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Basic Brown Rice

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on August 22, 2007

Time

50 minutes

Yield

Serves 4 (Makes 3 cups)

Basic Brown Rice

Ingredients

6 cups water 1 cup brown rice 2 teaspoons olive oil or butter1 teaspoon table salt

Before You Begin

Use long, medium, or short grain rice in this traditional stovetop recipe.

Instructions

  1. Bring water to boil in a large pot. Stir in rice, oil or butter, and salt. Simmer briskly, uncovered, until rice is almost tender, about 30 minutes.
  2. Drain rice into a steamer basket that fits inside the pot. Fill pot with about 1 inch water and return to heat. Place basket of rice in pot; cover and steam until tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Scoop rice into a bowl and fluff gently with a fork.
Basic Brown Rice

Basic Brown Rice

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By America's Test Kitchen
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Time

50 minutes

Yield

Serves 4 (Makes 3 cups)

Ingredients

6 cups water
1 cup brown rice
2 teaspoons olive oil or butter
1 teaspoon table salt

Ingredients

6 cups water
1 cup brown rice
2 teaspoons olive oil or butter
1 teaspoon table salt

Ingredients

6 cups water
1 cup brown rice
2 teaspoons olive oil or butter
1 teaspoon table salt

Why This Recipe Works

Looking to cut cooking time in our brown rice recipe and still end up with superior rice—without using a rice cooker—we tried boiling, steaming, microwaving, baking, and the traditional stovetop method. We found that steaming yielded good results but was problematic because the rice took a long time to cook and there was the danger of the pot running dry. We decided to do most of the cooking in boiling water but to finish the rice in the steamer. Boiling the rice for our brown rice recipe until it is almost tender (about 30 minutes), draining it, then steaming it until done (another five to 10 minutes) is by far the best stovetop method for brown rice.

Before You Begin

Use long, medium, or short grain rice in this traditional stovetop recipe.

Instructions

  1. Bring water to boil in a large pot. Stir in rice, oil or butter, and salt. Simmer briskly, uncovered, until rice is almost tender, about 30 minutes.
  2. Drain rice into a steamer basket that fits inside the pot. Fill pot with about 1 inch water and return to heat. Place basket of rice in pot; cover and steam until tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Scoop rice into a bowl and fluff gently with a fork.

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