Brown rice cooking tips?

bunnypanther
bunnypanther Posts: 110
in Recipes
Any one have any?

I wanna change but white seems to cook easier! I seem to have to boil the pants off brown for hours!!!
«1

Replies

  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    Any one have any?

    I wanna change but white seems to cook easier! I seem to have to boil the pants off brown for hours!!!

    And white tastes better, so stick with that
  • arrseegee
    arrseegee Posts: 575 Member
    I usually cook brown rice for 45 mins. It is faster and easier if you can get a rice cooker.
  • Fit_Fox88
    Fit_Fox88 Posts: 410 Member
    Since you said "boil" I'm assuming you don't have a rice cooker? If you're really wanting to switch to brown I would recommend buying one... they usually come with a handy booklet for rice/water combinations. If buying one is not an option, use 1.5 cups of water for every 1 cup of dried brown rice. Bring it to a boil, turn it down and let simmer for about 25-30 minutes (depending on if you like it slightly chewy or mushier), then turn off the heat and let it sit for another 10-15 minutes. Obviously, watch it as it's simmering and test it every once in a while if you're worried you might over/under cook it.

    Edit: fixed typo
  • mgibbons22
    mgibbons22 Posts: 69 Member
    Use Minute Brown Rice. Takes less time than regular white rice and tastes pretty good.
  • paulakabrownegg
    paulakabrownegg Posts: 17 Member
    RICE COOKER!!! Just add a lil extra water for the brown rice... They got em at wal mart cheap... LOL!! i love it make cooking a lot easier.
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
    I also hate cooking brown rice. I started buying Seeds of Change Quinoa and Whole Grain Brown Rice. It comes in microwavable pouches, plus the quinoa has added protein.
  • cortezpj
    cortezpj Posts: 129 Member
    I like both white and brown rice. Agreed, brown takes longer. If you want brown rice bad enough, you'll have to wait for it.
  • erikakane214
    erikakane214 Posts: 17 Member
    I saw a recipe online and it worked like a charm:

    1 cup short, medium, or long-grain brown rice
    Kosher salt, to taste


    INSTRUCTIONS
    1. Rinse rice in a strainer under cold running water for 30 seconds. Bring 12 cups water to a boil in a large pot with a tight-fitting lid over high heat. Add the rice, stir it once, and boil, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Pour the rice into a strainer over the sink.

    2. Let the rice drain for 10 seconds, then return it to the pot, off the heat. Cover the pot and set it aside to allow the rice to steam for 10 minutes. Uncover the rice, fluff with a fork, and season with salt.

    You don't have to use 12 cups of water, I used about half of that and it still came out great! Keep in mind brown rice has a different texture then white so it won't be as soft, and feels a bit more chewy. Good luck!
  • adam_willard12
    adam_willard12 Posts: 12 Member
    Uncle Bens Brown Ready Rice (cooks in 90 sec in the microwave)
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    hours?? what are you, cooking on top of a mountain??
  • 120by30
    120by30 Posts: 217 Member
    Cooking brown rice is just as easy to me as cooking white rice. It only takes longer. I boil 2 1/2 cups of water, pour in 1 cup of brown rice and let it boil for about a minute. I give it one final stir then put a lid on and turn the heat down to low. I set my timer for 45 minutes and wait. After the time is up, I take the pot off the heat and let it sit a few minutes. Then enjoy!
  • shirleywdenham
    shirleywdenham Posts: 1
    I can't add to the other comments about how to cook it, but if taste is the issue try sautéing onions and peppers in one teaspoon of olive oil, and add to rice. I have also added mushrooms and frozen green peas. I add the peas last and let them cook until hot through. Makes a plateful with few added calories.
  • jhinds88
    jhinds88 Posts: 9 Member
    I don't have a rice cooker and I've burnt rice too many times to even count. White is def easier for me to get right. For brown I get the Kroger boil in a bag rice. Literally cooks in 10 minutes, no crunchy pieces and 1 bag is about 2 cupsish cooked. Whoever invented it is a genius in my eyes lol
  • 120by30
    120by30 Posts: 217 Member
    I can't add to the other comments about how to cook it, but if taste is the issue try sautéing onions and peppers in one teaspoon of olive oil, and add to rice. I have also added mushrooms and frozen green peas. I add the peas last and let them cook until hot through. Makes a plateful with few added calories.

