Washing cooked rice to remove excess starch

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Arathrika
Arathrika Posts: 1 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hello all, I've been trying to lose weight for quite a while and finding ways to reduce unnecessary carbs. I was wondering if washing cooked brown rice would be a good idea in order to remove the excess starch (the rice would be washed prior to cooking too, to remove dirt). Wasn't sure if this extra rinsing post cooking would remove essential nutrients. Thanks in advance for info.

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  • AliNouveau
    AliNouveau Posts: 36,287 Member
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    Not an expert but I'm gonna guess this would so absolutely nothing but make your rice cold and tasty soupy. Why not just eat less of it?
  • MikePTY
    MikePTY Posts: 3,814 Member
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    I don't think this would reduce any measurable amount of calories, but would make the rice significantly less enjoyable.

    Carbs are fine to eat on a weight loss diet. I eat rice almost daily while losing weight. If you are eating too many calories, reduce portion size is a far better idea.
  • Cahgetsfit
    Cahgetsfit Posts: 1,912 Member
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    You actually should wash your rice BEFORE you cook it. Not after. In Brazil we wash rice before cooking. NOt sure it has anything to do with removing starch, or if it's just to have clean rice, but when you do wash it all this dirty-ish white water comes out until it rinses clean.
  • Naturally_Monica
    Naturally_Monica Posts: 335 Member
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    I’ve tried looking this up for you, but all I’ve found is that it just washes the starch off your rice. I don’t think rinsing your rice before and after cuts down on any carbs or calories. But why are you trying so hard to go through measures like that to consume less carbs?
  • cemetree
    cemetree Posts: 17 Member
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    Washing rice before will make it a tiny bit less sticky but I don’t think it takes away calories. Sometimes you find brands of rice that suggest washing before cooking
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    edited May 2019
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    The same weight of rice will have the same number of carbs. There will be some starch (carbs) that goes down the drain, but since the rice is almost all carbs anyway, what is left would also be carbs. The only way to reduce the carbs in rice is to eat less rice.

    Carbs are not magic and unless you have a health problem such as diabetes, pcos, or epilepsy, you don’t need to cut carbs. It doesn’t help you to lose weight. Eat fewer calories and you will lose weight. If it’s easier for you to give up carbs than other foods, then cutting calories by cutting out carby foods may be a good choice. But trying to rinse the rice off your cooked rice doesn’t sound easy.
  • rachaelp90
    rachaelp90 Posts: 3 Member
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    Cahgetsfit wrote: »
    You actually should wash your rice BEFORE you cook it. Not after. In Brazil we wash rice before cooking. NOt sure it has anything to do with removing starch, or if it's just to have clean rice, but when you do wash it all this dirty-ish white water comes out until it rinses clean.
    Cahgetsfit wrote: »
    You actually should wash your rice BEFORE you cook it. Not after. In Brazil we wash rice before cooking. NOt sure it has anything to do with removing starch, or if it's just to have clean rice, but when you do wash it all this dirty-ish white water comes out until it rinses clean.

  • rachaelp90
    rachaelp90 Posts: 3 Member
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    Just you should wash your rice before cooking does get rid of excess starch and gives you a cleaner less sticky grain. My mother always washed rich and picked out the bad pieces. Think everyone is right it won’t take too much off your carb intake so still watch your portion size but washing rice is a good practice to do and causes no harm to the end product. In fact you will see how discolored the water is and takes a few rinses before it becomes clear. Hope this helps and good luck on your weight loss journey 😉
  • jenpettipas
    jenpettipas Posts: 37 Member
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    You should try cauliflower rice
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    Arathrika wrote: »
    Hello all, I've been trying to lose weight for quite a while and finding ways to reduce unnecessary carbs. I was wondering if washing cooked brown rice would be a good idea in order to remove the excess starch (the rice would be washed prior to cooking too, to remove dirt). Wasn't sure if this extra rinsing post cooking would remove essential nutrients. Thanks in advance for info.

    You might remove a very small amount of starch rinsing afterwards, but it would be negligible. Stuff like this is majoring in the minors.

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