There are three “breads” in the world: wheat, corn and rice. It just so happened that the Asian cereal crop came to Europe rather late. We got acquainted with rice when it was already “powdered” for the buyer, that is, cleaned and polished. Few Europeans know what an ordinary grain of this cereal looks like. And it, like wheat, is in the amniotic membrane. Because of this, the rice grain has a sloppy dirty brown color. But in Asia, they have long figured out that brown rice is much healthier than white. There, raw grains are used to prepare food for the elderly and children. True, such rice is cooked much longer than its polished counterpart. Yes, and the taste is due to the shell specific. Therefore, another type of rice became known - parboild. Unpeeled grains are steamed, all useful substances and taste qualities of the pericarp are transferred to the nucleolus. Then the rice is cleaned of the unnecessary shell. The grains turn slightly yellow, but cook very quickly - within 15 minutes. In this article, we will talk about how to cook brown rice properly. This is very interesting and educational!

Is sanding good?

Rice is certainly a useful cereal. But did you know that the lion's share of the substances necessary for the body is contained in the amniotic sac of grain? Scientists from Harvard conducted research to determine the difference between white and brown rice. The benefits and harms of these two types of cereal are described in The Independent. It turns out that white rice increases the risk of diabetes. And his brown counterpart, on the contrary, reduces this risk by 16%. And in terms of calories, it is slightly lower - 111 versus 130 (per 100 grams of product). But not in the nutritional benefits of brown rice. Thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, folic acid, iodine, copper, phosphorus, zinc, the most important amino acids for health are found in excess in the pericarp. Brown rice only loses in one way to grain refined by polishing: shelf life. Due to the fact that the nucleoli are covered with an oily peel, they cannot be kept for a long time.

As we have already found out, this is exactly the case when coarse and unpolished cereals are more useful than beautiful white grains. However, due to the skin and the taste of the finished dish will be very different. And such grain is cooked for about half an hour - longer than its white counterpart. But the risk is reduced that instead of pilaf you will get porridge. But no matter how long we cook brown grain, it will still remain somewhat hard. By the way, many do not like this variety of rice for its specific taste. And in vain, you just need to know how to cook it correctly. And combine with the right products. Then you will have a wonderful independent dish or a spectacular looking and tasty side dish. So how do you cook brown rice? The recipes below will enrich your knowledge of the use of this useful product.

General rules for cooking grain

Unpeeled rice can be used in all dishes where white varieties are used: in pilaf, cereals, casseroles, cabbage rolls. It turns out similar, only a slight nutty flavor betrays that unpolished grain was used. To make the rice softer, more tender, it is soaked for two to three hours. If you keep the grains in water all night, then the porridge will cook in fifteen to twenty minutes. The proportions need to change a bit. For a glass of cereal you need to take three times more water. Rinse brown rice before cooking. We continue this process until the flowing water becomes completely transparent. If you want to cook crumbly porridge, you first need to fry the rice a little in olive oil. After that, it is necessary to pour the cereal with cold water, mix once and leave on high heat. As soon as the liquid boils, you need to reduce the heat to a minimum, salt the dish to taste, close the lid and leave until the water is completely absorbed. It is also worth giving the rice time to rest on the edge of the stove after turning off the gas for about 20 minutes.

Greek casserole with feta and zucchini

Brown rice (100 g) cook until tender, as described above. Cool it, add one egg and 100 g of grated cheese varieties. We mix. We grease the form with butter and lay out, tightly tamping, the base for the casserole. We put in an oven preheated to 220 C for five minutes. We rub a small zucchini or a young zucchini, squeeze the juice. Two hundred to three hundred grams of feta knead with a fork. Add zucchini. We beat in two more eggs. Knead with finely chopped yellow sweet pepper and herbs (dill, mint, green onion, parsley). We dilute the filling with 70 grams of cream of 10% fat content. Salt, pepper. We spread the filling on the rice base. From above, lightly pressing, place the whole cherry tomatoes. We set the oven temperature to 200 C. We cook the casserole for half an hour.

