Brown rice and I have had a difficult relationship over the years. Its unique texture and nutritional edge over long grain white rice has given me the needed drive to continue on, but I’ll be honest I nearly threw in the towel.
Try as I might, I could never get the liquid to rice ratio correct. I would almost without fail end up with cooked rice, but heaps of leftover liquid, while the other times I’d have dry and slightly undercooked rice. I finally had luck while using an former flatmate’s rice cooker (Adri, you restored my hope in having edible brown rice <3) and I carried on searching for a decent stovetop version.
So, why not just get a rice cooker you might ask? Counter real-estate. Rice cookers are AWESOME, but until I have my dream kitchen, there just isn’t the space.
After quite a bit of trial and error, I found 3 particular adjustments did the trick. First, not rinsing the rice, hiding in shame from Uncle Roger and Joshua Weissman. Second, using a little bit of fat (usually oil). And third, cooking the rice at a higher temperature than most recipes suggest. Every stove is a little different though. If on the first try with this recipe the rice is a bit liquidy or dry, have heart, small adjustments next time with the stove temperature will likely do the trick for you too.
This rice is particularly good with my Buddha Bowl recipe and Burrito Bowl recipe. I hope you can try this soon and enjoy it!
Brown Rice
Author: Natalie Smith
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Brown rice No need to rinse
- 2 Cups Broth of your choice
- 2 tsp Fat of your choice, olive oil, sesame oil, butter, etc
- 1 tsp Optional soy sauce So nice if using sesame oil
- ½ tsp Optional salt Omit if using soy sauce
Instructions
- Bring all the ingredients in a medium sauce pan to a boil.
- Cover with a lid and reduce the heat to medium low (on my stove this is level 3 out of 9).
- Simmer covered for 45 minutes.
- Remove the lid, trying to keep it level so condensation does not drip back in to the rice, fluff with a fork to see if there is remaining liquid.
- If there is very very little to no liquid left and after tasting a grain or 2 the rice seem undercooked, add 2 Tbsp of water, return the lid and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
- If there is more than a tsp or two of liquid return the lid and continue cooking for 5 more min.
- Continue for another 5 minutes if needed, but eat a grain or 2 and see if the rice is cooked through. If there is a lot of liquid still, but the rice is cooked, it's best to strain out the remaining liquid using a sieve and returning it back to the pot and stove evaporate the remaining liquid on the rice. Take note of the temp used on your stove and next time bump it up by 1.
- If there is less than a tsp of liquid left, turn the heat off and let the rice sit uncovered to evaporate and absorb the liquid, otherwise if there is very little to no liquid left, then you're ready to enjoy!
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