September 29, 2010

How to make perfect Brown Rice

This recipe has been conceived and perfected by the mind and hands of none other than renowned chef, author and food critic Muhlio Muhlev.

It is a straightforward and reliable way to cook brown rice at home, without a rice cooker, using a pot, tin (aluminum) foil, and your ability to follow simple instructions. The water to rice ratio has been optimized for absolute perfection. This recipe represents the preferred method of cooking brown rice in the rarefied strata of the culinary elite.


Before you start, determine how much brown rice you want. A cup of uncooked (raw) brown rice contains around 650-700 calories. If you are cooking dinner, it would not be unreasonable to have about 1/2 to 3/4 cups of raw rice per person.  Adjust as needed if you are pigging out,  dieting, or want to have rice left over.

The whole process will take slightly less than an hour.


Things you need:
  • a boiling pot.
  • aluminum foil
  • brown rice
  • olive oil
  • salt
Steps:
  1. Add olive oil to  pot (1-2 tablespoons per cup of rice, or whatever you want.)
  2. Add raw rice to the pot once the oil is hot.
  3. Add salt (1/2 teaspoon per cup)
  4. Stir the rice over the hot olive oil, so that it doesn't burn, but gets cooked slightly for 1-2 minutes.
  5. Add 1.5 cups of water per cup of brown rice.
  6. Once the water is boiling (this should happen very quickly since the rice and oil are hot),  reduce the stove top heat to low/medium. (settings 4 out of 9)
  7. Cover the boiling pot with a square piece of aluminum foil (big enough to cover it completely and stick out) , and place the pot lid on top of the foil.
  8. Wait 45 minutes.  There is no need to disturb the rice while it is cooking.
  9. Remove the lid and foil, and leave uncovered, so that the moisture/vapor can escape completely.
  10. Fluff with a fork.
That's it. If you wish, you can skip the olive oil, but you would sacrifice a lot of flavor in a misunderstood quest to reduce calories.

If you found this recipe useful,  use the comments area to pass your praise and adulation to Muhlio.

4 comments:

  1. Slaninka, what rice are you using? Will the same proportions apply to Basmati rice?

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  2. I used brown rice (from whole foods).
    It probably doesn't change at all for Basmati brown rice.

    I haven't experimented much with white rice lately, but I think this ratio would work there too. Perhaps, you can add even less water( say 1.3 water to 1 cup uncooked rice). The cooking time would be shorter too (25 -30 minutes... I don't know)

    In general, it is best to add much less water to what is recommended on the package.

    It is relatively easy to add additional water if you look at the rice 20 minutes in and it looks like all the water is gone already, you can add a little bit (pre-heated) water and it won't ruin things. However, if you add too much water initially, you can't really remove it.

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  3. Wow!! This is the best recipe ever. Muhlio Muhlev is a genius!!!!!!!!!

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  4. Amazing recipe from the mind of the great Muhlio Muhlev.

    ReplyDelete