Discussion Board

I thought I'd post this trick I discovered a couple years ago to get brown rice to cook quicker. I cook it like pasta. I put it in a large amount of water, and when it's done, I drain it. I figure this works b/c throughout the whole cooking time, each grain of rice is surrounded by boiling water. In the traditional method, as the rice cooks and absorbs the water, each grain is now surrounded by another grain of rice, instead of boiling water. It cooks in about 15 minutes. I've never timed it, but it's fast. I imagine any grain could be cooked that way. I don't know when the habit of putting in just the right amount of water so it would be all absorbed when the grain was done got started. It's neat, but takes longer, and sometimes I have to add more water b/c the rice isn't done, but the water's gone and the rice is sticking to the pan.

What a great idea. I have just purchased a zojirushi rice cooker to make gaba rice. It takes about 3 hours, and I try to soak prior. Your method sounds fantastic. My next adventure is to try to make gaba rice flour.

Aloha, patty

I had to google GABA rice. I don't see why it would take 3 hours to cook if you're basically sprouting it, right? I've sprouted wheat berries before, and they cooked up faster. Of course, maybe I don't quite understand GABA rice. It said on wikipedia that brown rice is soaked until germination starts. I assumed that was the same as sprouting.

I would think so too, here is a thread where it is discussed. http://sonic.net/~mcdsite/drmcdougall.c ... php?t=8027

Aloha, patty

That's how I cook my rice!!! That's the way rice was cooked in our house when I was growing up (even though it was white). I bought a rice cooker once, but just didn't like how it came out. I also read somewhere (and I have no idea if it's true or not..wasn't on here was it!!) that by soaking it like you do legumes, it does 2 things: cooks in less time, and is supposed to make it more nuitritional! So I started doing that as well. I soak it most of the day before cooking.

I started doing this with rice and oats and other grains a few months ago but for a different reason - it gets rid of most of the starch and therefore doesn't spike my blood sugar like rice cooked the traditional way. And I really like the taste much better.

Very good to know this, thank you! Do you also soak your grains prior to cooking them, or is the excess water simply enough to avoid any blood sugar spiking?

Will definitely try that one, as I eat rice every day so I make a lot of it.

I also make most of my veggie-based soups that way. I don't measure out the 6 or 8 or whatever cups the recipe says - I just chop all the veggies, cover with water, and boil. But then, I like my soups on the watery side, so even if the soup turns out a little watery, I don't mind .

Djuna

Interesting idea on cooking rice. I have cooked rice in soup before...think I'll try your WOCooking Rice one of these days. Finally, I read somewhere to soak the brown rice which is the way I cook it now and it is delicious.
I soak 2 hrs up to 30 hrs, drain water, add fresh cook for 30 mins but I watch it.

I skip the rice cooker when it comes to brown rice, opting for the pan with water and about in about 45 minutes I have cooked rice. Not sure why it has taken so long to finally get good batches of brown rice coming out. Next time though to cut that time down I will give the boiling method a shot. Makes meal prep a bit quicker. Thanks for the idea.

Actually, this is what I really do:
I soak all my grains overnight. Rinse, cover with fresh water, cook till desired texture. Then rinse (wash!!!) under running water till it runs clear.

I then drain the grains well and ladle 1/4 c portions into containers to freeze (or you can spread them on a cookie sheet and freeze and then put into a bag to break off desired portions later.

For breakfast I take out one of those portions (usually oats or rice), nuke till just thawed (or briefly put in water to thaw), add kiwi, blue or blackberries, some walnuts, chia gel and sometimes ground flax seed and for creaminess a small piece of banana mashed. This has been my standard breakfast for months and I love it and it doesn't spike my BS - I usually finish this off with some freshly cooked kale or broccoli with a little olive oil.

Since the grains are precooked they are ready to add to anything - anytime.

Happy eating!

For those who are interested I have been using the following method for my grains since January 2012. That was the day of my starter and I have been adding it to all subsequent grains since.
http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2 ... -rice.html

This is the basic process (the history and science behind it is explained further on the website):

Soak brown rice in dechlorinated water for 24 hours at room temperature without changing the water. Reserve 10% of the soaking liquid (should keep for a long time in the fridge). Discard the rest of the soaking liquid; cook the rice in fresh water.
The next time you make brown rice, use the same procedure as above, but add the soaking liquid you reserved from the last batch to the rest of the soaking water.
Repeat the cycle. The process will gradually improve until 96% or more of the phytic acid is degraded at 24 hours.

Stephan wonders at the end of his post whether you can use this liquid for different grains.....well I have but not for beans, just grains and the retained fermented liquid has not gone bad. Like sourdough it seems to get better.