rice cooking

[Mom-ninja.]

So how am I supposed to cook my rice to leach out as much arsenic as possible?

 

 

Also, what about the organic brown rice hot cereal I have (which is cooked like cream of wheat)? Do I cook that differently some how?

 

 

You have no idea how stressed I am about this rice carp.

[Amira]

I think there are several things you can do. Cooking a wide variety of non-American-grown rices should make a difference. I've found that buying imported rices in ethnic grocery stores in bulk doesn't cost any more than buying American rices in a regular grocery store. We eat at least 5 different types of rice on a regular basis and only one is American grown.

 

Persian-style rice is probably one of the best cooking methods for reducing arsenic or other contaminates, but it's fairly time consuming. At least you can always rinse your rice, and many types of rice can be soaked and rinsed again, and cooking any rice in lots of water isn't a big deal. Just bring lots of water to a boil and sprinkle in your rinsed rice, then cook just till it's done and drain.

 

If you want to try a basic Persian-style recipe (I think this works best with basmati, but a good parboiled rice is excellent here too- just don't use something sticky-ish), rinse your rice well, then soak it in lots of water for at least 30 minutes and up to 3 hours. Drain and rinse once more, then boil it in lots of water till it's almost done. Depending on the type of rice and how long you soaked it, this could just take a few minutes. When there's still a slight hard core left in the rice, drain it again from the boiling water, then cook it in a heavy pot with a little oil at the bottom. Heat it quickly to build up steam, then cover and lower the heat as much as possible and let it sit for 30 minutes. It should have a nice brown crust on the bottom that's delicious.

[stripe]

If you want to try a basic Persian-style recipe (I think this works best with basmati, but a good parboiled rice is excellent here too- just don't use something sticky-ish)

 

Can I really use parboiled rice?? For some unknown reason, my husband bought a giant bag of parboiled rice, and I haven't even opened it. This gives me hope.

 

I don't think I eat much American rice. I have seen the "popcorn rice" in the stores, but I buy basmati from the Indian subcontinent and some kind of Thai rice most often, I think.

[Amira]

Can I really use parboiled rice?? For some unknown reason, my husband bought a giant bag of parboiled rice, and I haven't even opened it. This gives me hope.

 

I don't think I eat much American rice. I have seen the "popcorn rice" in the stores, but I buy basmati from the Indian subcontinent and some kind of Thai rice most often, I think.

 

Parboiled rice makes wonderful pilaus and plovs and such. And it's better for you than white basmati too.

[stripe]

Parboiled rice makes wonderful pilaus and plovs and such. And it's better for you than white basmati too.

Well, I'll try it and report back! :) I had no clue I could use it for pilaus. I think I've only eaten the sort of very greasy rice with no particular flavor served in a lot of Arab homes and restaurants. (Er, not insulting anyone here, you understand.) Thanks for the tip.

[Amira]

Well, I'll try it and report back! :) I had no clue I could use it for pilaus. I think I've only eaten the sort of very greasy rice with no particular flavor served in a lot of Arab homes and restaurants. (Er, not insulting anyone here, you understand.) Thanks for the tip.

 

I've eaten a few of those. ;)

[happygrrl]

Thank yo ufor the detailed instructions! I made a mess of our rice last night- soaked for 30 minutes and cooked in lots of water, but it ended up the consistency of watery oatmeal. Do you have something special to drain water from the rice? I could not get all the water out.

 

We are eating rice again tomorrow so I am going to use your directions, thanks! On a side note...can you recommend your favorite cookbook? I am looking for new ones! :D

[Liz CA]

I just looked into this last night and found out that the levels of arsenic in Lundberg's brown rice are not alarming in any way. If you vary the kind of rice, for instance, wild rice, white rice, brown rice, it should be fine.

[Amira]

Thank yo ufor the detailed instructions! I made a mess of our rice last night- soaked for 30 minutes and cooked in lots of water, but it ended up the consistency of watery oatmeal. Do you have something special to drain water from the rice? I could not get all the water out.

