Brown rice

[Night Elf]

I want to like brown rice. When I cook it though, it's chewy regardless of the cooking time. The texture is very off putting. Does brown rice have a longer cooking time than white rice? I just feel like I must be doing something wrong because I hear it supposedly tastes the same as white rice. That just isn't true for me.

[JumpyTheFrog]

Brown rice usually takes me about 90 minutes to cook vs. 20-30 for white rice.

[umsami]

Have you tried the ATK oven method?

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2012/08/how-to-make-perfect-brown-rice/

 

 

Or tried using a rice cooker?

 

 

Also, Ming Tsai makes a mixture of half white/half brown rice which might be a good place to start.  http://www.ming.com/food-and-wine/recipes/simply-ming-season-9/house-steamed-rice.htm

[EKS]

The brown rice we've been using lately has a 40-50 minute cooking time (vs 20 minutes for white) and needs more water (2.5 cups water per cup of brown rice vs 2 cups water per cup of white rice).  I've used some brown rice that needs an hour to cook.

[KungFuPanda]

It takes more than twice as long. Alton Brown has a great recipe for baking it. I finally caved and got a rice cooker. I needed this twenty years ago. The rice is always perfect. Still, brown rice will take nearly an hour to cook.

[Pam in CT]

Brown rice definitely takes significantly longer to cook.  In my (enameled cast iron/creuset) pots, white takes ~20 minutes and brown ~40 minutes (a little longer if the pots are pretty full).

 

It tastes a little different too -- brown is a bit nuttier, "deeper" if you KWIM.  We like it now, but it took some getting used to.

 

The texture, I think (and I am fairly sensitive to food textures) is the same, short grain to short grain.  (However, if you get regular rice in the regular supermarket, you may be used to long grain white -- that's what Carolina etc usually has placed most prominently... and basic brown rice tends to be short grain.  Short grain rice sticks together more.  If you look around you can probably find longer grain brown which may fix the texture difference.)

 

We eat a *ton* of rice.  When I was trying to shift us to a greater % of whole-r grains, my family protested brown rice; so for a while I hid it in dishes like paella and jambalaya where they didn't even notice it... then I started putting it under chili and inside burritos, where it was visible but not standalone... then I started doing brown rice pilafs where I actively went for that nutty flavor by adding nuts and wild rice and raisins...

 

... and now they all like it.  I still use white rice if we're having Thai food or certain main dishes... but we're all happy with the brown as well.

[Amira]

I don't think brown rice tastes the same as white and I use them differently.  We eat almost entirely whole grains, except for some white rice because curries just don't taste the same to me on brown brown.

[Baseball mom]

So that's my problem, not cooking it long enough. I thought I got bad bags of rice.

[Night Elf]

I didn't know the cooking time was so long. I should read the directions, but honestly I assumed it was the same as white rice! :)

[flyingiguana]

15 minutes for white, 45 minutes for brown.  On the stove I use the same amount of water for each (twice the amount of rice), but in the rice cooker I need more water for the brown rice.  I just haven't figured out exactly how much yet.

 

I've also found that if I put in a can of tomatoes at the beginning that the rice takes just about forever to cook.  So I mix the tomatoes in at the end, despite how many recipes have told me to put them in at the beginning.

[bibliophile]

Another vote for trying a rice cooker. I never had any luck cooking brown rice on the stove.

[happi duck]

Have you tried the ATK oven method?

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2012/08/how-to-make-perfect-brown-rice/

 

 

Or tried using a rice cooker?

 

 

Also, Ming Tsai makes a mixture of half white/half brown rice which might be a good place to start. http://www.ming.com/food-and-wine/recipes/simply-ming-season-9/house-steamed-rice.htm

We use the Ming Tsai recipe except we use the rice cooker. Turns out great!

[cjzimmer1]

I've never made good brown rice in a pot but Alton Brown recipe has never failed me.  It takes a hour to bake so I make a huge pan of it and then use it for several meals.  I've thought about a rice cooker but the oven method works so well and it means I don't have to find space for another appliance.

[mamaraby]

I have a heck of a time getting brown rice to cook right in my rice cooker. White rice comes out perfect almost every time. For brown rice I ended up going back to the wide pan, low heat longer method. It comes out perfectly for me then.

[Tanaqui]

Any time you're using a whole grain you can expect the cooking time to be longer because there is more of each grain to cook. The same goes for using oat groats instead of old-fashioned oats, or cooking dried corn compared to cooking polenta.

 

You can cut the cooking time a little by rinsing the rice (I shove it in a mesh strainer) and by soaking it for a few hours before cooking - yes, just like with beans. (Of course, soaking it adds a soaking time, but whatever.)

