How to cook Brown Rice

wwk10
wwk10 Posts: 244 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I cannot cook brown rice.
I am a decent cook.
I am from the south so I can cook white rice in my sleep in a pot or in a rice steamer.
I do not like instant brown rice.
I have realistic expectations in that I know brown rice will always have a little crunch to it.

What I do now is:
Mix equal parts brown rice and chicken broth with a pinch of salt.
Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer with lid on the pot to keep the steam in.
At 20 minutes I add another cup of broth and keep going for another 20 minutes.
White rice takes about 15-20 minutes.

Last night I cooked brown rice for an hour and it made clicking noises when I put it on my plate bc it was still hard and not done.

Any tips?

Replies

  • Weezoh
    Weezoh Posts: 171 Member
    This is now the only way I do brown rice - Bake it!

    http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/baked-brown-rice-recipe/index.html
  • EvanKeel
    EvanKeel Posts: 1,904 Member
    Huh, that's weird.

    I had brown rice last night. Well thai jasmine brown rice, anyway. It turned out fairly well, or at least not crunchy.

    2.5 cups boiling water to 1 cup brown rice. Simmer for 45-50 min covered. Stir now and then. You may need to add some more water half way through.
  • EroseT23
    EroseT23 Posts: 74 Member
    I love brown rice, and make it often. I use a 2:1 ratio of liquid to rice (so if I use 1 cup of rice, it's 2 cups of water or broth). I always rinse my rice, but I don't know how necessary that is. I bring it to a boil, uncovered, then plop a lid on and drop it down to a simmer and set a timer for 35 minutes. I've never had to add additional liquid. I've been known to overcook it sometimes (oops), but I've never undercooked it.

    Good luck with it, though! =)
  • heyghoge
    heyghoge Posts: 153 Member
    2:1 liquid to rice ratio. it also helps to soak brown rice for at least an hour beforehand.

    i use a rice cooker, haha, cooking it on a stove is beyond my kitchen skills.
  • babycook
    babycook Posts: 172 Member
    I feed one adult and three kids with this: 1/2 cup brown rice, 1 1/4 c water (or broth if you prefer). Bring to a boil. Put lid on, simmer for 45 minutes. Don't lift the lid till it's done. Mine turns out perfect everytime. Except the one time I turned the wrong burner to simmer and left the rice on high and it boiled dry. :)
  • unsuspectingfish
    unsuspectingfish Posts: 1,176 Member
    It needs to be 1 part rice to 2 parts liquid when you start. I always use water. Bring to a boil, then cover a reduce heat to a simmer until all the liquid is gone. Mine usually takes about 40 minutes. Don't be afraid to stir a bit to check for water in the bottom, just don't leave it open too long if there's still water.
  • lyttlewon
    lyttlewon Posts: 1,118 Member
    I have a Black and Decker Food Steamer that cooks it perfect every time. I cook it on the stovetop most of the time and don't have crunchy rice though.
  • JeniferKi
    JeniferKi Posts: 1 Member
    I ran across a recommendation for this brown rice recipe. I haven't tried it personally, but found it on the skinny taste website.

    http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Perfect-Brown-Rice
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
    I've heard good things about the baking methods.

    I have a Zojirushi rice cooker with brown rice settings. I do think it has you put in more water than for white rice and it cooks longer.
  • Jain
    Jain Posts: 861 Member
    I only use brown Basmatti Rice, and I've never had a problem cooking it.

    Cover a cup of the rice with about a finger joint of water. Cover & bring to the boil, then fast simmer until the water has been absorbed. Turn the heat off & let it steam for about 5 mins
    Takes about 25 mins.
    You end up with lovely fluffy dry rice.

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