Preparing rice is one of those things passed down through generations. You never really need to read the instructions on the packet, it’s just in-grained (excuse the pun). Now we have so many different types of rice available to us, we don’t necessarily know the ins and outs of cooking every different grain.
If you are a health nut like us, you’ll also prefer eating whole grains. That’s why we tend to stick to brown rice over white rice because of it’s higher fibre content, higher mineral levels, better protein, nutrient profile and because it’s generally less processed.
The challenges with cooking rice are two-fold. Rice in general, contains arsenic, a heavy metal that our bodies don’t love too much of. Brown rice specifically, contains phytic acid, an antinutrient which can stop you properly absorbing all that healthy stuff that comes with it.
That’s why preparing brown rice properly is key and requires only a little forward thinking. Just soak it in filtered water for 24 hours which releases most of the nasties!
So here’s our quick guide on how to cook the lesser cooked rice:
- Soak the brown rice for 24 hours in filtered water before cooking. This ensures that the phytic acid (antinutrient) and arsenic content is significantly lowered and it reduces cooking time.
- After 24 hours, rinse the rice with filtered water.
- If using a rice cooker, set it to “multigrain” and cover with water about 3cm above the top of the rice.
- If using a pot, cover with water about half an inch above the rice boil on medium heat, uncovered for 20 minutes.
Voila, healthy and delicious!
