Brown Rice Bowls With Stewed Peppers Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What can I add to brown rice to make it taste better? ›

Build flavors early on!

We love sauteeing some onions or leeks in butter with some thyme before adding rice to the pot, but you should use what you have around! Ginger and garlic both make for exceptional brown rice. If you're going the spice route we love turmeric, cumin, oregano, and smoked paprika with brown rice.

Most packs of brown rice will say to boil for longer than white rice, so for around 30-35 mins. The trick is to simmer it for most of that, then for the last 5-10 mins leave it, well covered, to absorb the water off the heat – resulting in light perfectly tender grains every time.

And before you ask: Whether you choose to rinse your rice is a personal choice—some sources say you don't need to rinse brown rice at all. Our opinion: For the fluffiest brown rice possible, rinsing is the way to go.

Using 2 cups water for every 1 cup of rice, place rice and water in a large bowl. Let soak 90 minutes. If you're short on time, Marek notes that even soaking the rice for just 15 minutes “helps [the cooking] process go quicker and it also begins to remove the excess starches from the grain,” he says.

Once you have your water and rice ratios down, you need to cook the rice for the appropriate amount of time at the right temperature. If the heat is too high, the water evaporates before the rice has a chance to fully cook. If you don't add enough water, the rice ends up dry and crunchy.

Fresh basil, mango, and pickled ginger add bright, refreshing flavor to this flexible rice bowl. Variations: Swap out the peas for asparagus, or use radishes instead of the carrots or cucumbers. I love basil here, but mint or cilantro would be equally good.

You can put almost anything into a rice bowl, however for best results, you should try to include the following key components. Grains: Firstly, you will need a grain base, this can be anything from simple white rice to basmati rice all the way to yellow rice.

The lab found that there was no appreciable difference in the nutrient profiles of regular versus quick-cooking. Both are considered whole grains, and both are good sources or manganese, magnesium, selenium and fiber.

What is the ratio for brown rice? ›

Brown Rice to Water Ratio

To cook brown rice on the stovetop, a good rule of thumb is to follow a 2 to 1 ratio of water to rice; so, for 1 cup of rice, you would use 2 cups of liquid. When in doubt, check the package directions for the optimal ratio for short-, medium-, and long-grain.

The nutritional differences between a serving of long grain brown rice, which requires about 35 to 45 minutes to cook—and instant brown rice—which cooks in about 5 minutes—are insignificant. Instant rice has simply been cooked and dehydrated so it cooks quicker than long grain rice.

Enhance flavor by cooking rice in vegetable or chicken broth, and add aromatic ingredients like garlic, ginger, or herbs during the cooking process. I love canned soup but the sodium levels are higher than I would like.

Add extra seasoning: cooking brown rice with salt is essential for flavorful grains, but you can also infuse more flavor by adding olive oil and butter, swapping in garlic salt, or adding spices such as cayenne, ground ginger or cumin.

The best side dishes to serve with brown rice are beef and broccoli, orange chicken, tilapia, Japanese curry, carne asada, sheet pan sausage and veggies, corned beef hash, chicken Marsala, sweet and sour chicken, vegetable stir fry, shrimp scampi, teriyaki salmon, grilled tofu, honey mustard glazed chicken, and ...

Rinse and Toast for Better Brown Rice

Rinsing your rice before cooking it washes away any grit or dust that may have gotten mixed in during production. I also find that rinsing helps improve the texture of the rice; it's less crucial than rinsing white rice, but still helps to make each grain distinct.