Cook Brown Rice in a Rice Cooker

Brown rice can be cooked in a rice cooker just as easily as white rice, but it does need a little more water than white rice does. You can also use your rice cooker to make brown rice medleys and brown rice porridge. Keep reading for more information.

Ingredients

Simple Brown Rice

Makes 4 to 6 servings

• 2 cups (500 ml) brown rice
• 3 cups (750 ml) water or broth
• 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) salt (optional)
• Butter (optional)
• Soy sauce (optional)

Brown Rice Medley

Makes 6 servings

• 1 1/3 cups (330 ml) brown rice
• 2/3 cup (160 ml) red quinoa
• 2 2/3 cups (580 ml) water
• 1 tsp (5 ml) salt

Brown Rice Porridge

Makes 4 servings

• 3/4 cup (180 ml) brown rice
• 5 to 7 cups (1250 to 1750 ml) water or broth
• 1 cup (250 ml) sliced fresh shiitake mushrooms (optional)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced (optional)
• 1 medium carrot, sliced into thin coins (optional)
• 2 tsp (10 ml) vegetable oil (optional)
• 1 Tbsp (15 ml) soy sauce (optional)
• 1 Tbsp (15 ml) chopped green onions (optional)
• 2 hard-boiled eggs (optional)

Steps

Simple Brown Rice

1. Rinse the rice under cool water. Place the brown rice in a fine mesh strainer and quickly rinse it under cold running water for about 30 seconds.
   • Make sure that the strainer is made from very fine mesh. If the gaps between the wires are too large, you could end up losing an unfortunate amount of rice as you rinse it.
   • Note that you may not always need to rinse the rice, and this is somewhat of an outdated practice. Rinsing is a cleaning process and is a necessary step if you suspect that the rice has been imported or handled roughly in bulk storage. If the rice is a fortified, domestic product, however, you probably will not need to worry about rinsing it.
2. Soak the rice for 45 minutes in hot water. Transfer the brown rice to your rice cooker and add 3 cups of water to the basin, as well. Let it soak and soften for at least 45 minutes.
   • You can soak the rice up to 3 hours, if desired, but 45 minutes will often be enough.
   • If you prefer a more flavorful rice, you could substitute some or all of the water with chicken broth or vegetable broth. Substitute the broth in equal amounts for the water.
   • Soaking is beneficial because it reduces the stickiness of the rice. It also helps the rice expand into long, thin grains.
3. Add salt, if desired. Sprinkle the soaked rice with salt, if desired, to draw out more flavor from the rice as it cooks.
   • Give the contents of the rice cooker a quick stir with a wooden mixing spoon to distribute the salt more evenly.
4. Turn the rice cooker on and set the timer. If your rice cooker has a brown rice setting, use that. If it only has a timer, set the timer for 30 minutes.
   • The rice cooker must remain covered for the duration of the cooking process.
   • Check the rice after the first 30 minutes. If the grains still seem tough and the content of the basin are still somewhat soupy, cover and set the timer for another 10 minutes.
   • Understand that each rice cooker varies by make and model. In order to cook the rice as best as possible, you need to read the instructions that come with your rice cooker and set the timer and other settings according to what you read there.
5. Let the rice stand. After the timer goes off, let the rice stand for another 5 to 10 minutes so that it absorbs any remaining water in the basin.
   • Leave the cover on as the rice continues to sit.
6. Add butter and/or soy sauce, if desired. If you want to flavor the cooked rice, you could add about 2 Tbsp (30 ml) of butter or margarine or 1 Tbsp (15 ml) of soy sauce. Stir well to coat the rice evenly.
   • You could also wait until after you place the rice in serving dishes before seasoning it. That way, everyone can season the rice according to his or her own tastes.
7. Serve hot. Transfer the rice to serving dishes or set it aside for use in other recipes that call for cooked brown rice.

