Brown rice in my rice cooker - MUSH. help

[rpmcmurphy]

For the past 2 years, I've never, ever ever cooked brown rice like I get it in a restaurant.

Fed up, yesterday I went to the Asian grocery store I frequent, and when the 75yr old lady with the 20lb bag of rice in her cart wheeled by the rice cooker section, I asked her which one.....she pointed. I bought.

came home with a Nojurushi NS-ZCC10


Last night, got out my brown rice. followed the directions to a T.....

- Measured out 2 cups per their cup measureing. Rinsed the rice in a strainer, put it in the rice cooker, filled it with water to the '2 cup' line....set it to brown rice and when the little song played, I opened it up, and it was just as mushy as it would have been had I cooked it on the stove.

is it just a matter of using less water?  I'm using Carolina brand brown rice, going to pick up a new brand from the Asian grocer today.

I'm using just water, and just rice. no oil, butter, or anything.

ANyone have this or a similiar rice cooker and cook brown rice that couldn't be used for patching holes in my foundation?

 

[kyheirloomer]

I've never used a rice cooker, so can't say for sure. But if they work essentially like cooking on the stove, you're using too much water, IMO.

When I make brown rice I essentially follow the method used at Moosewood. For one cup rice you need only 1.5 cups of water.* Start by cooking the dry rice is a very thin film of oil---just enough to barely cover each grain. Cook over med/medium hight heat, stirring, until the rice starts to turn opaque and pops. A nutty aroma will waft up from the pot.

Pour in the water, cover immediately. When it comes to a boil, turn it off and let it sit five minutes. Turn the heat back on, let it return to boil, lower the heat, and let it simmer 25 minutes. Do Not Remove The Cover. Yeah, it's hard not to. But have faith, grasshopper.

*The Moosewood method is to put the rice in a pot and measure it with your finger. Then add an equal volume of water. I converted this to actual measurements, and it works out as 1.5/1 water to rice by volume.

 

[donmoocao]

I've used a rice cooker to cook rice a lot and the cooker you bought is actually really good.  Different types of rice will absorb different amounts of water some of it has to do with the variety of rice and age has to do a lot with it also.  Personally, my very traditional Vietnamese parents taught me to stick my index finger in the water until it touches the top of the rice and it should be approximately half-way to the first joint.  Technically not accurate as different rice / finger sizes will use different amounts of water, but as in everything, especially cooking, you just learn from the mistakes and adjust or keep doing it if it succeeds.

 

[rpmcmurphy]

Well, I'm expermenting with water ratio now, but after 3 batchs, I can tell you it's certainly not what it says on the bag of rice, nor measurement inside the rice cooker bowl, nor 1/4cup less than what it says in the rice cooker bowl....I just knocked it down another 1/4, so, we'll see.

 

[boar_d_laze]

Did you try the knuckle method?  It's very good, because it adapts for all but the smallest amounts of rice -- which a straight ratio (obviously) does not.

Also, have you tried rescuing your wet rice in a sheet pan?  Old restaurant trick.  You can do it an oven, or fan it off on the counter and rewarm it in the cooker.

It took 5,000 years of civilization to learn to polish the rice grain, and you can come along and decide to eat brown rice.  No wonder the Chinese have such spilchas.

BDL

 

[rpmcmurphy]

Well, last night, I added about a cup LESS water and it came out OK....basically, I put in the recommended (on the rice cooker) water ratio for white rice, and that seemed to do it ok. 

screw 'rescueing' it, I don't even like brown rice.....that's why I don't wanna spend much time on it and bought a rice cooker. Unfortunately, I have to eat it...

 

[boar_d_laze]

RPM,

Well, if you hafta you hafta.  Mix it with wild rice and shiitake, throw a few dried herbs in the pot, and that will help.  When it's out , dd some toasted pine nuts, a little sweated mirepoix and dress it with a few twists of pepper, a little super good olive oil and a splash of decent vinegar.  Great lunch box stuff the next day.

BDL

PS.  White rice?  Rice maker makers know from white rice.  Of course they got THAT right.  What did you expect with the white rice?  Show some cultural sensitivity you fiber-obsessed white devil you. 