    Some French onion soup mix makes a nice addition!
  • blupanda12
    blupanda12 Posts: 54 Member
    I use approximately 1.5 cups water per every cup dry brown rice. I put it all together in the pan and let it come to a boil, then cover, turn it on low, and simmer approximately 20-30 minutes until most of the water is boiled off. It takes fine like this. If I'm feeling adventurous, I use Gluten-Free chicken broth in place of the water - gives it a really nice flavor.

    We also don't eat our rice plain - we always add something, be it broth, veggies in sauce, or stir fry.

    You can make it up ahead of time and freeze in portions for the week. Unfortunately, it only keeps for a couple days in the fridge.
  • claires89
    claires89 Posts: 10 Member
    If I'm planning to have brown rice for dinner, I leave it to soak in a few cups of water all day while I'm out at work. When I get home, I just put it straight into a pan of boiling water with a pinch of salt, and it's usually ready in about 10-15 minutes. If you want it ready in time for lunch, try soaking it in boiling water but if you can leave it all day, it doesn't matter whether it's cold or hot water. Once it's soaked, it doesn't really increase in volume much more after cooking, so just make sure the bowl is big enough to hold the expanded volume of rice (and you've put enough water in) or you'll come home to half soaked rice all over your kitchen counter!
  • kayleen_longworth
    kayleen_longworth Posts: 147 Member
    Get a rice cooker - got mine at Target for about $20. Don't know what I did without it. Real rice tastes so much better than minute rice. My rice cooker takes 1 hour for brown rice (brown rice is supposed to have a little bite/texture to it) and 30 minutes for white rice. Love that mine has a delay timer so I can set it in the morning and have fresh rice waiting for me when I get home from work. I also has a keep warm feature when it's done cooking. Well worth the investment. All you do is rinse the rice, add water (the cooker will tell you how much to use), set the timer, and let it go. Can't get any simpler.
  • kayleen_longworth
    kayleen_longworth Posts: 147 Member
    If I'm planning to have brown rice for dinner, I leave it to soak in a few cups of water while I'm out at work. When I get home, I just put it straight into a pan of boiling water with a pinch of salt, and it's usually ready in about 10-15 minutes. If you want it ready in time for lunch, try soaking it in boiling water but if you can leave it all day, it doesn't matter whether it's cold or hot water. Once it's soaked, it doesn't really increase in volume much more after cooking, so just make sure the bowl in big enough to hold the expanded volume of rice (and you've put enough water in) or you'll come home to half soaked rice all over your kitchen counter!

    Rice does expand when cooked. It almost doubles, just like pasta. You use 1 cup white rice to 2 cups water. 1 cup brown rice to 1 1/2 cups water at least.
  • robertdc50
    robertdc50 Posts: 50
    I agree with several people here...a $20 rice cooker does a fine job, even 'though it still takes longer than white or jasmine rice. Also, I use half low sodium beef broth in place of water, just to add a little flavour. You can substitute any kind of juice or other flavoured liquid for water if you like.
  • thatgirlkellib
    thatgirlkellib Posts: 150 Member
    Bring water to boil, add a pinch of salt, and a whole clove of garlic..
    ...when the water is at a rolling boil, add the rice,
    hard boil for a minute or two,
    put a fitted lid on, and turn on simmer/low. for 45 mins..
    dont open the lid until the time is up..set a timer for stove top.. works perfect everytime..
    add desired spices to water upon boil if you like
  • MeadowSong
    MeadowSong Posts: 171 Member
    Oooh brown rice is SO worth it--I only eat white in my mother-in-law's Green Rice (which is FAB). I just don't care for white rice; as my father used to say, "It's about like letting the sun shine in your mouth." Get a rice cooker--very easy, and they are cheap. My favorite way to make it is with chicken broth (Swanson's) and a packet of Knorr Vegetable Soup mix, that would be with three cups of uncooked rice. I think it's 7 or 7 1/2 cups broth--look on the rice bag. Put it in the cooker and go away. Put your Chicken Enchiladas in the oven and Presto--Super Dinner! The rice will take about 45 minutes and the cooker turns itself off and keeps warm. You can make it with just water or broth just fine. Don't rinse your rice before cooking.

