Welcome to lesson 4 of the homemade how-to series: how to cook brown rice, the easy way. In each lesson, I’ll break down the steps for a home cooking skill I searched for often as I first learned to cook, or one that’s always been on my to-learn list. A recipe to showcase your new skill will follow a couple days after the how-to post!
Chances are, you searched for this tutorial in a pinch, so let’s dive right in! Click here to jump down and read more about cooking perfect brown rice and some ideas for how to use it.
How to cook brown rice
Ingredients
Tools
- Medium to large saucepan or pot with a lid
- Fine mesh strainer
- Wooden spoon
- Colander (with small-ish holes)
- Clean dish towel
- Fork
Step 1: Boil water
Fill a medium to large saucepan with at least 5 times more water than you have dry rice. Unlike typical rice cooking methods, the goal here is not to use just as much water as the rice will absorb; it’s to use excess water (similar to boiling pasta). Set the pot over high heat to bring to a boil. Keep the lid nearby, although you won’t need it right away.
Step 2: Rinse rice
Meanwhile, place dry rice in a fine strainer (preferably mesh) and run cold water over it for one to two minutes, until the water coming out the bottom runs almost clear, not cloudy like it did at the beginning.
Step 3: Gently boil the rice
When the water comes to a boil, use a wooden spoon to scrape the rice in. Do not salt the water. Give the rice a stir–a couple swirls around the pan–then put that spoon down and don’t pick it up again! No more stirring. Adjust the heat to about medium high, so the water boils moderately. Boil for 25 minutes uncovered.
Step 4: Drain rice briefly
Scoop out a couple grains of rice and try them. If they’re not soft enough, continue boiling about 5 more minutes. When the rice is tender, take it to the sink with a colander set up, and a clean dish towel and the pot lid nearby. Drain the rice through the colander, then immediately empty it back into the pan, even if it’s still a bit wet. The goal is to drain most of the water, so all of the rice may not come out of the pan when you drain it.
Step 5: Steam rice in the pan
Set the pan on a cool burner or towel, cover it with a folded, clean dish towel, then place the lid over the towel for ten minutes, so the rice steams, finishes cooking, and absorbs the remaining water.
Step 6: Season and fluff
Remove the lid (it may be warm) and towel, sprinkle the rice with a couple generous pinches of salt (unless you prefer it plain) then stir it with a fork to fluff. Serve immediately or store rice in the refrigerator (for up to a week) or freezer (for a couple months).
That’s it! Please leave comments below with other methods you use or questions you have, or print the “recipe” for how to cook brown rice:
- Dry brown rice, short or long grain (see yield for quantity)
- Water
- Salt
- Fill a medium to large saucepan with at least 5 times more water than you have dry rice. Unlike typical rice cooking methods, the goal here is not to use just as much water as the rice will absorb; it's to use excess water (similar to boiling pasta). Set the pot over high heat to bring to a boil. Keep the lid nearby, although you won't need it right away.
- Meanwhile, place dry rice in a fine strainer (preferably mesh) and run cold water over it for one to two minutes, until the water coming out the bottom runs almost clear, not cloudy like it did at the beginning.
- When the water comes to a boil, use a wooden spoon to scrape the rice in. Do not salt the water. Give the rice a stir--a couple swirls around the pan--then put that spoon down and don't pick it up again! No more stirring. Adjust the heat to about medium high, so the water boils moderately. Boil for 25 minutes uncovered.
- Scoop out a couple grains of rice and try them. If they're not soft enough, continue boiling about 5 more minutes. When the rice is tender, take it to the sink with a colander set up, and a clean dish towel and the pot lid nearby. Drain the rice through the colander, then immediately empty it back into the pan, even if it's still a bit wet. The goal is to drain most of the water, so all of the rice may not come out of the pan when you drain it.
- Set the pan on a cool burner or towel, cover it with a folded, clean dish towel, then place the lid over the towel for ten minutes, so the rice steams, finishes cooking, and absorbs the remaining water.