PPS.  How's Ratched?  Still off the soju?  Send her my love.

 

[rpmcmurphy]

What I meant was I used the ratio it said for white rice....for brown rice.

Ratched is well! She says hi.

 

[boar_d_laze]

Yosh!  Wakirumas.

Abei gezundt,

BDL

 

[headless chicken]

Brown rice in a rice cooker?  I've never done it that way and I usually find brown rice requires more water and/or longer cooking time but that may be brand dependant.  Something I tend to do when cooking jasmine rice with my rice cooker is to fluff the rice a bit and allow some of the steam to escape.  Don't ask me why it works but it just does.  The belief is that this will aerate the rice and prevents them from clumping and becoming soggy...something my grandmother use to preach whose words now filters to me through my mother.  Mind you she also had strong superstitions about certain days of the year that she wished us to postpone her funeral for almost a week because those days were unlucky on the Chinese calender.  God bless her man.

 

[rpmcmurphy]

I changed rice, and added a little less water, and now it's coming out perfect in the rice cooker!

 

[Guest]

I eat brown rice everyday but I've never used a rice cooker to make it (although I have a very nice zojirushi). When I was living in Japan about 15 years ago it was one of common cooking tips that if you want to cook brown rice you gotta use a pressure cooker. Brown rice is much tougher than white rice so I'm guessing it requires extra cooking time and/or water. My rice cooker can cook brown rice but never tried it because I was told 15 years ago that rice wouldn't be as good/soft as when cooked with a pressure cooker. (maybe technology has advanced now and it can make good brown rice)

I brought the pressure cooker from Japan but it looks similar to this:


If you do consider using a pressure cooker, the ratio of brown rice and water is 1:1.2, and cooking time is about 50 min. (10 min to boil, 20 min to leave it on low heat and 20 min to cool down)

Hope this helps!

 

[kyheirloomer]

Hmmmmmmm? 50 minutes with the help of a pressure cooker?

Brown basmati is our standard rice. I make brown it in a regular pot and the whole process (including rest time) doesn't take near that long; roughly 35 minutes. See my post, above, for the method I use.

I've had white rice turn clumpy and soggy, but never brown rice. I suspect it has to do with all the exposed surface starch on the white.

 

[amazingrace]

I have that Presto pressure cooker,  which I routinely use for cooking brown rice,  using the Pan in Pot method.  For a single meal, not planning for leftovers, I measure 1/2 cup brown rice, 3/4 cup broth [water works too], 1tsp butter and salt & pepper into a stainless steel bowl that fits inside the cooker.  I put a cup of water into the cooker, lower the bowl in,  lock on the lid and bring to pressure [about 5 minutes].  When pressure is reached, time for 13 minutes, remove from heat and allow pressure to drop naturally [also about 5 minutes].  Total cooking time, including raising and lowering the pressure, is about 23 minutes.  If you want the outer hull to be softer, without overcooking the interior,  you can soak the rice for an hour or so.  Pour off the soaking water, rinse, then follow the same directions above.  I have seen directions calling for a ratio of 1:2 rice to water,  but that never works for me.  the rice gets done before all the liquid is absorbed. 

 

[amazingrace]

How old your rice is also makes a big difference.  If it seems to be taking much longer than the recommended time,  it's probably time for a fresh supply. 

 

[kyheirloomer]

Total cooking time, including raising and lowering the pressure, is about 23 minutes. 

That sounds much more reasonable to me.

 

[Guest]

Forgot to mention.. I use Japanese brown rice which is shorter grain so that's why it might take longer to cook than basmati rice. I use a rice cooker to cook 4 cups of white rice which usually takes about 50 min also. Japanese rice is sticky and rounder so I'd imagine that's why cooking time and method are different than long grain rice? (I've never tried it but I've heard that long grain rice cooked with a Japanese rice cooker is uneatable)

Also amazingrace reminded me another tip I forgot to mention. It helps if you can soak brown rice for over night or a few hours before cooking. So basically if you're trying to cook Japanese brown rice it takes much longer. :-(