Brown Rice Medley

1. Rinse the brown rice. Place the rice in a fine mesh strainer and rinse for 30 seconds or so under cold running water.
   • Make sure that the strainer is made from as fine a mesh as possible. If the gaps between the wires are too large, you could end up losing an unfortunate amount of rice as you rinse it.
   • Note that you may not always need to rinse the rice, and this is somewhat of an outdated practice. Rinsing is a cleaning process and is a necessary step if you suspect that the rice has been imported or handled roughly in bulk storage. If the rice is a fortified, domestic product, however, you probably will not need to worry about rinsing it.
2. Soak the rice inside the rice cooker. Transfer the rice to your rice cooker and let it soak for about 45 minutes in 2 2/3 cups (580 ml) warm water.
   • Soaking is beneficial because it reduces the stickiness of the rice. It also helps the rice expand into long, thin grains.
   • You can soak the rice up to 3 hours, if desired, but 45 minutes will often be enough.
3. Rinse the quinoa. As the rice soaks, add the quinoa to a fine mesh strainer and rinse for 30 to 60 seconds under room temperature running water.
   • While rinsing rice does little more than clean it, rinsing quinoa has added benefits. Rinsing the grain removes a protective coating known as “saponin.” This coating can cause the grain to have a bitter flavor note, so removing it prevents much of this bitterness from coming through.
   • As with rice, you need to make sure that the strainer you use is made from a fine mesh to prevent the grains from falling out as you rinse them.
4. Add the quinoa and salt to the rice cooker. Stir into the water and rice so that the grains of quinoa and grains of brown rice are evenly distributed throughout.
   • Both the quinoa and the rice grains should be submerged under the water in the rice cooker basin.
5. Turn the rice cooker on and set the timer. If your rice cooker has a brown rice setting, use that. If it only has a timer, set the timer for 30 minutes.
   • Cover the rice cooker before starting it and leave that cover on for the duration of the cooking process.
   • The rice and quinoa may need a total of 40 minutes to finish cooking inside the rice cooker. Check after the first 30 minutes, and if the grains still seem tough and the content of the basin are still somewhat soupy, cover and set the timer for another 10 minutes.
   • Understand that each rice cooker varies by make and model. Always follow the instructions for your particular rice cooker when preparing brown rice medleys, even if they vary from those presented here.
6. Serve hot. After the timer stops, open the lid and scoop the brown rice medley out into individual serving dishes.

Brown Rice Porridge

1. Rinse the brown rice. Place the rice in a fine mesh strainer and rinse for 30 seconds under cold, running water.
   • The strainer absolutely must be a fine mesh strainer. If the gaps between the wires are too large, you could end up losing an unfortunate amount of rice as you rinse it.
   • Note that you may not always need to rinse the rice, and this is somewhat of an outdated practice. Rinsing is a cleaning process and is a necessary step if you suspect that the rice has been imported or handled roughly in bulk storage. If the rice is a fortified, domestic product, however, you probably will not need to worry about rinsing it.
2. Add the rice and water to the rice cooker. Place the brown rice and water directly into the rice cooker, making sure that all the grains of rice are submerged.
   • Soaking is not necessary for making brown rice porridge. Since the cooking time is already lengthy, soaking the rice will not make much noticeable difference in the amount of time it takes. Moreover, rice porridge needs to hold together, so removing the starches that cause stickiness through soaking will not be of any benefit.
   • If you prefer a more flavorful rice porridge, you could substitute some or all of the water with chicken broth or vegetable broth in equal amounts. The broth works well for the recipe suggested here, but if you plan to add sweet garnishes like dried apricots or raisins, water is still your best option.
3. Set the timer. If your rice cooker has a porridge setting, use that. If it only has a timer, set the timer for 6 to 8 hours.
   • The rice cooker must be covered throughout the entire cooking process. Some high-tech rice cookers will not even let you set the timer if the machine senses that the lid is open.
   • If you plan to serve the rice porridge in the morning, throw the rice and water into the rice cooker before going to bed and let it cook overnight. It should be ready by the morning.
   • Know that each rice cooker varies by make and model. Some have specific settings for porridge while others do not. Regardless of the rice cooker you use, follow the instructions meant for your particular machine to determine the accurate way to set it and cook the rice porridge.
4. Heat the oil in a large skillet. Pour the oil into a large skillet and heat over medium-high heat until the oil becomes glossy.
   • If you do not want to add any of the optional vegetables, this step is not necessary.
5. Cook the mushrooms, garlic, and carrot in the hot oil. Add the vegetables to the skillet and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes, or until the mushrooms and carrots are tender-crisp and the garlic is fragrant.
   • Stir the vegetables continually with a wooden spoon or heat-resistant spatula.
6. Mix the cooked vegetables into the cooked porridge. Once the porridge has finished cooking, open the rice cooker and add the cooked vegetables. Stir well so that the vegetables are evenly distributed throughout the porridge.
   • You may want to consider draining the oil from your skillet before adding the vegetables. Doing so will make the dish healthier, but letting the oil remain could add extra flavor to the porridge.
7. Scoop into individual serving dishes and serve with optional toppings. Spoon the brown rice porridge out into serving dishes and garnish with soy sauce, chopped green onions, or hard-boiled egg slices, if desired.
   • Divide the eggs into halves and give each of the four servings a half an egg.
   • If you would prefer a sweeter rice porridge, you could skip the above-mentioned stir-ins and toppings and garnish the porridge with honey, dried apricots, or raisins, instead.

Things You'll Need

• Fine mesh strainer
• Rice cooker
• Serving spoon
• Serving dishes
• Skillet (optional)
• Spatula or wooden spoon (optional)
• Sharp kitchen knife (optional)

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Sources and Citations

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