How to Cook Brown Rice: EZ Way
Trader Joe's Brown Basmati Rice
We both love to eat brown rice, but sometimes cooking it can be a hassle. Because it is a whole grain, it does not cook up as quick as white rice. I like to plan about an hour to cook brown rice. Now this does not mean that it takes a whole hour to cook brown rice, but we cook the rice in shall we say a “slow way” and so I like to give the rice time to rest etc… We do like to eat Brown Rice as much as possible, but shhhh… we do keep a bag of white rice around, just for “fast food” because it does take a while to cook!
What we like to do is to cook a bigger batch of brown rice than we need for a meal so that we have leftovers. Brown Rice can sit covered in the refrigerator for a week and still be OK.
If you don’t think you will use it up, you can also freeze it in a plastic zipper bag. We like to use frozen brown rice in soups (just break off a chunk) or thaw the rice for an hour and use in a stir-fry. YUM!
Now, if you are new to cooking brown rice, we suggest that you start cooking a few small batches of brown rice to get a feel for this EZ way to cook brown rice.
What you need:
- Brown Rice (we like Trader Joe’s Brown Basmati)
- Water
How to:
In a small sauce pot with a lid, measure out ½ cup of brown rice.
Now add 1 cup of water and cover. Bring to a boil over medium high heat.
Brown Rice in Pan covered in water
Let the rice cook for 20 minutes then check. You want to catch the rice about ½ way through the cooking process, so that about ½ the water is gone. This could take about 10-15 minutes more depending on how much is in the pan, where you live etc… You are waiting for the water to be absorbed to the level of the rice. You will still see the water, but it will not be higher in the pan than the rice. (See picture).
Brown Rice with steam holes
When the water is down to the level of the rice, and you see that nice big steam holes have developed, put the lid back on and turn off the rice. Let the rice just sit in the hot pan and soak up the rest of the water. This takes about 15 minutes. When you are ready to serve, the rice should be all fluffy and ready to just heat back up- for a few minutes.
If there is still some water in the bottom of the pan, just use heat with the lid off and the extra water will help steam the rice/warm it up for searving. In fact you will want to make sure there is some water in the pan when you heat it up to serve, or your rice might stick to the pan.
We then take a fork and sorta “fluff” up the rice before serving.
Variations:
You can cook the rice in some chicken or vegetable stock if you like
You can sauté onions and garlic in olive oil before adding the rice and water. This adds a wonderful flavor to the rice.
Try cooking your brown rice this way and see if you don’t agree that this is an EZ way to cook Brown Rice at home.
Ooh, thanks for the great tip! We’ve been on a brown rice binge here lately and this will help us. We won’t have to watch it like a hawk for as long or use as much gas. Sweet!
This way helps us (ok really me) prevent ugly brown rice boil overs… no more cleaning the stove every time we enjoy brown rice 🙂
Cheers!
Kris
Hi Kristin,
Does it still have that “hard, crispy” type shell to it? I love rice but brown rice just isn’t the same as white rice, though know brown is a million times healthier!
Just wondering if I’ve been under cooking it or something…???
I’ll try your method. It’s kind of like how I cook spaghetti noodles. I bring the water to a boil, add the noodles, bring it back to a boil, remove from the heat and cover. Let set for exactly 18 minutes and it’s perfect every time!
Hi Deb
You might want to try some different kinds of brown rice to see if there is one that you like best. Right now we are enjoying Brown Basmati rice from Trader Joe’s- have you tried it? The grains are long and slim- and cook up fluffy for us. We have not noticed a hard shell, but we might be used to the texture of brown rice 🙂
I like your spaghetti noodle trick! I will give it a try next time.
Kristin