For The Fluffiest Brown Rice, Treat It Like Pasta

We're all familiar with the rush to make rice. You rinse off your rice, toss it in your rice cooker or Instant Pot, and voila — you're left with a fluffy bowl to complement your meal. Except, sometimes it is not so simple. The rice could be soggy with a few crunchy bits, too mushy, or maybe it's just not fully cooked. Just because the rice cooker says "warm and ready" doesn't always mean it is. So, how can you achieve that perfect consistency?

That's when it's time to ditch the trendy kitchen gadgets. Instead, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, drop in your brown rice, and give it a good stir. Just like cooking pasta, don't add your rice until the water is at a rolling boil. This helps not only your brown rice but your pot too. No more scraping the bottom of the pot or letting it soak to loosen the stubborn bits. 

Cook the rice until it reaches al dente — just like noodles. Then drain it well using a mesh sieve to catch all of the grains. At this point, it is a good idea to let it steam so it can absorb the remaining moisture and fluff up properly before serving. Just let the rice sit in the strainer or put it back in the pot and cover it for about 10 minutes. Now, not only do you have fluffy brown rice to elevate any meal, but you can finally retire that old rice cooker.

While cooking your brown rice like pasta is a great start, there are a few techniques to help ensure you end up with the perfect fluffy texture and nutty flavor. When cooking rice in a pot, you'll need a decent amount of salt — between a half and full tablespoon per quart, depending on your palate. Brown rice also needs more water and a longer cooking time than white rice, but the good news is that using the pasta method for brown rice is much faster than a rice cooker. You just need to boil the grains for about half an hour or so, but cooking brown rice can take at least twice that long in a cooker. 

If you're having trouble with your rice sticking together, add just enough butter or oil to coat the grains. Rice is also one of the best foods to meal prep, as you can make it in large batches and store it for four to six days in the refrigerator. If you're planning on saving the rice to eat throughout the week, be sure to rinse it thoroughly with cold water after cooking to prevent a sticky, mushy texture. So whether you're throwing together some leftover rice pudding or whipping up a Japanese ketchup fried rice omelet, try stepping away from the rice cooker and pulling out a pot instead.