Brown, Wild and Mixed Grains

Cooking Skills: Rice 1

Chapter 4 · Brown, Wild and Mixed Grains

Skill goal

Cook wholegrain rice and other grains reliably, allowing for their longer cooking times.

The basics

White rice has had its bran and germ removed, which makes it quick to cook, but it removes much of the fibre and some vitamins too. Brown rice keeps the bran, so it takes about twice as long, needs more water and has a chewier, nuttier taste. Other grains and seeds (wild rice, quinoa, barley) add colour, texture and variety. They can be swapped into most rice recipes once you know their timing.

Grain	Time (boiled)	Texture	Water for absorption
White long-grain	10 to 12 min	Soft, fluffy	1 : 1.75 to 1 : 2
Brown long-grain	25 to 30 min	Chewy, nutty	1 : 2.25
Wild rice blend	25 to 35 min	Chewy, earthy, some grains split	Follow the packet
Quinoa	12 to 15 min	Light, little pops, a short tail	1 : 2
Pearl barley (for interest)	25 to 30 min	Soft, chewy, plump	Boil and drain

The principles are the same as in chapters 2 and 3, with two changes: more water and more time. The bran is a barrier that the water has to get through, so a soak helps, and if you mix grains with different cooking times you can start the slow one first.

A note on variety

Rice naturally takes up traces of arsenic from the soil, slightly more in brown rice. The Food Standards Agency advice for most people is simply to eat a varied diet, not to rely on rice every day. Rinsing, and cooking in plenty of water, also helps, so mixing grains is a good habit.

Try it

Level 1 · Start here

Boiled brown rice

40 minutes1 portionthe easy way to brown rice

Brown rice still has its bran, which makes it chewier, nuttier, higher in fibre and slower to cook. Boiling is the most forgiving way to start.

Ingredients (1 portion)

75 g brown long-grain rice
1.5 litres water
½ tsp salt

Bring the water and salt to the boil in a medium pan. Rinse the rice, then add it and stir once.
Simmer uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes, topping up the water with the kettle if it gets low.
At 25 minutes, bite a grain. It should be tender but chewy, not hard. Keep going in 2-minute steps if it is not ready.
Drain, return to the warm pan, cover and steam for 5 minutes.

Level 2 · Absorption

Brown rice by absorption

50 minutes1 portionuses the chapter 3 method

Same four rules as chapter 3, but with more water and a much longer time.

Ingredients (1 portion)

100 ml brown long-grain rice (about 85 g), measured in a jug
225 ml water
1 pinch salt

Rinse the rice and put it with the water and salt in a small pan with a tight lid.
Bring to the boil, stir once, then turn the heat to its lowest and cover.
Cook for 35 to 40 minutes without lifting the lid, until the water has gone.
Rest, still covered, off the heat for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Cook extra

Brown rice takes so long that it is worth cooking a double batch. Cool half quickly, as in chapter 2, and use it within a day for chapter 6.

Level 2 · Something different

Wild rice blend with herbs

35 to 45 minutes1 portiona good dinner-party side

Wild rice isn't rice at all but the seed of a water grass. It is dark, long and chewy and takes longer than white rice, so it is usually sold mixed with long-grain rice. Check the packet for the time, which varies.

Ingredients (1 portion)

75 g wild rice blend (long-grain and wild rice)
1 litre water
½ tsp salt
1 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp chopped parsley or chives
1 tsp lemon juice

Bring the water and salt to the boil. Rinse the blend, add it and stir once.
Simmer uncovered for the time on the packet, usually 25 to 35 minutes. The wild grains are ready when many have split open to show their pale insides.
Drain well, return to the pan, cover and steam for 5 minutes.
Stir through the oil, lemon juice and herbs. Serve with roast chicken, grilled fish or roasted vegetables.

Level 3 · Mix it up

Rice and quinoa mix

30 minutes1 portionextra protein and fibre

Quinoa is a small seed that cooks like a grain, in about the same time as white rice, so the two cook happily together and you get a lighter, more nutritious bowl.

Ingredients (1 portion)

50 g long-grain white rice
30 g quinoa
180 ml water
1 pinch salt
½ vegetable or chicken stock cube (optional)

Rinse the quinoa in a fine sieve for 30 seconds (it has a natural coating that tastes bitter), then rinse the rice. Put both in a small pan with the water, salt and crumbled stock cube.
Bring to the boil, stir once, then cover and cook on the lowest heat for 12 minutes.
Take off the heat and leave covered for 8 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
Serve with grilled fish or chicken, or as the base of a vegetable bowl.

Experiments

Experiment

Soaked or unsoaked brown rice

Does a long soak cut the cooking time?

Soak 75 g brown rice in cold water for 1 hour (overnight is even better). Keep another 75 g dry.
Boil both in the same way, tasting a grain from each every 5 minutes after the 15-minute mark.
Note when each is first tender.

Look for: The soaked rice usually cooks several minutes faster. Is the saving worth the planning?

Experiment

Time to bite

Learn exactly how brown rice changes as it cooks.

Boil 100 g of brown rice in 1.5 litres of water.
Spoon out a few grains at 20, 25, 30 and 35 minutes. Cool them for a moment and taste each.
Write down how each one felt.

Look for: At 20 minutes it's tough, at 35 it's soft. Where is your own sweet spot between chewy and tender?

Experiment

White and brown, half and half

Cook two rices together without making one mushy.

Boil 40 g of brown rice and 40 g of white rice together for 25 minutes. Taste.
Then try again: start 40 g brown rice, and add 40 g white rice after 15 minutes. Cook for another 10 minutes.
Compare the two batches.

Look for: In the first batch the white rice goes soft and overcooked, in the second both are cooked at the same time. This staggering trick works for any mixture of grains.

Tasting notes

What I tried	Method or amount	What I saw	What I thought	Will I do it again?
Boiled brown rice
Brown rice by absorption
Wild rice blend
Rice and quinoa mix
Soaked vs unsoaked
Time to bite
White and brown half and half

Troubleshooting

Problem	Likely cause	What to do
Brown rice still hard after 30 minutes	Old rice, or the boil was too gentle	Keep cooking in 5-minute steps; soak next time
Brown rice gluey	Over-stirred or too much water for absorption	Stir only once; use the 1 : 2.25 ratio and rest
Wild rice tough	Not cooked long enough	Cook until many grains have split open
Quinoa bitter	Not rinsed	Rinse in a fine sieve for 30 seconds
Mixed grains uneven	Different cooking times cooked together	Start the slow grain first and add the quick one later

Food safety: cooked grains

Cooked rice and other cooked grains follow the same rules: cool within 1 hour, refrigerate, eat within 24 hours, and reheat only once until steaming hot.

Checkpoint: can you do this now?

I can cook brown rice by boiling and by absorption.
I know why brown rice needs more water and more time.
I can cook a wild rice blend and tell when it's done.
I can mix grains and stagger them so they finish together.
I know which wholegrain I'll use for everyday meals.

Next chapter

Cooking Skills: Rice 1, chapter 5 is Pilaf and Flavoured Rice: toasting the grain and cooking it in flavour, with herb, turmeric, coconut and tomato rice.