Risotto

Finely chop the onion and celery stalk. Fry in vegetable oil, squeezing two more cloves of garlic into a deep frying pan. When the onion becomes translucent, add finely chopped carrots. After a couple of minutes, add brown rice (a glass), mix and leave for two minutes under the lid to steam a little. Pour 0.6 liters of hot chicken broth. After a quarter of an hour of cooking, add spices under the lid: basil, sweet paprika, chili pepper. We mix. After two minutes, put three tablespoons of ketchup. Cooking for another ten minutes. This dish can be an independent dish, or it can be a side dish of fried or baked chicken.

Iranian pilaf with brown rice

First, we sauté on a spoonful of olive oil finely chopped onions and carrots. Pour 180 grams of brown rice. Stir, fry for a minute. Add 50 grams of crushed dates, a spoonful of grated zest, 400 ml of broth and half a glass of water. Pepper and salt the dish, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a minimum. Cover and cook brown rice for 45 minutes. When all the liquid boils away, add a spoonful of lemon juice. We leave under the lid to reach. Sprinkle the finished pilaf with green onions and serve.

Warm salad with cauliflower

Hot main courses are not the only thing you can cook brown rice with. Recipes give us many options for salads. Here is one of them, Mediterranean. We wash and boil the brown rice to make 200 grams of crumbly porridge. Finely chop the onion, and cut the red bell pepper into small pieces. Boil two small heads of cauliflower in salted water, divide into inflorescences. We steam a handful of dried cranberries, rinse, strain, dry a little on a napkin. Roast the same amount of pine nuts. Mix all the ingredients in a salad bowl. It is desirable that the rice is still warm. Salt and pepper. Make dressing in a jar with a lid. Shake three tablespoons of olive oil and lemon juice together. Dress the salad with this dressing.

Cereal maneuvers

Don't be afraid to experiment with brown rice. It can be used in place of white grains and produce dishes with a slightly different, nutty flavor. On sale there are many cereal mixtures, which includes brown rice. Reviews highly recommend trying a "cocktail" with Parboild. Parboiled grain cooks faster, so the whole porridge will be cooked evenly. A mixture of parboild and wild rice is especially prized. By the way, the last species came to us not from Asia, but from North America. They have long been eaten by the Indians, and they began to cultivate it only in the 50s of the last century. Aquatic zest (as wild rice is scientifically called) has an intense black color and a rich, sweet, nutty flavor. It is best to cook exotic dishes from such a mixture of cereals: curry, with coconut sauce, walnuts, tarragon.

Brown, or as sophisticated cooks and housewives call it - brown - rice contains much more vitamins than the white "brother" and has a high nutritional value.

It contains much less harmful substances and impurities that polished white rice is saturated with during industrial preparation for sale. In some countries of East Asia, rice cooking is a whole art in which both mental attitude and verified technology are important. But there is not a single step in it that is difficult!

Cooking time

You can count the total cooking time of rice from the moment it is soaked. This procedure is needed to eliminate excess starch and prepare coarse brown rice for heat treatment. The soaking process will make the fibers elastic, which is especially important for cereals with long grains.

Advice! Cooking in a slow cooker is most often designed for 45 minutes in standard mode. When using coarse varieties with long grains, this is the optimal time. When using soft rice, turn off the machine 15 minutes before the timer.

Brown rice should be soaked for at least 4 hours, the longer the grains, the longer it should be kept in water. The maximum time of "water procedures" is 7-8 hours. If the product is used to prepare a morning meal, then you can soak it before going to bed. If you plan an interesting dinner, then you can do this before leaving for work.

After boiling water with brown rice, it should take 30 minutes, no less, before the product is cooked. Some varieties require 45 minutes to cook for full readiness. There is no point in holding longer, otherwise the rice will swell and become mushy in excess water.

You should not get carried away with excessive heat treatment of brown rice, because after 40-45 minutes its glycemic index begins to increase sharply, and useful substances are rapidly destroyed.

How to cook brown rice

It should be noted that 30-45 minutes of cooking rice includes the entire cycle of preparing a satisfying product. This means that after draining the water and re-boiling, the time is not counted again, but, as it were, during the first cycle. Drain the water only if after 10 minutes it becomes very cloudy:

• the soaked rice is washed again under running water so that all the cloudy liquid passes;
• put the cereal in a pan with a wide bottom (it is needed so that the rice cooks evenly) and pour 2.5-3 cups per 1 cup of cereal;
• cover with a lid and wait 7-10 minutes, check the cereal for starch release, drain the water if necessary and pour 2.5 glasses of water again;
• after boiling, cook for 20 minutes;
• then open the lid, salt and add spices and seasonings, if necessary, close the lid back and simmer until tender for 10-20 minutes.

