How to Properly Cook Brown Rice as a Side Dish

Brown rice has a subtle nutty aroma, but it loses out to white rice due to its dense texture. It is very difficult to catch the moment when the rice is ready and can be served as a side dish. You want the rice to be fluffy and easy to chew, but if you miss the timing, the grains will overcook and turn into mush. However, brown rice can make a wonderful side dish! Let's learn how to cook it.

How to Properly Cook Brown Rice

Any rice is initially brown rice in its natural form. A grain of rice consists of three components: the endosperm, the germ, and the outer hull — the bran. Brown rice is sold — it is not fully stripped of the hull, which gives it color and a pleasant nutty aroma.

White rice is processed brown rice. It is completely stripped of the bran, so it cooks faster, is easier to chew, and the germ is removed — white rice lasts longer after the germ is removed. So, what remains in white rice? — Only the endosperm. Thus, brown rice is not a separate variety of rice, but regular rice that has not undergone the full milling cycle to become white.

Of course, brown rice is healthier than white. It contains fiber from the hull, as well as additional vitamins and trace elements from the valuable germ. However, its density sometimes makes us choose white rice instead. This is only due to the inability to cook it properly to achieve a pleasant texture.

Brown rice takes longer to cook than white, but not uncontrollably. If you miss the necessary cooking time, instead of fluffy rice, you will end up with overcooked rice grains. Properly cooked brown rice should remain "grain by grain" after cooking, with a pleasant chewy texture and a subtle nutty aroma. Such rice will make an excellent side dish for meat, poultry, and vegetables.

How to Prepare Brown Rice

Brown rice must be rinsed before cooking. Rinsing rice in cold water not only improves its digestibility and taste but also gives it a firmer texture.

Should you soak rice before cooking? There has been debate about this for many years. Some believe that rice must be soaked, while others think it doesn't matter. So what is the truth? Does soaking make brown rice softer? In fact, it may not necessarily make it softer, but it can help improve the texture.

Soaking brown rice before cooking will reduce the cooking time and make it more tender. Even a 30-minute soak will cut the cooking time by 10 minutes. Soaking in water removes some naturally occurring toxins. But brown rice can be cooked without soaking. Try soaking rinsed rice overnight before cooking. Another time, cook rice without soaking. And decide for yourself which option is more acceptable for you.

How Long to Cook Brown Rice

Rice can be cooked in a regular pot in 40 minutes: 30 minutes of active cooking and 10 minutes for the rice to steam.

If you want the rice to cook faster, soak the grains before cooking. Decide what is more convenient for you — soak for at least 30 minutes and cook the rice for 20 minutes instead of 30. Or cook for 30 minutes without soaking. In any case, you need to give the rice time to steam and absorb the remaining water and oil (if using).

This applies to the most basic cooking of rice in a pot with water. But there are other ways to cook rice, and then the time will be different.

Methods of Cooking Brown Rice (Multicooker, Steamer, Pot)

With modern appliances, grains can be cooked not only in a pot. A multicooker or steamer can help you. You can also cook rice in a regular pot using two methods.

The simplest and most familiar way is to cook rice in the pot that is always at hand: in a saucepan. There are a couple of methods for this.

Rinse the rice until the water runs clear, place it in a pot, add cold water at a ratio of 1 part brown rice to 2 parts water, add salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes (if the rice was soaked beforehand, then 20 minutes). After cooking, turn off the heat, cover the pot with a towel, and let the rice rest for 10 minutes. Optionally, at the end of cooking, add butter or your favorite spices. If measuring with cups, from 1 cup of rice and 2 cups of water, you will get 3 cups of fluffy brown rice. Rice can also be cooked in a large amount of water — for example, use 5–6 cups of water for 1 cup of rice. Cook for 30 minutes, then drain the water through a colander, and be sure to let the rice rest.

A multicooker/steamer usually has functions for "grains," "rice," and "pilaf." These features allow you to prepare fluffy brown rice as a side dish.

Pour a little vegetable oil into the bottom of the multicooker bowl for cooking rice. Place rinsed and optionally pre-soaked rice in the multicooker, add salt, and pour in water at a ratio of 1:2. In the grain or rice cooking mode, brown rice will cook for 30–35 minutes, depending on whether the grains were pre-soaked. Under the action of steam created during cooking, the rice will be steamed and will definitely become soft and fluffy.

Brown Rice as a Side Dish

For health-conscious individuals, dishes with brown rice are ideal nutrition. Brown rice can be prepared in any way, as long as it turns out fluffy and easy to chew. Everything else is already there — flavor and a magical nutty aroma. A piece of butter or a little vegetable oil, your favorite spices — and such a brown rice side dish can be served with any meat, poultry, and vegetables. Do you like to crunch? The rice can be sautéed before serving: the nutty aroma will become more pronounced.

Brown rice can be mixed with sautéed onions and carrots, with fried mushrooms, with broccoli, pumpkin, or green peas for serving. The brown rice side dish will take on new flavor notes.

By the way. The glycemic index of brown rice is 50, while white basmati rice (one of the most popular varieties) has an index of 67. It is clear that unrefined rice wins in terms of dietetics.

A note for the hostess. Try adding fresh herbs to the brown rice side dish: cilantro, parsley, or green onions, and a light citrus aroma — lemon or orange zest. It would also be nice to sprinkle grated Parmesan on top of the side dish.