Brown Rice
 

My wife has become adamant at eating everything whole grain and healthy. Part of this means we now have to eat brown rice instead of white rice. However, whenever we cook it we cannot get it to be soft like white rice. It is always chewy. I'm not sure if this is a problem because we live at high altitudes or not or if brown rice is just naturally chewy. Do any of you have any tips for cooking brown rice?

Brown rice will always have a different texture than its white counterpart. This is because you're eating the bran and the germ (which are full of goodness).

http://products.mercola.com/Images/o.../rice_bran.jpg

However, you might find certain brown varieties softer than others. Short grain should be softer than long grain. If you haven't tried brown basmati rice, it tends to have a nice texture, while maintaining a low-GI rating.

Also, steaming vs. boiling is a factor. I always steam my rice, as the texture always turns out perfectly.

Remember that brown rice has a germ intact and should not be stored at room temperature for a long period of time. Refrigerate brown rice if you buy a lot at a time. It should be okay for a week or two (maybe a month?), but longer than that and it might go rancid.

Personally, I prefer brown rice precisely because it's a bit firmer. That's just me, though.

Also, it is better for you.

Baraka is showing off his guru skills tonight.

I always steam mine, too. And sometimes I add a little more water to it and about 5 - 10 minutes more if I'm looking for softer texture. But I like mine chewy-ish, too.
Mmmmmm, brown basmati with stir-fried veggies.

I usually compensate by adding a bit more water, and cooking it slightly longer, ala Miss Noodle. It's still chewy, though--but it wouldn't be brown rice otherwise.

More water and more time are what it takes. You can't expect it to be like white rice. I think it tastes more like oatmeal.

So as to preserve more of the social surplus for their samurai overlords, peasants in Japan were not allowed to eat rice. They ate barley and wheat instead.

I love rice in all incarnations...my favorite brown rice to date is a brand I found in our local asian market called 'Brown Jasmine Rice'. I think the brand was called something like 'Cock on the Mountain', which is really the reason I bought it - how could I resist?

Anyway, as others said, the texture and flavor will always be different from white rice. Chewier and nuttier is how I'd describe it.

One thing about the 'eating healthy' and other choices people tend to make. Lots of people seem to think you have to go 'whole hog', as it were. No white rice, white flour, or even white sugar. No processed foods ever. That just isn't my style. If I tried to do that, I'd go absolutely crazy, and it would be far more work than it's worth. At the Parade household, we certainly are trying to eat healthier, but it's not an all or nothing thing. We try to do things a little better, but that doesn't mean banning all white rice. We have white rice when it seems appropriate, like alongside stir fry, or in fried rice. We use brown rice where it seems appropriate - like I think it makes awesome rice pilaf, for instance. Insisting on only having brown rice seems like limiting your choices and causing a lot of trouble for small returns.

If you're eating fresh-cooked food at home, instead of processed food or fast food, you're already doing pretty damn good, IMNSHO. Splurge on some white rice on occasion.

Baraka, I hadn't thought of the refrigeration needs of brown rice before. Hmm, I'm a long-term storage kind of guy. I guess I'll refrigerate the brown rice that I just bought and use white rice for long-term.

I guess I've learned by one thing for today. I can go home now.

I love Calrose rice, and my SO loves basmati. We choose between the three based on what we're cooking. Tonight I made a rice pilaf with basmati rice. Next time I will try it with brown :)

If you put enough China Lily soy sauce on it, any rice can taste good if you ask me!

I like mising plain brown rice with a little bit of Italian salad dressing in it. Gives it some flavor while still keeping the rice flavor intact.