As soon as the time runs out, the dish is turned off, moved away from the stove and allowed to stand for 10-15 minutes. Ideally, the water should be almost 100% boiled away by this point. If it is too much, then next time you need to reduce the amount of liquid.

Little tricks of a true gourmet

Brown rice is not a specific variety, but a type of cereal that has not been polished. In the process of its preparation, it is useful to know some tricks:

• it is advisable to salt the product 15 minutes before the end of cooking, but not earlier, otherwise the shape of the grains will not be ideal, and the friability will let you down;
• the maximum taste of cereals is revealed in combination with butter, and vegetable oil can cross it out;
• manufacturers usually indicate the cooking time of their particular product on the packaging, you can use this hint;
• carrots, cut into small cubes and added during the cooking process, can emphasize the taste of brown rice;
• from seasonings, cereals especially “love” saffron, turmeric, various types of pepper;
• the product perfectly absorbs any aromas and tastes, so the scope for imagination is huge;
• unprocessed brown rice is stored several times less than white, it is better to keep it in a glass jar, as the cereal strongly attracts odors and bugs;
• If you add water during the cooking process, the rice will be spoiled. You can solve the problem in case of lack of fluid in a different way. Turn off the pan, wrap and move aside for 2-3 hours, the remaining moisture will be harmoniously distributed over the grains;
• it is easy to make sushi from brown rice if you choose round varieties with short grains;
• the longer the cereal grains, the more crumbly the side dish will end up being.

The culinary properties of the oriental product are amazing. It goes well with a huge amount of spices and seasonings, as well as vegetables, meat and even fruits!

You don’t have to look for recipes with brown rice for a long time, you can just boil it according to the advice above, but take half a glass less water, and 20 minutes after the active bubbles, pour low-fat milk (1 glass) into the cereal and add melted butter.

After 15 minutes, when the brown cereal has practically absorbed the liquid, an apple, sliced, a handful of raisins and a little dried apricots or prunes is added to 1 glass of cereal to taste. You can experiment with the amount and set of dried fruits. Get a quick and satisfying porridge!

Another nutritious recipe is made with vegetables and meat:

• about 0.6 kg of chicken is taken per glass of cereal;
• from vegetables you will need 0.3 kg of ripe tomatoes, half as many eggplants and 200 g of white onions, carrots, 100 g of sweet pepper;
• season the dish with 0.15 l of olive oil, 200 g of herbs and 20 g of garlic;
• a rich set of spices - chili, coriander, pepper, cloves and a few leaves of parsley.

All vegetables are cut into small cubes, the tomatoes are peeled, and the meat is fried in oil in a frying pan. Then add onions and carrots to it, and fry other vegetables separately.

As soon as all the components become soft, they are combined, rice is spread on top. Puree with spices is prepared from tomatoes and a saucepan is poured over them, adding a little water. Stew 40 minutes. Serve on a large plate, sprinkled with herbs.

In eastern countries, rice groats are considered a cultural asset. It is mentioned in the greetings of Asian peoples. With the right cooked product, the human body receives irreplaceable nutrients. Approach to the choice of rice varieties must be carefully. It depends on the variety what complex of vitamins is contained in the composition. Eating rice saturates the body, giving it a fairly long feeling of satiety.

Therefore, this product will perfectly fit into the diet of a person who is fighting extra pounds. Brown rice, which will be discussed below, is one of the most useful varieties of this crop. Thanks to him, a person acquires a slender figure and a healthy body.

Groats preparation

Basic knowledge of how to prepare brown rice groats for cooking will help you further in the preparation of white rice, a mixture with wild, barley and buckwheat porridge. Compliance with these simple recommendations will help to cook a tasty and crumbly dish that will bring great benefits to your body.

So, for starters, put the product in a deep container and fill it with the required amount of cool water, so that the liquid level is three centimeters higher than the rice cereal.

Next, vigorously stir the contents of the container. This is how you help dirt and dust from rice grains to rise to the top. After a few minutes, drain the water and repeat the procedure again. There is no recommended number of washes, it is necessary to repeat the procedure until the liquid to be washed becomes clear. This will indicate that this cereal crop is pure enough to continue its preparation.

