ok, so maybe not foolproof, and maybe not original but certainly the way I‘ve found to make it well without burning or undercooking.

When I first started trying to eat healthier, I was told white rice has too many simple carbs and I should use brown rice instead.  “OK”, I thought, “sounds easy enough let me just buy some”.  I’d never actually eaten any, I had grown up on minute rice and as an adult just cooked par-boiled white rice.  I followed the directions on the package, and ended up with rice that was undercooked and had water on the bottom.  I continued cooking past the time in order to get it fully cooked, and burned the rice.  Not to mention my husband wasn’t too keen on the flavor or texture.

Frustrated with my first attempt, I went back to white rice but occasionally tried brown again to see if I could get it working and tasty.  It never seemed to work out right.  Until one day, when I made it fairly early in the dinner-making process and after the time was up I just moved it to the side and let it sit while everything else finished up.  EUREKA!  That was the missing piece of the brown rice puzzle: after cooking, it needed to sit and let it’s own heat finish up the cooking process.  Nothing was ever mentioned on the bags of rice I had bought, so I never knew.

Another thing I found over time, growing up a minute rice girl, is that there’s many different types of rice, both white and brown.  And they do have differences in flavor and texture.  My favorite type of brown rice is short grain brown rice.  It is very like the short grain white rice used in making risotto, with a nice creamy feel.  If you don’t like one type of brown rice, try another.

Depending on the type of dish I’m cooking for dinner, I may use butter or sesame oil with the rice.  It’s a flavoring agent, not really a necessity in the cooking process.

Foolproof Brown Rice:

• 1 part rice
• 2 parts water
• teaspoon or so butter or oil (optional)
• dash of salt (optional)

1. boil water, butter/oil and salt.  add rice, reduce heat to low, and cover.
2. cook for 30 minutes.
3. turn off heat, stir rice and replace cover.
4. let sit for 30 minutes
5. enjoy!