How to Cook Brown Rice Well

Everyone knows how to cook rice, right? You’d think so, but brown rice soft, slightly sticky, chewy, and nutty in flavour is a is a rare thing. The flavour and texture of organic or biodynamic rice is far superior to ordinary brown rice and worth the extra expense. Don’t omit the sea salt—a small amount of sea salt used in cooking is beneficial, giving us strong blood and necessary minerals. Here’s how to cook perfect brown rice that tastes so good you don’t really even need to add any toppings.

1 cup brown rice (organic or biodynamic give the best results)

2 cup water (use 1:2 ratio of rice:water)

~½ tsp sea salt

Soak the rice in filtered water overnight on the bench (see Note below). Discard soaking water and put rice in a pot with 2 cups fresh filtered water and sea salt (not refined table salt). Cover, bring to a boil and simmer gently until all the water is absorbed. Don't stir the rice while cooking. The rice is cooked when the water is all gone and there are little holes in the rice. Remove the pot from the stove and let it rest and cool for at least 10 min before eating (½ hour is even better).

Tip: It's fine to leave the rice covered on the bench for lunch and dinner, then put it in the fridge overnight. Thereafter only heat enough for each meal.

Note: If you don't have much time to soak the rice, just a few hours will make a big difference, but if there’s no time at all, add an extra ½ cup of water (for briefly soaked) or 1 cup (for no soaking) to still produce delicately soft rice. If the rice is still not tender when all the water is absorbed, just add another ½ cup of water and continue cooking until it’s all absorbed. Let the rice rest after cooking to allow it to continue softening a little.