Washing rice groats, regardless of variety, is considered a mandatory procedure due to the following circumstances:

• thanks to running water, dust and dirt are washed out from the surface of the rice grain, which enters during the transportation of the product to an industrial enterprise;
• the products that we see on the supermarket shelves are often subjected to special chemical treatment. It helps to increase the shelf life of rice cereal. During the washing process, rice grains partially get rid of the harmful shell, which makes further heat treatment more efficient.

Do not neglect this step, because thanks to it you will protect your body from harmful microorganisms and possible allergic reactions.

To prepare crumbly food soaking is a necessary step. In addition, during soaking, sufficiently dense rice grains become softer, which will help bring them to a ready state in a shorter time. At this stage, it is necessary to know that the washed brown rice grains actively absorb the aromas surrounding them. And the liquid used for cooking affects the taste of the finished dish. Therefore, the liquid that will be used to soak the rice groats must be clean, pre-boiled.

The use of tap water at this stage is unacceptable. Otherwise, rice groats acquire the characteristic taste of chlorine, which is part of tap water. Brown rice groats have an interesting taste, slightly reminiscent of the taste of hazelnuts.

For one kilogram of rice groats, you will need to stock up on three liters of clean and salted water. If you have the opportunity, buy mineral water in any supermarket, which contains minerals and vitamins vital for the human body. So you will increase the benefits of brown rice cereal. When deciding to use ordinary water, it is strongly recommended to boil it first.

The temperature regime of the soaking liquid also requires your attention. Experienced cooks advise using a liquid whose temperature will not allow potato starch to curdle. In other words, the temperature of the soaking liquid should not exceed sixty-two degrees.

Another interesting nuance when soaking rice cereal is the addition of salt. Not many people know about this and salt when the dish is almost ready. If for one kilogram of rice grains you used three liters of pure (or mineral) water, then for this volume of liquid you will need to add a little less than two tablespoons of salt.

This amount of salt will be sufficient for the rice grains to absorb the required amount of salt without taking too much. If you are faced with the fact that your cereal gives off some kind of extraneous aroma, then it is advisable to change the liquid during soaking two or three times. The soaking process, on average, takes two to three hours. This is how long it takes for the structure of the grains to soften and be ready for further cooking.

After the time has passed, the rice grits will need to be washed again. It is necessary to stock up on a five-liter container with a round bottom. Let it be something resembling a small basin. At this stage, it is extremely important not to use ice-cold or excessively hot water.

In the first case, rice grains will crack, which will subsequently lead to the boiling of cereals. And in the second - the use of hot water from the tap will actively fill the grains that absorb everything in a row with harmful substances from the water supply. When using boiled water, difficulties should not arise. So, washing, as in the first case, should be carried out until the liquid becomes transparent.

In the process of washing, do not rub the grits with your palms, otherwise it will give off a characteristic rice sediment. Lower your palms to the bottom of the container and lift the grits up with light movements. Repeat the procedure several times, then drain the water.

A clear liquid will indicate that the rice cereal is ready for further cooking. The process of preparing the brown variety seems to be very time consuming and at first can discourage the desire to cook it. However, if you follow these simple recommendations, your dish will turn out very tasty. Also, do not forget about the enormous benefits that come from eating just one serving of this cereal crop.

How much time to cook?

The cooking time of this type of grain is affected by the method you prefer. When deciding to use a slow cooker or a double boiler, the product will be cooked for at least twenty-five minutes (based on the basic parameters of the "Pilaf" mode). If you have carried out the pre-treatment of the drilled cereal crop - repeated washing and soaking - then the cooking time is reduced by fifteen minutes.

If you want to get the traditional crumbly consistency, you must first boil the water, which takes an average of five minutes. Then bring the product to the finished state - at least thirty minutes. And leave the rice grains to infuse for another twenty-five to thirty minutes.

In general, cooking on the stove takes a little over sixty minutes. It is worth noting that the rather long process of preparing this cereal crop adversely affects its properties. When boiled in a boiling liquid for more than forty-five minutes, rice grains boil soft and lose most of the beneficial vitamins and minerals that are in the composition.

How to cook rice properly?