- Remove the lid (it may be warm) and towel, sprinkle the rice with a couple generous pinches of salt (unless you prefer it plain) then stir it with a fork to fluff. Serve immediately or store rice in the refrigerator (for up to a week) or freezer (for a couple months).
Cooked rice keeps well in the refrigerator, but the texture doesn't hold up quite as nicely in the freezer. You won't notice a difference if using your frozen rice in soup, fried rice, or other uses where it's cooked again.
To reheat rice, I have the best luck steaming it. Place it in a microwave safe dish, a pot, or an oven safe container with a splash of water (about a tablespoon per 2 cups of rice). Microwave at 70 or 80 percent power, loosely covered with plastic wrap, or heat at a low temperature on the stove or in the oven, covered.
Try it!
A separate post is coming soon with a creative way to use your brown rice in an Asian-inspired, savory breakfast recipe!
Meanwhile, I love this simple brown rice breakfast bowl topped with avocado-carrot salad. It’s barely a recipe, but it’s satisfying and flavorful when you’re thinking about meal prep for breakfast or lunch next week.
- Cooked brown rice
- Tamari or soy sauce
- Chopped avocado
- Fresh lime juice
- Carrot, cut into ribbons with a vegetable peeler, thinly sliced, or shredded
- Toss warm brown rice with enough tamari to coat, or as much as desired. Mix avocado, a splash of lime juice, and carrots together and serve over the rice.
A little more about cooking fluffy brown rice
Sticky rice is great…if you’re making sushi. The other 99.9999% of the time, most of us like our brown rice light and fluffy, cooked just right, with the grains nicely separated. It’s perfect in homemade burrito bowls, soups, casseroles, and even sweet or savory breakfast; a staple you always pat yourself on the back for having on hand. Brown rice can, however, be tricky to cook well.
The two major issues I’ve encountered cooking brown rice are 1) sticky, dense rice from opening the lid too soon and 2) getting the ratio of rice to water just right, leaving either soupy brown rice or a layer burnt to the bottom of the pan. If you’re plagued by the same issues, today’s easy method is for you! The pan stays uncovered so you can always see the water level and intensity of boiling, and we use much more water than the rice will absorb, alleviating any risk of burning (unless you’re very creative in ruining rice).
Brown rice FAQs
Leave any additional questions in the comments below, and I’ll do my best to answer!
Can I use this method with white rice?
The big question. To be honest, I haven’t tried it, so it’s not my place to speak from experience. And although I do love white rice, I cook brown rice much more often at home. My research tells me that there are similar, but not identical, methods for cooking white rice. Unless you’re feeling adventurous or like you want to help me out with some research, I wouldn’t recommend using this exact method for white rice.
Why don’t you just use a rice cooker?
Because I don’t have one, and although I make a lot of rice, it’s just one more redundant kitchen electric to me. Perhaps it would make my life a whole lot easier, but I like to do things the old fashioned way, and I’m assuming if you’re reading this then maybe you do, too (either that, or you have a small apartment). Feel free to share your experience with cooking brown rice in a rice cooker down in the comments.
What kind of brown rice should I use?
Any kind! I’ve use this method for cooking brown rice with success with short grain, long grain, basmati, etc. As long as it’s non-quick cooking brown rice of any kind, you should be fine.
What to make with brown rice
Here are some of my favorite uses for cooked brown rice:
- Use it as a base for homemade burrito bowls. Season it with lime juice, salt, and chopped cilantro, and pile high with your favorite proteins and Mexican fixings, sans burrito shell.
- Serve it under any and all stir fry recipes.
- Add it to vegetable soup to make it extra filling, or use it in Mulligatawny soup.
- Scoop it over a hearty bowl of healthy kale curry.
- Make fried rice extra healthy by using it instead of traditional white rice.
More homemade how-to
- How to make pie crust from scratch (and pecan chocolate chess pie)
- How to grate parmesan cheese (and thick tomato soup with addictive parmesan croutons)
- How to make fresh bread crumbs (and rainbow peppers with herbed bread crumbs)
- Homemade coconut milk (and a piña colada green smoothie)
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