Often times, I cook a large batch of short grain brown rice on the weekends. Then, I refrigerate the rice and incorporate it into various dishes throughout the week. The rice is great in salads with cooked chickpeas, feta, butternut squash, and olive oil; egg fried rice; or in chilis. Short grain brown rice is incredibly versatile.
HOW TO COOK SHORT GRAIN BROWN RICE
WASH THE RICE
First, rinse the rice twice to get rid of any excess starch. Then, drain the rice over a sieve or strainer.
COOK THE RICE
When it comes to cooking rice, I prefer the absorption method. In other words, I like using only as much water as needed to cook the rice. All the water used for cooking the rice absorbs into the grains. Some people like to cook rice like pasta—boil a large pot of water, add the rice, and then drain the cooked rice over a strainer. Although this method of cooking rice works, the texture of the rice will not be as toothsome and chewy as rice cooked with the absorption method. Below, I outline 3 different methods for cooking short grain brown rice: stovetop, Instant Pot, and slow cooker. I prefer the Instant Pot method the most because I can just set the cooker and walk away. With the slow cooker method, make sure to stir the rice about 30 minutes before it is done cooking. This helps to ensure that the rice on the top is fully cooked and the rice at the bottom isn’t overly gummy.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH BROWN RICE
Vegan Butternut Squash Curry (photographed above)Sticky Asian Chicken ThighsSpicy Three Bean Chili (I like adding 1 to 2 cups of cooked rice to my chili for a fuller meal)Paneer Tikka Masala
OTHER RICE COOKING TUTORIALS
Jasmine RiceBasmati Rice
