Brown rice epiphany

[Jenise]

For some reason, brown rice didn't cross my path until I was in my late 20's. Oh, it was out there, but I just never got around to buying any myself and somehow I was never around anyone who cooked it. It seemed to be one of those Birkenstock-y foods, and that's not my crowd. So my first taste of it was at an upscale pan-Asian Seattle restaurant that offered a choice of white or brown. Excited, I chose brown but sadly wasn't impressed--the taste was cardboardy and the texture a bit pasty. That I can recall, since then I've only had brown rice in the occasional vegetarian sushi (brown rice with avocado is a particularly good match). I've never been served it at someone else's home.

So three or four years ago, Christina Georgina mentioned here liking brown basmati rice and lo and behold shortly thereafter I saw some at the Food Co-op and bought it. And then put it in the pantry where it has been glaring at me all this time.

Last night, I made some. I have the impression that brown rice usually needs more cooking time and more liquid, so I adjusted my routine accordingly. I used turkey broth cut with water to give the rice a very lightly savory taste plus about a tablespoon of safflower oil (for another purpose I was making double the quantity we would actually eat at dinner) to inhibit the stickiness I remembered in the brown rice at Wild Ginger.

It was delicious! The kernels were separate and distinct, and the flavor fantastically nutty--the flavor imparted by the hull plays right into basmati's unique flavors. We loved everything about it.

So thank you Christina, I feel stupid for taking so long to get around to this!

Jenise, probably 4 out of 5 times we have rice at home it is brown rice. Primarily because I'm allergic to yeast (not life-threateningly so), and so am supposed to stick with whole grains and whole-grain flours whenever possible. Something about how white rice and processed carbs are converted by the body into sugars much more efficiently than whole grains, and as yeasts feed on sugars, it actually makes yeast allergies more virulent. Plus, whole grains are healthier in a diet than processed grains. Lundberg is a rice producer in the USA and markets some great mixes of brown, black and red rices, which Gail and I love.

I make brown rice fairly often, but always when there's gravy or sauce to put on it. I tried some sushi made with brown rice yesterday...
Never again. Well, maybe if I was really hungry and that was all there was.

We used to have Lundberg's brown rice all the time and then I discovered Jasmine rice. I didn't know there was a brown Jasmine. We are driving by Granzella's off of I-5 tomorrow, they carry many of Lundberg's products. Will have to look for it.

[David M. Bueker]

Gosh I hate brown rice. I've had it every which way, and never, ever liked it. Laura likes it, so that's what we have a lot of the time. I just skip the rice!

Our problem with brown rice is getting it cooked. We cook rice in an ordinary saucepan, and not a special cooker. We also realize that brown rice has to cook longer than white rice. It just never seems to get done. We have cooked it for over half and hour, still have some liquid left in the pan (we use more liquid too), and it still isn't done. So what do we mean by done? We don't mind it being chewy; as that is what brown rice is supposed to be. What we are getting is "still hard." The kind we use is brown Basmati rice.

...We have cooked it for over half and hour, still have some liquid left in the pan (we use more liquid too), and it still isn't done....

Brown rice usually takes about 45 minutes to cook. About 12 minutes in a pressure cooker. I usually add stock to the cooking water. I like it, but not as a substitute for white rice, just something different - good when topped with chili w/beans.

good when topped with chili w/beans.

Howie, Cowboy would take that as blatant sacrilege. Better hope he never reads this thread.

Trader Joe's has a good Basmati brown rice, but with their introduction a few years ago of frozen cooked rice (they have both brown and jasmine) I've stopped buying the Basmati. The frozen rice is quite good (be sure to use the organic versions, they are better than the regular) and is ready in 3 minutes. Yeah, I'm lazy.

Haven't had my brown rice epiphany yet.

Had it several times, in several different ways, and I don't get very much from it at all.

There's no there there for me.

(Now I love white rice, basmati, Texmati, jasmine, sticky.... just don't care much for brown rice.)

Left over brown rice makes a killer fried rice...

We usually cook brown rice in 20-25 minutes. All depends on the level of heat!

good when topped with chili w/beans.

Howie, Cowboy would take that as blatant sacrilege. Better hope he never reads this thread.

Too late, you fuckers. The hounds have been loosed and the Ninjas alerted. Watch your back, Howie.

rwj

http://punkchef69.blogspot.com/2010/11/ ... nlist.html

rwj

We have been using Lundberg's brown basmati for several years. It is delightfully fragrant and nutty. It also makes a good mix with wild rice.

Too late, you fuckers. The hounds have been loosed and the Ninjas alerted. Watch your back, Howie.
rwj

Hey! That's the way it was served in the Marines. Read page 5 of the Quantico Marines Cookbook. Besides, we were trained to kill.
(note - I like the way you make it in your blog - I'll have to try a batch of that.)

I used to hate brown rice, but that's changed as we've tried better quality ones, and now probably eat more than white. Currently looks like we have Lundberg short grain brown, Lundberg Basmati, and Kagayaki Haiga brown (which were having tonight)

[Jenise]

Haven't had my brown rice epiphany yet.

Had it several times, in several different ways, and I don't get very much from it at all.

There's no there there for me.

(Now I love white rice, basmati, Texmati, jasmine, sticky.... just don't care much for brown rice.)

Give brown basmati a try then. It's in a different league. This epiphany doesn't mean I've changed my mind about all brown rices--I still would not like the brown rice at Wild Ginger.

Trader Joe's has a good Basmati brown rice, but with their introduction a few years ago of frozen cooked rice (they have both brown and jasmine) I've stopped buying the Basmati. The frozen rice is quite good (be sure to use the organic versions, they are better than the regular) and is ready in 3 minutes. Yeah, I'm lazy.

I saw all the cooked rices today at TJ's and I got to thinking about how you would add mushrooms, butternut squash, chicken broth and a myriad of other things that compliment the rice and add flavor. Do you eat yours plain, as it comes out of the box....what do you do with it exactly?

Karen, a lot of times I eat it with just some butter and pepper, but 'fixing it up' is easy too. You can add stuff after it's microwaved or just stir ingredients and cook together, depending on what you're making. I've often mixed in a package with sauteed meat and vegetables to make a rice 'stew'.

Just tonight I had some brown rice leftover from another meal so I mixed in some canned tomatoes and spices, heated it up and sprinkled with parmesan cheese. Worked fine.

My secretary showed up with sushi for lunch - made with brown rice! Agghhhh!!!!!

Tried brown basmati a few times. Think it's OK at best when on its own, and a very, very inferior substitute to white basmati. It's a complete failure when I've had it substituted for white basmati in Indian dishes/meals like biryani or pulaos, or accompaniments to daals, sambars, etc.

I really enjoy the Kagayaki Haiga-mai. Apparently it's "half-milled" (bran removed, but not germ). Very light brown color. We tend to season with furikake. Not as much fiber as regular brown, but some added nutrients compared to white, and a very nice nutty edge to what otherwise resembles good Japanese white rice.

Considering that My doctor just told me to increase the fiber in my diet, brown rice is in my kitchen to stay. Good thing I like it. I often cook brown rices in broth, and add dehydrated veggies I buy at Whole foods in bulk, for use in soups and rice. It adds flavor and another texture.