[Ripley]

Something else you may want to try in addition to the longer cooking time - rinse the rice!

Rinse it twice :).

 

If you have the time to, it might also help the texture if you soak the rice before cooking it.

Also, brown rice usually needs more water. I do about 1:1 for white and 1:2 for brown.

Brown rice definitely tastes different. Not wildly so, depending on the type, but it does.

 

I don't know how people live without rice cookers! Everybody had one when I was growing up.

Everyone got one for housewarming gifts, wedding gifts, bigger ones for baby showers LOL ...

I don't even have to find storage for mine, it sits on my counter and gets used every single day.

My crock pot on the other hand ... seemed like a great idea at the time, collecting dust in the garage!

[Onceuponatime]

I cook great brown rice in a pot using a 1 to 1 1/2 ratio rice to water. I bring the water to a boil, add the rice, let it come back to a boil, stir, then cover and lower the heat to the Low setting. Set timer for 45 minutes. After that fluff rice with a fork or spoon.

 

I do not like it made with more water because it always ends up gooey like oatmeal. This way the grains are more separate. My favorite is basmati.

[gingersmom]

I use a rice cooker and cook with chicken broth instead of water. Much better flavor.

[Tanaqui]

Oh, I always make it with broth, good point.

 

If you want to eat brown rice for health reasons, but prefer the taste of white rice, have you considered doing a mix? Start with, say, 90% white rice, then gradually reduce the white rice percentage until you're half and half or even entirely brown rice.

[toawh]

I use long grain brown rice 1:1 ratio plus a half cup of water. I put the rice in from the beginning with a dash of salt and a drop of olive oil. I bring it to a rapid boil and turn it as low as possible with a tight lid. When you can smell it check that the water is gone, turn it off and wait 10 minutes. Fluff and serve. I've converted lots of "white rice only" people. :)

[Closeacademy]

We always used brown rice because it was healthier then we got the rice cooker and I started washing the rice before cooking and it takes so much better.  It has a nice nutty flavor to it.  I also buy mine at the local Asian food store.

[dirty ethel rackham]

Another way to help the rice cook more thoroughly is to heat up a couple teaspoons of oil in a pot, toss in the brown rice and "brown" it for about a minute or so, constantly turning it.  Then add the water or broth.  It helps "split" the hull so that it cooks more from the inside out.  I use a 2:1 liquid to rice ration (2 cups liquid to 1 cup rice).  Once I have added the liquid, I bring it to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for about 40 - 45 minutes.  I check it after 35 minutes to make sure that the liquid has not evaporated and add a little more if needed and add about 5 minutes more cooking time. 

 

If I am serving the rice on its own (not hidden in something), this is what I do and it has a better flavor and texture.  I've never had a rice cooker, don't even know what they look like.  I've only known one person who owned one and he is Korean (and eats a lot of rice.)

[klmama]

As everyone has said, it does take longer. It may also take a bit more water than the white. Different types of brown rice will be chewier, too. Medium grain is a lot chewier than basmati.

[greenvneck]

Definitely at least twice as long (and twice as much water) as white, draining/rinsing/straining helps, and a rice cooker is soooo helpful. We use ours almost every day. 

[Night Elf]

I've never thought about buying a rice cooker. I only make rice twice a month, if even that. And I only make 1/2 cup of rice at a time. It sounds like just one more appliance that would be stuck under the cabinet along with the blender and food processor.

[marbel]

Ditto the rice cooker and longer cooking time.

 

I also found that cheap brown rice - such as a store brand - always tasted stale.  I bought some Lundberg Farms brand rice and whoa, what a difference.  It is wonderful stuff.  I store it in the fridge rather than the pantry and that seems to help too.    It is an acquired taste though, I think.

 

We still use plenty of white rice.  Brown rice does not work for curry, fried rice, etc.

 

I never thought to try browning it in a little oil first, which is weird because I often do that with white rice.  Next time. :-)

[umsami]

I've never thought about buying a rice cooker. I only make rice twice a month, if even that. And I only make 1/2 cup of rice at a time. It sounds like just one more appliance that would be stuck under the cabinet along with the blender and food processor.

 

We own a cheap rice cooker.  I want to say I paid $15.00 for it.  I still love it.  It still cooks rice 1000x better than I can on the stove.  You can make other things in it, but even if I just use it for rice, it's worth it.

 

I'll also add that once I had a rice cooker, I ate more rice.  The rice tasted better….it was easy…and I knew it would always turn out, so that made life better.

 

Now that we have gluten issues in the house, I'm thinking about getting a fancy rice cooker for my birthday.  :)