Once you have tried the brown variety, you will no longer be able to deny yourself this pleasure. This product can be consumed as an independent dish, lightly seasoned with soy sauce and spices, or as a side dish for all types of meat and fish. It is great to use rice for making low-calorie chicken cutlets. Rice is usually served with boiled vegetables.

So, let's move on to the process of cooking brown rice. This cereal crop has some features that must be observed in order to get a ready-made tasty dish.

First of all, the brown variety must be well cleaned of various contaminants and dust. To do this, the product is thoroughly washed in warm water. There is an ancient belief that rice is washed in seven waters. But in reality, it is necessary to wash the rice so many times that the water after washing becomes clear.

Washing rice is a very important step that should never be ignored. Since, in addition to dust, there are particles of a special substance on rice, which is used to process cereals during cultivation. These substances can be toxic and cause unpredictable reactions from the body, especially if the rice has not been cooked properly.

The next step is soaking the product. There is no consensus on this process. Cooks are divided into two camps - some believe that soaking rice is necessary, while the latter do not understand why waste time on this process. However, if we delve into the biological characteristics of rice grains, we will find that brown rice grains are denser in comparison with the white product we are used to. In order to soften the shell of brown rice, it must be soaked in clean water.

You will need a deep container with cold drinking water. Pour the required amount of rice and leave it for two to three hours; It is permissible to soak brown rice overnight. If possible, change the water (two or three times will be enough).

Regardless of the variety, friable rice is considered the most delicious. Therefore, as in the case of barley and buckwheat porridge, it is extremely important to follow the ratio of water and this product. So, to prepare one glass of brown rice, you need to take two and a half - three glasses of pure water.

Do not forget that the cereal is poured into the water, which is just starting to boil. This nuance is also reflected in the taste of the finished dish.

Cooking this cereal crop must be carried out on low heat. The duration of cooking takes about forty minutes. In the process of cooking cereals, in no case do not mix the contents of the pan. A couple of minutes before completion, it is permissible to lightly shake the pan once or twice. After the time has elapsed, it is advisable to wrap the container with cooked brown rice in a warm terry towel or blanket and leave for fifteen to twenty minutes. During this short period, the grains of rice will absorb the remaining water.

The long-grain version in bags in boiled form should be as soft and crumbly as possible. If it is solid, then hold it still under the lid.

A more modern method of cooking brown rice is to use a slow cooker. If you are a happy owner of this wonderful device, then cooking, firstly, will become much easier, since there is no need to periodically check the readiness of rice, and secondly, the cooking process in a slow cooker takes much less time. So, there are no significant differences between cooking brown rice in the traditional way and cooking it in a slow cooker.

To begin with, the cereal crop is thoroughly washed and soaked, and only then transferred to the multicooker bowl. Then you need to activate the "Pilaf" mode and wait for the sound signal about the end of the multicooker.

Regardless of the brand, any multicooker model contains a special compartment for boiling cereals. Before cooking, pour a small amount of water into it. A large volume of liquid will make the consistency more liquid; as a result, you will get rice porridge. This is done to soften the rice grains.

Each cereal has its own set of rules that help extend the shelf life of the product. They are quite simple, but ignoring them leads to the fact that rice groats begin to deteriorate and subsequently lose their beneficial properties. Following these recommendations will allow you to get all the benefits for your body from the product:

• store unpolished brown or brown rice at room temperature, in a dry and dark place;
• cereals are stored much longer in containers made of tinted glass or ceramics, the presence of a lid is welcome.

A little-known fact, but it is the use of this cereal that helps to lose extra pounds. Rich in vegetable fiber, the product helps to eliminate toxic substances, forcing them to literally “evacuate” from the intestinal area.

And the presence of a large amount of complex carbohydrates in the composition gives the body a false sense of satiety, thereby reducing appetite and preventing a person from overeating. If you are interested in removing excess fluid and unnecessary subcutaneous fat, it is recommended to arrange a fasting day with the help of low-calorie kefir and brown rice.

Choose a suitable day during which you do not have serious physical activity planned. On this day, you need to eat only properly cooked rice side dish and low-fat kefir. In twenty-four hours you will carry out an intensive cleansing of the intestines and the walls of the stomach.

You can learn more about how to cook brown rice in the next video.