How to cook the perfect brown rice

Wondering how to cook the perfect brown rice? You are not alone as I've been struggling with this for a while. I mean it, I used to not buy brown rice because it would always be either too soggy or too chewy. But we vouched to try and incorporate a lot more wholefoods into our diet and while not always easy, I do feel like it's paying off.

When you are vegan, you do tend to be hungry a lot more, which is brilliant because you also get to eat a lot... but we didn't just want to eat any food, we wanted to focus on healthy, wholefood. Brown rice is magic. Not only it's healthy but it's also very filling. In fact, since I started eating more brown rice I don't feel like having my mid-afternoon vegan snack.

It's also pretty great before working out. Not sure about you, but we are just about trying to get back into a routine of exercising. For a month now we sort of not exercised almost at all. In our defence, we did move houses and we needed to run around like crazy to find furniture, fixtures and more. But when we do find time to work out, we tend to be super tired before exercising. So we started experimenting with different types of food before exercise to see if it makes a difference. Surprise, surprise, it does...

So nuts, smoothies, vegan protein bombs and delicious brown rice all make a difference. Brown rice is also pretty versatile. I mean we love it. It lasts in the fridge for about 3 days before it gets dry so you can make it quite a lot of it and use it for the week with different sides.

I do love a good wholegrain risotto with mushrooms for dinner too, or just having it alongside vegan steak.

How to cook brown rice

Right, so making brown rice was not always easy for me. I'd either put too much or too little water and the result would be pretty terrible. For this reason alone I avoided making this rice for a long time. But then, I made an effort to try it over and over until I get it right. When cooked correctly this rice tastes delicious. It's not like your ordinary rice, it actually has this fantastic nutty taste. It became our favourite type of rice which we eat all the time.

To cook the perfect rice you need to first decide on the cup you wish to use. This is super important because the trick to making this rice awesome is to use the same cup ratio of rice-water. For every cup of rice, you use two cups of water. Just fill the cup to the rim, don't be shy with it. Brown rice also takes longer to cook so make sure you simmer it on low heat for 30 minutes. Now, you want to see the water boil gently under the cover, so don't simmer the rice.

Boil it at low to medium heat. This is important, otherwise, the rice will become too soggy. Sometimes I like to eat this rice on its own and that's why I like to add a cube of vegan vegetable stock to the water so the rice has the perfect ratio of salt and taste. You can add nutritional yeast on top for an even nuttier, slightly cheesy taste.

Another trick to cooking the perfect brown rice is to cook it in a deep 28 cm non-stick frying pan. I found it that it's the perfect item for making rice. I tried all sort of non-stick pots and pans. Shallower frying pans too, but nothing works as well as my 28 cm non-stick frying pan. Don't laugh, but when I swapped over to an induction hob, I went out of my way to get this pan for cooking as it's pretty much my best friend in the kitchen.

And finally, the last secret to cooking the perfect brown rice is to cover the rice throughout the cooking process. Do not mix it, there's no need. The rice will cook beautifully on its own.

And that's it. That's my foolproof recipe for cooking brown rice. It took me several tries to get it right but now I can't see myself not buying and eating this healthy, filling and delicious rice.

This recipe has been developed entirely by Yuzu Bakes. Any resemblance with other recipes is purely coincidental.

Easy Brown Rice

5

Average: 5 (4 votes)

• Prep Time: 3 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins
• Total: 33 mins
• Serves 2 people

Categories: Sides Cusine: American, British, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Mediterranean, Mexican, Thai, Vietnamese

Description

How to cook the perfect brown rice every single time without fail. A quick and easy vegan recipe which yields enough rice for two people. Tastes delicious on its own or as a side for lunch and dinner.

Ingredients

(USA / Metric)

• 1 cup brown rice
• 2 cups water
• 1 cube vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

• 1. Heat the olive oil in a deep non-stick frying pan. I recommend a deep 28 cm pan. Bring a kettle of water to boil.
  2. Add one cup of brown rice to the pan and using a wooden spoon start mixing the rice to get coated in oil. Continue mixing for 1-2 minutes until you see the grains of rice becoming whiter and a little translucent. Add two cups of water over the rice. Add one cube of vegan vegetable stock and mix well. Cover and boil gently on low heat for 30 minutes.
  3. You do not need to mix the rice during the cooking process. After 30 minutes, remove the rice from the hob and let it stand, covered, for about 5-10 minutes. Serve immediately.
     Store any remaining rice in an airtight container and consume within 3 days.

Notes

You can use any normal cup for measurement. It is important that you use the exact same cup filled with rice and also with water to get the ratio right.

Nutritional Information

Total Nutrition Facts

Serves 2 people

Amount Per Serving
Calories 229
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 14 g			18%
	Saturated Fat 2 g		10%
	Trans Fat 0 g		0%
	Polyunsaturated Fat 2 g
	Monounsaturated Fat 10 g
Cholesterol 0 mg			0%
Sodium 32 mg			1%
Total Carbs 23 g			8%
	Dietary Fiber 2 g		6%
	Sugar 0 g		0%
Protein 2 g			5%
Vitamin A 0% Vitamin C 0% Calcium 1% Iron 3% Vitamin D 0% Magnesium 11% Potassium 2% Zinc 6% Phosphorus 11% Thiamin (B1) 8% Riboflavin (B2) 1% Niacin (B3) 8% Vitamin B6 12% Folic Acid (B9) 0% Vitamin B12 0% Vitamin E 13% Vitamin K 7%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice

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