Hi Kelly:
Brown rice is really simple to prepare, but it needs to cook longer than
white rice. Here's how I prepare brown rice:
1 cup brown rice
1 1/2 cups water
1/8 to 1/4 tsp. salt (optional---depends on your preference)
Bring the water and salt to a boil in a heavy sauce pan. Once the water
boils, add the rice. Stir once, bring to a slow simmer, turn the burner to
its lowest setting (barely on), cover the pan with a lid. Cook, covered,
for 35 minutes (don't take the lid off the pan at any point during the
cooking because the steam that is cooking the rice will escape). After 35
minutes, turn off the burner (but don't take the lid off the pan). Let the
rice sit, covered, for 15 minutes and then serve.
A cup of raw brown rice makes about 2 1/2 cups cooked brown rice. You can
increase the servings when you cook rice---just remember to use 1 part rice
to 1 1/2 parts water. I often prepare a large pan of rice and then freeze
half of the cooked rice in a freezer bag. Rice freezes beautifully. Just
zap the rice in the microwave on nights when you don't have time to prepare
rice from scratch.
Variation: Use vegetable stock instead of water and add some of your
favorite herbs. If the stock is salty, don't add any extra salt to the rice.
Hope this helps,
Bethann
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Bethann D. Merriam Senior Technical Editor
(408) 371-8834 Cisco Systems, Inc.
Have regular hours for work and play; make each day both
useful and pleasant, and prove that you understand the worth
of time by employing it well.
---Louisa May Alcott
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