Cooking Brown Rice

Inherently, I am a lazy man. I love eating rice and actually enjoy eating brown rice which is better for me.  But the problem is that it takes so much longer to cook brown rice vs. white rice. Are there rice cookers that cook brown rice?

Also, what are some tips you have when it comes rice cooking? Anything will help.

I'm not sure about brown rice but with regular white rice I go one cup rice and 3 cups water.  Bring to a boil and then lower temp to simmer.  Let simmer until all the water is gone.  Takes about 10 min or so.  I would assume it's the same with brown but again I'm not sure. 

I believe all rice cookers should be able to cook brown rice. I have a rice cooker that just says to add a different ratio of water, because it needs to be cooked longer, and the cooker just cooks until the water is evaporated. I cooked brown rice in mine for the first time this week and my boyfriend said it was perfect (I'd never had brown rice before) I didn't like it much though... the texture and consistency is way different from white rice!

I've cooked brown rice in a rice cooker quite often.  It takes the same amount of time, and it's a good idea to add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup extra water (for 1 cup of rice and 2 cups of water).  There's also instant brown rice, for the times when you're really in a hurry.  You might also try quinoa, which only takes 20 minutes to cook.

I'm lazy too, so I buy Brown Minute Rice. Seems to work. Rice is delicious.

I cook brown rice in our rice cooker no problem but it does take longer.  About 50 minutes vs. the 20 for white rice.  I've cooked other grains in my rice cooker as well.  It's not fussy about the grain, you just need to get the proportions of water to grain right.

I'd say if your willing to fork out some dough, buy a pressure cooker. White rice takes about 10 minutes total - I mean from fetching the pan to plate. There will be instructions with your rice cooker but for white Jasmine rice - I know incredibly bad its 1 part rice to 3 parts boiling water, bung it in the cooker and once it reaches pressure point, turn it off and let it stand for about 5 minutes. Release pressure, strain out and voila! Brown rice does take longer and I haven't come up with a definite formula yet, I'd say it would take more cooking time at pressure and more standing time.

I have a rice cooker smiliar to this one.  Cost about $30 at Costco a few years back. Brown rice will take longer (seems like 2 hours, not completely sure) but comes out perfect each and every time and you can set a delay timer on it. I use the brown rice setting for my steel cut oats also, and again, perfect.

Original Post by maraelle:

I've cooked brown rice in a rice cooker quite often.  It takes the same amount of time, and it's a good idea to add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup extra water (for 1 cup of rice and 2 cups of water).  There's also instant brown rice, for the times when you're really in a hurry.  You might also try quinoa, which only takes 20 minutes to cook.

SO THAT'S WHY MINE'S BEEN CRUNCHY.

I just bought a rice cooker and it cooks brown rice perfectly. But it does take a little longer. I love my rice cooker because it also allows me to steam veggies at the same time. Cooking it in a pot on the stove top takes about 40 minutes plus. Only trick I do is cook a big batch and freeze it in portions so when I come home hungry all I have to do is cook my fish... or whatever I am having, and heat up the rice in the microwave for a few minutes. I find it to be a real time saver and keeps me eating healthy. Rice does freeze really well. I can't tell the difference between the fresh cook and that that has been in the freezer.

I love my rice cooker.  It does take a bit longer for brown rice.  The nice thing is you can set it to the recommended time, and if it's still a bit on the raw side, just add a bit more water if necessary and cook away.  Once you make it the first time you'll get the hang of it.  Another thing I like to use the cooker for is Wild Rice.  I know, that is a "grain" and not a "rice", but even better for you than brown rice.  THAT takes about two hours for it to cook, and is a real pain in the keyster to keep an eye on so it doesn't boil dry when using the stove top.  Now I'm hungry for wild rice.  Just happen to have some frozen where all I need to do is reheat and add some vegetables and a protein if I want to.  A rice cooker is well worth the money spent, and no, they are not expensive at all!

I don't own a rice cooker but eat a lot of brown basmati rice....  It's ideal for the lazy person

• Step 1 ... get plenty of water boiling and add a pinch of salt
• Step 2 ... add the rice all at once and bring back to the boil
• Step 3 ... Pop on a lid, reduce to a simmer and set the timer for 25 minutes
• Step 4 ... After 20 minutes, turn off the heat, leave on the lid and allow to steep for the remaining 5 mins

Drain and serve.   Twenty-five minutes isn't long and gives you enough time to put together a Vegetable Chilli or a Chickpea and Chorizo Stew to serve with the rice.

Brown rice now comes in those microwavable steamer bags.  I found it with the frozen veggies that come in the steamer bags.  I can't remember the brand.  I have no idea how much it costs, it is probably a lot more expensive than buying a bag of rice and cooking it on the stove. But if you are in a hurry....

Thanks a lot for the responses everyone!

I guess there way of getting around the 45 minute preperation of the brown rice. I just wil have to be patient.

As far as instant rice, I think it would have too much sodium which is another thing I trying to seriously cut down on. In fact the whole point of getting off my lazy butt to cook bown rice myself is to cut down on sodium. You guys are awesome though. Thank you and best of luck to everyone.

p.s. Added question, what do you usually eat with Brown rice? I usually eat egg whites omelets.

Brown rice isn't especially tasty on its own so combining it with something bland like an egg-white omelette sounds like you'd end up with a disappointing result.   I've already recommended a zingy vegetable chilli and a chorizo & chickpea stew.  Try this Fruity Rice Salad with curry spices, fruit and various vegetables.  Or use brown rice as the stuffing in these Mexican-style Stuffed Peppers

When I make brown rice, I replace the water with low sodium chicken broth.  The rice absorbs the broth and flavors it.  My daughter loves it and she can be pretty picky.  I guess you could use any kind of broth you want.

The Mexican-style Stuffed Peppers sound yummy.  I wonder if I could get the kid to eat those...

Trader Joe's sells an excellent frozen brown rice, it comes in a box with 3 packs, about 2 or 3 servings per pack. All you have to do is cut an opening in the pack and put it in the microwave for 3 minutes and it will be cooked perfectly. Their jasmine rice is also very good.

I am concered about the sodium content for the packaged content. TJ's is awesome though. They have tons of healthy packages of tasty foods (I know that sounds like an advertisement ...)

Success Brown Rice - cook it in the bag... boil on the stove for 10 min

ZERO sodium!

http://www.successrice.com/en-us/products/40/ BrownRice.aspx

Rice cookers are amazing, and I've used them to cook and reheat all kinds of stuff ever since my dentist told me about them 25 years ago.  Couscous, broccoli, whatever.

[This was the same dentist who said "Don't bother coming to my funeral.  I won't be coming to yours."  And who as a joke would try to engage you in a conversation while filling a tooth.]

So while I've never tried to cook brown rice, I think I could get it to work with extra water.  Or by letting it finish its cook cycle, adding extra water to cool it and cycling it again.

Gi-jane,

Your recipe is great. i am wondering if i can add other grains quinoa or millet instead of brown rice? would that taste good?

another question, can I cook quinoa, millet or buckwheat in a rice cooker?