Cooking Brown Rice

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Rice is such a great staple and can be used in and with so many recipes.  You may have a rice cooker, but for those who do not, here are some tips for cooking up this delicious grain.  Our favorite is Basmati brown rice with its aromatic flavor.  When you enter the house while it is cooking, you get the same wonderful effect as the aroma of popping corn. Listed under Notes at the bottom of the page is a table of ratios for cooking several different kinds of rice.

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NOTE: I no longer cook my rice this way because of the arsenic problem. If that concerns you at all then cook your rice like pasta (1 cup rice to 10 cups water) and drain just as you would pasta. It cooks faster this way so be sure and test some kernels after 20 minutes to see if it is done so it doesn’t get mushy. I strain mine in a fine mesh strainer and just let it sit until it is cooled before freezing.

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TIP: We don’t use rice as much as we did but substitute other grains where we can. I like to mix half millet with half quinoa for a “similar” effect to rice. Millet by itself is a little too sticky and quinoa alone doesn’t have the sticking power of rice but together they work quite well in entrees and under “haystacks”. You’ll have to see what you think.

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Cooking Brown Rice

Prep Time – 3 minutes
Cook Time – 45 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup Basmati brown rice

1 3/4 cup hot water

1/4 teas salt, opt.


Instructions:
  1. Above is listed the ratio of water to rice for Basmati brown rice. Below will be listed ratios for other kinds of rice.
  2. Put the pot of rice and water on to cook, bring to a boil, turn to a simmer and cover with a lid.  I like a glass lid so I can see what is going on and that the rice is not boiling too hard or too minimal. That way you get a good fluffy texture. If you use a kettle that is bigger around than taller, it will also help cook up nice light-textured rice.
  3. An alternate way to cook the rice is in a covered casserole in the oven for one hour (until all the water is absorbed) at 350°. If your casserole isn’t overly deep, this method makes the lightest, nicest rice of all. If I have enough oven space, it is my favorite way when I’m cooking for a crowd.
  4. When it is done cooking, put a spoon down in the middle of the pot, pushing aside the rice and make sure that the water is all absorbed. If not, continue baking for a few more minutes.  When it is done, turn off the burner and leave the pot covered for five minutes, at that point you can fluff it up and let it cool.
  5. Then it is ready to eat  or measure into one-cup amounts (or whatever works for you) and freeze.

Notes:
  • long-grain brown rice……….. 1 c : 2 c water………… simmer 45 minutes
  • brown sticky short grain…… 1 c : 2 1/4 c water….. simmer 50 minutes
  • Jasmine brown rice………….. 1 c : 2 c water……….. simmer 45 minutes
  • Texmati brown rice………….. 1 c : 2 c water……….. simmer 45 minutes
  • sweet sticky brown rice……. 1 c : 1 1/2 c water….. simmer 30 minutes