Brown rice is rice with the inedible outer hull removed but intact the germ and outer layer. It is more nutritious than white rice and has a denser, chewier, nuttier grain. Because badly cooked brown rice can be grainy and mushy, perfectly cooked brown rice results in chewy, plump little grains with many flavors and amazing textures. Brown rice, when cooked properly, is very nutritious and tastes very good. You can accompany the brown rice with any side dish you wish to add, such as stew, soup, turkey, or chicken. Whichever way you wish to eat your brown rice, it tastes delicious with it.
Not to mention a nice nutritional boost which can help your body and health. To get the perfect brown rice every time you make it, there are some steps you need to follow, a few ingredients to get, and also some timing guidelines to observe. Continue reading to know more about how to cook brown rice.
Brown Rice Nutrition Facts
Tips for Cooking Brown Rice
- Measure the rice and water ratio with a measuring jug
- When cooking, make sure you don’t remove the cover or mix the rice to prevent it from getting burnt.
- Allow rice to stand after cooking to absorb any remaining moisture
Tips for Soaking Brown Rice
Before we step into how to cook brown rice, here are some tips for if you choose to soak your brown rice:
- It is optional to soak but also very advisable to do so. Soaking grains helps to improve digestibility and speed cook time.
- To soak: Put the rice into a pot or big mixing bowl and fill it with a lot of water to cover the rice. Do not cover the rice and soak it at room temperature overnight or for about two hours. Then drain and rinse once more.
How Long Does It Take To Cook Brown Rice?
Ingredients
- Brown rice (either short, medium, or long-grain brown rice)
- Cups of water
- Salt, soy sauce, or other desired seasonings to taste
Instructions
How to Cook Brown Rice
There are myriads of ways to cook brown rice, but we have reduced them to our absolute favorites.
Method 1
- For extra fluffy rice, start by bringing 12 cups of water to a boil in a large pot. To remove excess starch, put your rice under running water and rinse it in a colander. Once the water reaches boiling point, put in the rinsed rice and mix. To prevent the water of the rice to be flowing out, lower the temperature make sure that it is still boiling. Keep on boiling on high heat until it is tender.
- Then strain for 10 seconds and return to pot removed from the heat. Let it steam covered for about 10 minutes. Then proceed to serve it when this rice is accompanied with food like sushi, stews, stir-fries, fried rice, stews, and many more.
- Store cooled leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 5-6 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month. Put a little water or oil in your oven or on the top of your stove and let it get a little bit warm.
Method 2
- Add water and rice to a medium saucepan. Begin to boil it and make sure the heat is lowered to a simmer.
- Cook until water is completely absorbed and rice is tender – about 15-25 minutes (will depend on whether or not the rice was soaked). Check for excess water and drain them off if there is any. You can turn off the heat and remove the lid for 10 minutes, so the rice gets fluffier. You can also use a fork to poke it at this time as well. Then cover it with the lid to keep it warm until you start serving.
- You can store cooled leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 5-6 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month. Use a little water or a little oil in the microwave to reheat it until it becomes warm.
Notes
Note On Rinsing: In case you don’t want to rinse your rice or you forgot to rinse your rice, you can still achieve beautifully cooked rice by noting these few tips.
Your rice should be free of gluten: Be watchful of any other things you want to add to your dish because rice is gluten-free. Soy sauce, for example, is not gluten-free. Make sure that you substitute the soy sauce when adding your ingredients.
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Cooking Time For Brown Rice
Brown rice is a very easy and simple dish to make. The steps involved in cooking brown rice include rinsing the rice, boiling the rice, steaming, and, if you choose, soaking. Soaking the rice is the only process that can take time, but it is optional if you’re trying to save time. Soaking the rice helps the brown rice cook better, and it also makes it taste better. The rest takes less than an hour to prepare and cook. Also, the total amount of time you use to cook brown rice solely depends on which cooking method you choose. Here are a few distinct timing guidelines you can follow to cook brown rice.
| Cooking method for Brown rice | Cooking time |
| Rinsing | 5 to 10 minutes |
| Boiling/ cooking | 20 to 30 minutes |
| Soaking | 2 hours or overnight |
| Steaming | 10 minutes |
If you look above, we have provided the various timing guidelines on how long it takes to cook brown rice; we have also provided for the various ingredients you need to cook brown rice, the various steps to follow as well as few tips to ensure that you achieve perfect brown rice. However, if you want to explore further how long it takes to cook brown rice and, more importantly, how to cook brown rice, then you can have a look at this video.