How to cook brown rice - Rice Cooker

winter_combat_knight · January 2009

Hey fellas,

Ive been trying to cook brown rice, twice now in my rice cooker. I make it the exact same was as i would white rice, but it always turns out a little crunchy. Is brown rice supposed to be this way, or am i supposed to add a different amounts (extra) water compared to what i would with white rice? Cheers for any help.

Sol Invictus · January 2009

Brown rice is supposed to be a little crunchy because it contains fibre, unlike white rice, which is bad for your health because it's made entirely of starch.

Hahnsoo1 · January 2009

Brown rice does take longer to cook than white rice, and often requires more water. It is not supposed to be more crunchy (unless a dish calls for it), and fiber really isn't "crunchy" (it's just food matter that you cannot digest. Metamucil has fiber, and it's a frickin' powder to put in liquids).

Relevant link:
http://startcooking.com/blog/253/How-to-Cook-Brown-Rice

Forbe! · January 2009

Yeah. Depending on the type of brown rice, it will take much much longer to cook. Sometimes, I end up having to add more water into the pot when cooking it because it still is way too firm.

NightDragon · January 2009

Forbe! wrote: »

Yeah. Depending on the type of brown rice, it will take much much longer to cook. Sometimes, I end up having to add more water into the pot when cooking it because it still is way too firm.

Me too.

It's supposed to have more "texture" than white rice...and I guess you could call that "crunchy", but be sure you're not just undercooking it and making it "crunchy" that way.

Brown rice also does take much longer to cook sometimes, when I do it on the stovetop it usually takes about 45 minutes. It's worth it though! Tastier and much healthier.

ruzkin · January 2009

I do brown rice in a pot. One cup of brown takes about 5-6 cups of water, and 25-30 mins to cook. It's so worth it though. Tastier, healthier, more filling. One cup can serve 3 people if you're not huge eaters.

Aphostile · January 2009

My rice cooker calls for roughly 1.5 cups of water per 1 cup of white rice.

It calls for 2 cups and 2 tblspoons of water per 1 cup of brown rice.

Generally I need to babysit the brown rice too, to make sure it doesn't stick to the sides too much and dry out.

It shouldn't be crunchy.

Sol Invictus · January 2009

I guess I've been making brown rice all wrong then.

ruzkin · January 2009

Aphostile wrote: »

My rice cooker calls for roughly 1.5 cups of water per 1 cup of white rice.

It calls for 2 cups and 2 tblspoons of water per 1 cup of brown rice.

Generally I need to babysit the brown rice too, to make sure it doesn't stick to the sides too much and dry out.

It shouldn't be crunchy.

Really? When I boil brown rice I don't need to babysit at all. White rice gets all fluffy and sticks to the bottom of the pot but brown rice sits there all happy, floating about, totally unattended.

Inquisitor77 · January 2009

ruzkin wrote: »

Really? When I boil brown rice I don't need to babysit at all. White rice gets all fluffy and sticks to the bottom of the pot but brown rice sits there all happy, floating about, totally unattended.

From your description it sounds to me like you over-water your white rice, meaning your brown rice probably has enough water that you don't need to worry about it. :P

FyreWulff · January 2009

You'll also run into this when cooking wheat pasta. I switched over to it and it took me a bit to get used to the more water + longer cooking time requirements.

wenchkilla · January 2009

Inquisitor77 wrote: »

ruzkin wrote: »

Really? When I boil brown rice I don't need to babysit at all. White rice gets all fluffy and sticks to the bottom of the pot but brown rice sits there all happy, floating about, totally unattended.

From your description it sounds to me like you over-water your white rice, meaning your brown rice probably has enough water that you don't need to worry about it. :P

They need slightly different amounts of water, but a 2 to 1 water to brown rice volume ratio should be good enough.

How to cook rice and other grains properly*: Boil water, put in grain, simmer high enough to still have bubbles come up, cover, do not disturb. The grain will make it's own optimal heating/absorption structure. To see if it's done, take pan, tip sideways. if anywhere near cooked it won't fall out, don't worry. If you can tip it almost sideways and no water comes out from the bottom, it's done! (assuming right amount of water was used)

*Source (not me): Nutrition major, in a whole food production class.

Edit: If you want it stickier/softer, put the rice/grain in the cold water, then bring to a boil. I do this to make my oatmeal soft and creamy.

Aphostile · January 2009

ruzkin wrote: »

Really? When I boil brown rice I don't need to babysit at all. White rice gets all fluffy and sticks to the bottom of the pot but brown rice sits there all happy, floating about, totally unattended.

Could just be my rice cooker.

I like my rice a certain way so I get ancy right when it gets to that "almost done" point. I don't want it underdone and I don't want it overdone, even a little bit.

Mai-Kero · January 2009

Let the rice sit in your rice cooker for about ten minutes after it's done if it's sticking to the bottom. That worked flawlessly for me. Just don't open it as soon as it dings. Let it finish cooking, set a timer for ten minutes, and then open it. None should be sticking by that point.

winter_combat_knight · January 2009

Thanks for the ideas fellas. It turned out ok. It was a little crunchy, but not crunchy like it wasn't cooked. Next time i'll experiment and try adding more water it cooks. I might try it over the stove top next time. maybe m rice cooker isnt made for cooking brown rice.

EDIT: BTW, i didnt need to have seconds. This stuff is really filling!

KalTorak · January 2009

When I make brown rice in my cooker I usually use about twice the amount of water that I would for that amount of white rice. My cooker is small though - if you're making like 4-5 cups of brown rice then you might have to reload in the middle.

Elin · January 2009

My rice cook has a brown rice fill line and special brown rice instructions in the manual. I thought all of them did?

tsmvengy · January 2009

More water. Brown rice should not be crunchy - ick.

pinenut_canary · January 2009

More water, more time. My mother keeps the brown rice in water over night, and she says this helps a lot.

hdenton · January 2009

I personally do 2 cups water per 1 cup of white rice and 3 1/2 - 4 cups water per cup of brown rice. I mostly just eyeball it though because I'm too lazy to measure everything and if it is too dry I can just add more water and microwave it or put it on the stove.

Penny Arcade

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