 

We are eating rice again tomorrow so I am going to use your directions, thanks! On a side note...can you recommend your favorite cookbook? I am looking for new ones! :D

 

I use a mesh strainer that I can dump the rice into. That's the only thing that's ever worked really well for me.

 

Seductions of Rice is my favorite rice cookbook and it has detailed instructions for dozens of different types of rice, many with both the lots-of-water method of cooking and the absorption method.

 

Mostly though, I think you have to experiment a bit to see what works for you. Cooking times can vary for so many different reasons, so tasting often really helps. And you can come up with lots of good variations.

[happygrrl]

I use a mesh strainer that I can dump the rice into. That's the only thing that's ever worked really well for me.

 

Seductions of Rice is my favorite rice cookbook and it has detailed instructions for dozens of different types of rice, many with both the lots-of-water method of cooking and the absorption method.

 

Mostly though, I think you have to experiment a bit to see what works for you. Cooking times can vary for so many different reasons, so tasting often really helps. And you can come up with lots of good variations.

 

Thank you so much!

[Mom-ninja.]

I just looked into this last night and found out that the levels of arsenic in Lundberg's brown rice are not alarming in any way. If you vary the kind of rice, for instance, wild rice, white rice, brown rice, it should be fine.

 

That's the brand I usually buy, and I buy all varieties except for white rice. White rice has a higher GI than other types of rice.

 

However, my dh just bought a package of brown rice from the store that is not Lundberg, and it's rice from TX.

 

I'm so tempted to throw it out. Yet, it's like throwing out money. So, I'm trying to decide if I can try and salvage the rice by cooking it in a way to leach out contaminates or if I just throw it away.

 

I'm also not trying to freak out about all the rice based flours I use for cooking and baking. Also pasta. We eat rice pasta because we can't have gluten or quinoa. Corn based noodles are off the list for my dh so brown rice pasta is what we use. It comes from Canada if that makes a difference.

 

I'm going to try and not stress too much. I'm doing the best I can dang it.

 

So what to do with the brown rice dh just bought? Use it or toss it?

[Mom-ninja.]

Persian-style rice is probably one of the best cooking methods for reducing arsenic or other contaminates, but it's fairly time consuming. At least you can always rinse your rice, and many types of rice can be soaked and rinsed again, and cooking any rice in lots of water isn't a big deal. Just bring lots of water to a boil and sprinkle in your rinsed rice, then cook just till it's done and drain.

 

If you want to try a basic Persian-style recipe (I think this works best with basmati, but a good parboiled rice is excellent here too- just don't use something sticky-ish), rinse your rice well, then soak it in lots of water for at least 30 minutes and up to 3 hours. Drain and rinse once more, then boil it in lots of water till it's almost done. Depending on the type of rice and how long you soaked it, this could just take a few minutes. When there's still a slight hard core left in the rice, drain it again from the boiling water, then cook it in a heavy pot with a little oil at the bottom. Heat it quickly to build up steam, then cover and lower the heat as much as possible and let it sit for 30 minutes. It should have a nice brown crust on the bottom that's delicious.

 

 

What is parboiled rice?

[Amira]

What is parboiled rice?

 

It's rice that has been partially cooked in the husk before it's processed. So it's technically white rice because the bran layer is removed, but more of the nutrients remain than with regular white rice. In the US, parboiled rice is often precooked and sold as Minute Rice or something like that, but it doesn't have to be quick-cooking. We eat lots of parboiled rice, but never instant rice.

[Mom-ninja.]

Thanks. I wonder what the GI is for parboiled rice. We haven't eaten white rice in years due to my dh's blood sugar. Brown rice is lower GI and he'll eat it in small amounts.

 

 

I'm giving the Persian method a go today. Rice is soaking now so we'll see how it turns out. :)

[stripe]

Thanks. I wonder what the GI is for parboiled rice. We haven't eaten white rice in years due to my dh's blood sugar. Brown rice is lower GI and he'll eat it in small amounts.

 

it's supposed to be fairly low, but try to get specifics based on the brand you find.

 

I am inspired to try it out, thanks to Amira. I never realized it was healthier!