Brown rice is not supposed to be hard after being cooked. It could be that you did not cook the brown rice long enough, since it requires more time to cook than other rice varieties, or it may be because you didn’t use enough water.
The challenge with brown rice is that they have a more intricate hull since the bran layer is left during the milling process.
The instructions on the products keep leaving you with either an overcooked surface with cooked insides or, the outer shell might be just right, but the inside is still hard.
Learning how to cook brown rice perfectly is not difficult. It only takes a little longer. Well, you have found a recipe that will teach you all you need in knowing how to cook brown rice perfectly, every time and all the time.
In this article, I will give you a complete breakdown of how to cook brown rice effectively and flawlessly, how to fix uncooked rice, overcooked rice, burnt rice, watery rice, and how to fix salty rice.
Ingredients Needed for Cooking Brown Rice
- 2 cups of short, medium, or long-grain brown rice
- 4 cups of water
- 1 and a half teaspoons of salt
How to Cook Brown Rice
1. Rinse the Rice
Place the rice on a fine-mesh strainer or a filter and rinse thoroughly under running water.
2. Add Water to Rice
After putting the rice into the pot or rice cooker, add 4 cups of water and 1 and a half teaspoon of salt.
3. Allow to Boil
Allow the rice to boil a little before reducing the heat so that the liquid is barely simmering and place a lid on the pot.
4. Allow to Cook for 40 – 45 minutes
Do not uncover the pot until the brown rice cooks for at least 40 – 45 minutes. Uncover and check to see if all the water has been absorbed. At this point, the rice should be chewy and tender.
If the rice is still crunchy, add more water and continue cooking. Check at 5 minutes intervals until brown rice is chewy and tender enough.
5. Serve and enjoy
You can serve your rice and enjoy it alongside some soup, sauce, or stew.
SEE: Is Egg Fried Rice Healthy?
How to Store Leftover Brown Rice
Transfer the leftover brown rice to an air-tight container and refrigerate. You can refrigerate leftover rice for 3 – 5 days. Leftover rice can also be stored in the freezer, lasting up to 3 months in the freezer.
SEE: Does Brown Rice Make You Gain Weight?
How to Fix Burnt Rice
Now, if you have burnt rice, the first thing to do is to access the rice properly. Just how much burnt is it?. If it is burnt to a crisp, then it is best to toss it. But if the rice is not seriously burnt but instead smells toasty than it looks, that’s okay.
All you have to do is transfer the cooked rice from one pot to another, and if there is still a lot of rice on the burnt pot, you can use a wooden spoon to scrub the surface gently.
Do you know that some cuisines are made with burnt rice?
- In Korea, Nurunji is the word for scorched or roasted rice.
- Socarrat is a burnt crispy base used in making Spanish paella in Spain.
How to Fix Undercooked Rice
There are several reasons you have undercooked rice. Maybe you cooked the rice at a high temperature, evaporating the water long before the rice cooked. Perhaps you took the pot lid off too early, letting the steam escape, or maybe you did not use enough water initially.
Whatever the case is, when you have undercooked rice, and all the water is already fully absorbed, add half a cup of water and return it to the fire with the pot lid on the pot. Make sure the temperature or the heat is low, or you will end up right back where you started.
Allow the rice to cook for 10 – 15 minutes. Check at 5 minutes intervals until its texture is chewy and fluffy enough to your preference.
SEE: The Internal Temperature Rules to Cook Your Food
How to Fix Watery Rice
If your rice is already cooked to your preference and there is still water in the rice, you don’t have to try cooking the rice till the water is dry.
Pour the rice into a fine-mesh strainer or a filter and drain the excess water. Add back to the pot, and you have regular cooked rice.
How to Fix a Salty Rice
If you’ve experienced this, you must know how frustrating this can be if you have salty rice. The best solution is to cook any batch of rice without adding salt. When the rice is properly cooked, add it to the first batch and mix it with a fork.
In cases where you don’t have any uncooked rice, you can use green sauce or red sauce, add it to the rice and stir together. With any luck, it should take even the seasoning.
SEE: Is White Rice Healthier Than Fried Rice?
FAQs
Is brown rice healthy?
Yes, brown rice is one of the most healthy varieties of rice.
Is brown rice harder to digest?
No, brown rice digests quickly. Although not as fast as white rice since brown rice contains phytic acid, which makes it digest slower than white rice.
Is brown rice harder than white rice?
Yes, brown rice is harder, it has a more rigid hull than white rice due to the presence of the bran layer in brown rice.
Is brown rice good for weight loss?
Brown rice is good for weight loss, and the fiber-rich whole-grains also reduces belly fat and helps you lose weight.
Conclusion: Is Brown Rice Supposed to be Hard?
Brown rice shouldn’t be hard. Although brown rice still has a bran coating, which requires more time to cook than all the other rice varieties. Learning how to cook brown rice is not difficult, and the results are worth it.
Brown rice is a fiber-rich whole grain, and the health benefits are endless. It is also a good option for your weight loss diet. It is fluffy and has a particular texture, making it enjoyable.
If you enjoyed this article, you should also see the reasons brown basmati rice is healthy.
Thank you for reading.
