The Prep Step You Need For Quicker Brown Rice

Brown rice is much healthier than the more popular white rice. But it takes a very long time to cook, about 45 minutes. The element that makes rice healthier is the same thing that makes it take longer to cook — the bran. Brown rice has an outer coating called bran that the cooking liquid must penetrate (the only way that brown rice cooks). So, to shorten cooking time, the bran must be softened by soaking before you cook the brown rice. 

To begin, rinse the rice to remove the excess starch. Then, gather the pot where you plan to cook the rice and add enough water to cover the rice plus a ¼ of an inch. Place the pot into the refrigerator overnight or at least six hours to soak. After soaking, replace the water at a ratio of one part rice to two parts water and cook the rice as you would normally, but reduce the cooking time to 20 minutes. The liquid should be completely gone, leaving behind perfectly cooked brown rice.

Some social media cooks say 90 minutes of soaking time is enough to soften the bran. Others swear by the six hours to overnight length of time. While the debate is valid, the only consideration you should make when soaking brown rice for more than an hour is the amount of water used to cook it. Two parts water to one part rice is needed to cook brown rice that hasn't been soaked, but using that same amount of water to cook soaked rice could lead to sticky rice. Remove ¼ cup of water from every cup of soaked rice in the pot if you soak the rice for over two hours. This will reduce the water-to-rice ratio enough to create perfectly cooked rice. Adjustments must also be made when using the rice cooker. You will overcook soaked rice if you use the brown rice setting, as that setting is intended for cooking a tough, hard bran over the rice. Instead, use the white rice setting to cook your soaked brown rice. Also, consider seasoning the rice water before cooking. Salt is more than enough seasoning. However, you could also add herbs and aromatics. Whatever you use, don't forget to season the soaked brown rice before cooking it.