why does my brown rice always come out hard and chewy?

Question

does brown rice ever get soft like white rice? I have been cooking it for an hour and forty minutes (in the oven its a recipe) and its STILL chewy , does it ever soften?

it worked dude i put in a recipe with liquid (chicken broth) its not too bad

Answer 1

Answer coming...

I started using long grain brown rice that SAID 1 cup rice, 2 & 1/2 cups water (I use chicken stock). It did NOT work. I had to increase the broth to 3 cups, & it came out very moist & fluffy. I love brown rice, so this is what I do: Heat some butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the rice & a peel of lemon, & cook, stirring until "toasted"--about 2 minutes. I add the broth, & salt (to taste--I use only sea salt!) bring to boil, reduce the heat, COVER & simmer about 45 minutes. & dont't peek!
Then I let the rice sit for about ten minutes, (lid on), & then fluff it up. It never fails--nice & fluffy & YUM. Must admit I have NEVER cooked rice in the oven. Sounds strange to me--but sometimes, "recipes" just don't work. It took me about three times to discover what proportions really worked. Adding Calamato (sp) olives or toasted pine nuts is good! I can't help wondering if cooking rice in the OVEN may be part of the problem?

Answer 2

Brown rice is supposed to have a chewy (but not crunchy) texture. Even when perfectly prepared, it will not have the same texture - or flavor - as white rice.

A pot of brown rice takes about 45 minutes to cook, whereas white rice usually takes about 20 minutes. Oven cooking would change those times, but you have cooked it more than enough; cooking it too much could dry it out again. You can make it somewhat softer by adding water (just a small amount, such as 1/4 cup additional for the whole recipe). Since you are cooking it in the oven, that might be part of the problem. Rice of all types cook through steaming. Unless the rice in the oven is VERY tightly covered, it won't develop enough steam to cook. Also, oven cooking causes more evaporation, so you might be losing water, though the recipe should account for that.

Answer 3

LOL! Well, here's the basics of how I prepare my brown rice. If you want to add your other special ingredients, go for it!

Instead of cooking it in the oven (open lid is a no-no as it lets hot steam escape that doubles as a cooking medium and source), use a thick sauce pan with a cover (do not use something shallow like a casserole dish, as you need the circulating steam to help cook the rice grains and not conventional heat).

I usually rinse and soak my rice for at least 15 minutes, but you could always do it the day before. For every cup of rice, add three cups of water (if you're using broth or stock substitute then). Bring the rice to a boil for about 1-3 minutes. Now the critical part is to cooking it on very low heat (slightly less than a rolling simmer) and leaving the cover on. Resist the temptation of opening the lid. After 40-45, you'll have brown rice that has puffed open from it's bran, which is light and fluffy, but let it sit for several minutes before serving.

Answer 4

Chewy Rice

Answer 5

It's definitely the oven messing you up. The recipe probably should have said to cook the rice on the stove first. Brown rice only takes about 45 minutes to coke.

Answer 6

Rice can only be cooked in boiling water or steamed. Cooking it in an oven will never work as it needs a lot of moisture to soften the rice. Take it from a vietnamese dude who eats rice breakfast, lunch, dinner. ; )