We know brown rice is much more nutritious than white rice but white rice is still more popular in taste than brown rice. Once we know how to cook brown rice deliciously and easily, you don’t go away from brown rice because brown rice is much more nutritious. I believe that my ancestors ate only brown rice and maybe a few kinds of other cereals and vegetables but they were able to survive. My parents’ hometown is so rural and I don’t think they had managed to get any other food than rice and simple vegetables. Brown rice has power to keep us alive.
Edo Wazurai― Tokyo disease
Before I dive into how to cook brown rice, I would like to share this story.
“Edo" is the former name of Tokyo in the Edo period (1603-1869) when the technology of refining rice developed. “Wazurai” means disease in Japanese. During the Edo period, people started eating white rice in the capital city of Edo. To eat white rice was such a privilege only for people staying in the city.
But something happened for those who started eating white rice in Edo City ―
they got sick, ― felt dizzy, got numb especially in their feet, easy to get tired. It was beriberi that caused the symptom. Beriberi is a disease which is resulted from a deficiency of Vitamin B1, but people at the time didn’t know what caused this sickness. People got sick only when they were in Edo but when they went to outside of Edo, they became well. That was why it was called “Edo Wazurai.” Every year a lot of people lost their lives due to this disease actually until 1950’s in Japan.
Rice bran includes the following nutritions:
vitamin B1/B2, vitamin E, Dietary fiber, Iron, calcium, Potassium, Magnesium
So don’t remove it.
Easy way to cook delicious brown rice
This is what I usually do with a rice cooker.
1 Wash brown rice (The rice in the photo includes other cereals too)
2 Put the brown rice into a rice cracker. Add water (twice as much as brown rice) into the rice cooker and leave it overnight ―> Soaking into water makes the rice softer. Don't omit this process.
3 Switch on the rice cooker. Trust your rice cooker until it is done.
Now this is the tips my friend gave me when we use a usual pot.
1 Wash brown rice
2 Soak the brown rice for 6 to 12 hours into water, and drain the water
3 Put the brown rice into a pot and add the same amount of water as brown rice after soaking
4 Add a pinch of salt
5 Cook over high flame for 10 minutes
6 Turn the flame down to low. Cook over low flame for 40-50 minutes
7 Switch off the heat and leave it for 15 to 20 minutes ―> this is an important process. NEVER open the lid for the last 15 to 20 minutes. We call it “Murasu”
The time of cooking depends on your pot, etc so watch the flame carefully. Since I am using an induction cooker, the time is much shorter. Brown rice cooked with a pot is much more delicious than a rice cooker, I found.
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