Perfectly Cooked Brown Rice

We made the switch to brown rice several years ago and haven’t looked back.  We still use other types of rice but nine times out of ten we’re eating the long-grain brown variety.  I’ll admit that when we first made the switch I made countless batches of poorly cooked rice that everyone turned their noses up at.  Undercooked and too hard or overcooked and gummy were the usual.  I realized very quickly that if I was going to get everyone on board with the brown rice switch that I was going to have to figure out how to make it fluffy!  I scoured the internet and tried tons of “perfectly cooked” brown rice recipes before stumbling upon one that actually did produce perfectly cooked brown rice every time.   

Here is what you’ll need:

1 cup long-grain brown rice

1 1/2 cups water

Dash of salt if desired

Start by combining the rice, water, and salt (if using) in a pot with a tightly fitting lid.  Leave the pot uncovered at this point, set the heat to high, and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, reduce the heat to low, put the lid on, and allow the rice to simmer for 20 minutes.  When 20 minutes have passed, turn off the heat on your stove but DO NOT take the pot off of the burner or open the lid.  Allow the rice to stay in the covered pot and steam for another 10-15 minutes.  Lift the lid and fluff the rice with a fork. 

I frequently double this recipe so that we will have leftovers.  Leftover rice is great for a quick fried-rice dinner, chicken and rice casserole, or even frozen for a later date.