This is an open ended recipe to guide you on creating your own, multi grain, full flavored brown rice dishes in one rice pot or rice cooker. Rice cooks best if you start w/ about 2 1/2 to 3 cups of whole grain rice. You'll find that try to cook less, the rice cooker doesn't complete its job, delivering a nice pot of fluffy rice. There are lots of things you can add to your brown rice each time you make a pot. Lentils, adzuki & mung beans, split peas & beans, quinoa, millet, etc. Then are are seeds like flax, sesame, chia, mustard, fennel, anise, perilla and more.
Combine your favorite mix of brown rice, beans, legumes and grains into your rice pot or rice cooker insert. Run hot water from the faucet over the rice, agitate with your hand. Allow the rice to run, overflowing the pot in the sink to clean well. After a minute or two, drain off most of the water, by tipping the pot to the side. Cover w/ fresh cool water and allow to soak for 30 mins or so. At this point if you want to add in some white rice do so. Then repeat the cleaning process one more time. After you have drained off most of the water, use the Mount Fuji Rice Method to determine the water. Chef Ming Tsai shows you his technique. For brown rice, be generous. It's like the Mount Fuji Plus Alpha. You'll know the amount by feel after you do it a few times. When adding beans and lentils be a wee bit more generous. Or do what we do, after determining the water level, add some wine, sake, dry vermouth or sherry, just a generous splash and maybe some juicy veggies, in this case cherry tomatoes.
Here's a step by step guide to allow your creativity to blossom in the rice cooker. Our rice mix today includes, organic brown and short grain rice, brown basmati, cargo red, wild rice, brown sweet. To that we've added beluga lentils, adzuki beans, and quinoa.
Here's the rice pot w/ the toasted seeds, a couple tablespoons of nutritional yeast, plus a tablespoon of miso & some cherry tomatoes.
Set your rice cooker to rock and roll. Here's mine in full steam boil just before it's done.
When your rice cooker clicks off, don't open it right away. Let it stay on warm for at least 20 mins, and up to 45 before opening it for the best flavor and texture. Fluff w/ a rice paddle & serve. Fresh rice is a joy to the palette. And if you have any left over, put it into the fridge, uncovered overnight. Day old rice make the very best fried rice out there. We did an oven fry by adding a little sesame oil & brewed green tea and roasting it, with a crispy baked organic egg, in a 375 oven until just crispy, about 25 mins.
Brown rice is a delicious and wholesome food. Recently quinoa is all the rage. Why wonder Brown Rice vs Quinoa when you can enjoy them both at the same time and double the whammy. There are some concerns these days regarding brown rice and arsenic. Consumer Reports has new info on the subject in the January 2015 issue. And you'll find what Lumberg Family Farms has to say in their ongoing investigation. But as long as you choose organic rice preferably California grown and keep an eye on the lists of best quality rices all should work out fine. Brown rice remains a healthful, fiber rice food that tantalizes the taste buds w/ glee
Eating Healthy & Delicious is a Win Win Win
Situation!
Eat, Live & Party Well
Blog post by Chef Mark Cleveland
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