Simple Brown Rice

August 26, 2006 at 10:05 am (Grains, Quick weeknight recipe, unrated)

3I’m posting this by request, for Derek.

I almost always buy short grain brown rice from the bulk section of the co-op. The grains are almost round, and often slightly tinged with green. I think I tried other types of brown rice long ago, and the short grain was my favorite, but I should probably try them again. In any case, here’s how I cook it.

1 1/2 cups short-grain brown
2 3/4 cups water (I think, maybe slightly less, 2 2/3 cups?)

Add the rice to a 2 quart pan, add the water, and bring the water to a boil. When the water comes to a boil, immediately turn the heat down to a low simmer, cover, and cook on very low for 40 minutes. Then turn the heat off and let the rice stand, covered for another 10 minutes.

A note about electric stoves: Since there is a substantial delay in reducing the heat on an electric stove you can’t cover the rice immediately or it will typically boil over. You can watch it until it’s just above a simmer, and then cover it. Alternatively, you can have a second burner on very low, and when the water comes to a boil move the pan to the second burner and turn off the first one. Also, you want the heat to be extremely low. I actually use halfway between the warm and low settings on my electric stove when I make rice.

I don’t soak or rinse my brown rice. I haven’t tried these steps, but I like it fine how it comes out. I also never salt my rice.

The key fact to remember is to use slightly less than 2:1 ratio water to rice. Other types of brown rice may need more or less water, I’m not sure. It’s important to use a pan with a tight fitting lid, so the steam doesn’t escape. Also, a pan with a thick bottom is ideal.

The total amount of cooked rice will typically equal the amount of dry rice plus the amount of water. So the recipe above will make just over 4 cups of rice. If you’re only making a small amount of rice a large pan won’t work as well as a small pan (it will be more likely to dry out too soon). In general, I’d recommend using a pan with a volume of around 5-6 times the amount of dry rice, and no more than 8 times.