal or better nutritional yield & also has a better nitrogen-retentive effect than brown rice. This is because the fiber & phytate content of brown rice act as antinutrients, reducing the bioavailability of the micronutrients it contains. Since no one is reading the fricking link, I'll just lay things out here:

    Comparison of the nutritional value between brown rice and white rice

    Callegaro Mda D, Tirapegui J. Arq Gastroenterol. 1996 Oct-Dec;33(4):225-31.

    Cereals are considered an important source of nutrients both in human and animal nourishment. In this paper nutritional value of brown rice is compared to that of white rice in relation to nutrients. Results show that despite higher nutrients contents of brown rice compared to white rice, experimental data does not provide evidence that the brown rice diet is better than the diet based on white rice. Possible antinutritional factors present in brown rice have adverse effects on bioavailability of this cereal nutrients.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9302338

    Effects of brown rice on apparent digestibility and balance of nutrients in young men on low protein diets

    J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 1987 Jun;33(3):207-18. .Miyoshi H, Okuda T, Okuda K, Koishi H.

    The effect of brown rice with low protein intake was studied in five healthy young men. Feces were weighed, the digestibility of nutrients was determined, and blood tests were made. Each subject followed a diet consisting mainly of polished rice for 14 days and one consisting mainly of brown rice for 8 days. Both diets contained 0.5 g protein per kg of body weight. The brown rice diet had 3 times as much dietary fiber as the polished rice diet. On the brown rice diet, fecal weight increased, and apparent digestibility of energy, protein, and fat decreased, as did the absorption rates of Na, K, and P. The nitrogen balance was negative on both diets, but more negative on the brown rice diet. The phosphorus balance on the brown rice diet was significantly negative, but other minerals were not affected by the diet. The levels of cholesterol and minerals in the plasma were not significantly different on the polished rice diet and the brown rice diet. Comparing these results with data on standard protein intake (Miyoshi, H. et al (1986) J. Nutr. Sci. Vitaminol., 32, 581-589.), we concluded that brown rice reduced protein digestibility and nitrogen balance.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2822877

    Yup--I read that you really need to be careful giving kids a lot of vegetable fiber because of the "anti-nutrient" factor. Ironically, we thought we were doing a good thing in going to "brown" this and that but it turns out that may be a major reason why many of us (about 85%) are magnesium deficient. :frown:
  • Rgtjax85
    Rgtjax85 Posts: 99 Member
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    I felt the same way about the taste at first. Mostly the texture is what throws me off. Honestly I just kept eating it and eating and now I am just so use to it that I like it more. Constant exposure to most foods can make you really like it more.
  • SanteMulberry
    SanteMulberry Posts: 3,202 Member
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    Don't eat stuff you don't like.

    There's something to be said for letting our appetites be our guide (except for the distortions in appetite that are produced by sugar and salt consumption). There is probably a bio-chemical reason why some foods appeal to us more at one time or another and why we lose our taste for a food that is too frequently on the menu--even if it is one of our favorites.
  • Red7Basil
    Red7Basil Posts: 36
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    I used to HATE brown rice. I'd complain and gripe every time I had it. Because brown rice is healthier, I got rid of all the white rice in my house and bought only brown rices (basmati and short grain brown rice). By doing that, I forced myself to eat the healthier brown rices. I learned to like and appreciate them to the point that white rice now tastes bland.

    When I make homemade Chinese food I cook the brown rice in a rice cooker and eat it with my meal, plain. When I make brown basmati, I eat it with homemade Indian food and I add finely diced onion, raisins, toasted whole cumin and finely diced carrot to the rice cooker.
  • RunForChai
    RunForChai Posts: 238 Member
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    Rice really isn't good for weight loss....if you can skip it, do.
  • JulieAlaska
    JulieAlaska Posts: 1
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    I eat mine with cubed chicken breast and salsa and I love it! I also like it plain with pepper. But I do agree with others who said that if you don't like it go back to white rice instead.
  • prozac5489
    prozac5489 Posts: 33
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    Brown rice does need a bit of a salt punch to help it out, IMO...but you can definitely use a lot less of it in the long run if you add the salt to the cooking water. For every 1 1/2 cups of uncooked rice, I add 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the mix. If I am making it in my rice cooker, I just add the salt directly to the water. If I'm baking it, then I also add 2 teaspoons of unsalted butter or an oil to the mix (a touch of fat saves a lot of pan scrubbing!).

    When you add the salt to the cooking water, the salt will get into each grain and perfectly season it. If you dump salt or soy sauce on after its cooked, you'll end up using tons of it and you'll have bites that are too salty and bites that are bland.

    Unsalted brown rice has about 1 mg sodium per half cup. Brown rice with salt in the ratio I mentioned above has about 126 mg sodium per half cup. That may seem like a huge jump, but it's not that much sodium in the grand scheme. A half cup of canned beans has 280 mg. And just 54 grams of lunch meat has 650.
  • Lala_White
    Lala_White Posts: 52 Member
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    I have in the past, thrown the brown rice in the rice cooker, added the water (sometimes chicken broth), spices, AND the chicken breast and then steamed it all together. Doesn't taste too bad...

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  • Beezil
    Beezil Posts: 1,677 Member
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    I love it with just butter on it, personally. But I just prefer the taste of brown rice to white. I also eat it with tuna and olive oil sometimes. Yum. :)
  • herblackwings39
    herblackwings39 Posts: 3,930 Member
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    I make my brown rice with low sodium chicken stock or veggie broth instead of water. I also throw in tomatoes, hot peppers, corn, and black beans occasionally for a fiesta kinda of dish.
  • Siege_Tank
    Siege_Tank Posts: 781 Member
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    Rice really isn't good for weight loss....if you can skip it, do.

    what?

    If it fits your macros.

    now stop raining on my white rice parade!
  • Thena81
    Thena81 Posts: 1,265 Member
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    i cook mine in a fat free chicken broth along with water. add mc cormicks sea salt grinder with garlic n parsley and some sauteed onions n peppers

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