    If you want to make up a white rice recipe--use cooked brown rice and make adjustments. It just takes so much longer to cook that you cook most other ingredients to death--but I use cooked rice in a lot of recipes.
  • claires89
    claires89 Posts: 10 Member
    Kayleen - yes, that's what I meant. When soaking the rice all day prior to cooking, most of the expansion happens just from the soaking, especially if you use hot water, so the volume of rice in the bowl will increase significantly. Hence why you need to make sure you soak it in a big enough bowl to accommodate the larger volume of expanded rice! If it's left to soak all day, it doesn't actually expand very much more during the final cooking process. :flowerforyou:
  • AnswerintheSky
    AnswerintheSky Posts: 91
    1 cup long grain brown rice (not basmati)
    2 cups water
    NO salt (it can be added on your plate)

    Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer until water is absorbed (about 35 minutes).

    You can be getting on with preparing the rest of the meal while the brown rice is cooking!
    Enjoy!
  • Aross83
    Aross83 Posts: 936 Member
    I gave up trying to cook brown rice along time ago. If I want brown rice trader joe's sells organic brown rice packets in the freezer section. Or someitmes i will run to my local chineese food take out place and get brown rice.
  • TheRoadDog
    TheRoadDog Posts: 11,788 Member
    Cooking brown rice is just as easy to me as cooking white rice. It only takes longer. I boil 2 1/2 cups of water, pour in 1 cup of brown rice and let it boil for about a minute. I give it one final stir then put a lid on and turn the heat down to low. I set my timer for 45 minutes and wait. After the time is up, I take the pot off the heat and let it sit a few minutes. Then enjoy!
    What she said.
  • tessiebear40
    tessiebear40 Posts: 39 Member
    I cook brown rice in a large glass dish with fitted lid in the microwave. 1 cup rice, 2 cups water. Microwave for 13 mins and then leave to stand for 20 mins. Perfectly cooked every time.

    For something different, I added cumin seeds and then some frozen peas for the last 4 mins cooking time.
  • climbing_trees
    climbing_trees Posts: 726 Member
    Use broth instead of water to cook the rice!
    It took me like three years of owning and regularly using my rice cooker to figure this out... >__<
  • haroon_awan
    haroon_awan Posts: 1,208 Member
    I have never found any brown rice that tastes any where near as good as white rice and doesn't cook as quick.

    Make sure you are soaking the rice in water for at least 20 minutes.
    Rinse it until the water is clear to remove the starch.
    Use the right amount of water and follow the instructions on the pack.
    Leave the lid off as you are cooking the rice.
    When all the water has been absorbed,wrap the lid in a tea towel to protect it from drops of condensation as it steams. I've found this works great for pilau rice as it makes the rice less sticky. This is from
    www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2012/sep/27/how-to-cook-perfect-pilaf

    If you aren't doing this then.
  • tennisdude2004
    tennisdude2004 Posts: 5,609 Member
    Apart from a slightly higher fibre content in brown rice, white rice is as good or if not slightly more nutritional than brown, so stick with the white stuff (tastes better).
  • priyamvada_k
    priyamvada_k Posts: 27 Member
    Wash a cup of brown rice, and soak it in 2.5 cups of water for an hour. Then use a rice cooker. Soaking is needed to soften the rice else it comes out stiff.

Categories