Hi everyone,
So last week we talked about tempeh and making Tempeh Chilli and I noticed that the recipe says to enjoy it with brown rice. But then I realised that some of us don't know how to cook brown rice so let's clear that up because it's so good for us!
If you want to skip straight to the recipe for a simple Brown Rice & Vege Salad click here!
Brown rice is a great source of fibre and fibre is something we are seriously lacking in Australia. A 2018 study of over 12,000 children and adults showed only 42.3% of children and 28.2% of adults met the Adequate Intake (AI), and less than 20% of adults met the Suggested Dietary Target (SDT) to reduce the risk of chronic disease.*
Brown rice is also a good source of the nutrients Vitamin B5, Biotin, Choline, Phenylalanine (an essential amino acid)**, Copper, Magnesium, Manganese, Selenium, Silicon and Zinc.
So how do we cook brown rice to retain the most nutrients and not lose them in the cooking water? The absorption method.
1. Rinse 1 cup of brown rice
2. Place rice in saucepan with 2 cups of water
3. Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer and cook with the lid on or just slightly tilted to let out a little steam for 30 - 45 minutes or until all the water is absorbed and the rice is tender.
Simples! And totally Carla Approved.
You can obviously cooked more rice - just increase the water in the ratio of brown rice: water of 1:2. So 2 cups of rice would need 4 cups of water and so on.
Added tip: add 1 tablespoon seaweed flakes to the rice while it's cooking to increase your iodine intake.
The biggest objection I hear in clinic is that brown rice takes too long to cook compared to white rice. Yes it does take longer due to the higher fibre content. However, once you're used to it, it doesn't really take any extra time as you just make sure you put the rice on first before you start anything else and then by the time you've chopped and cooked your veggies for the stirfry or made the Tempeh Chilli the rice is done.
A great tip is to cook extra rice and turn the leftovers into a rice salad for lunch the next day. Here's a recipe for a simple Brown Rice & Vegetable Salad.
Happy rice cooking!
P.s. Ooh and another question I get asked a lot is how much rice can I eat?
Make a closed fist - this is the amount of cooked brown rice to eat in a meal. For someone my size it's approximately 3/4 to 1 cup of cooked brown rice.
Enjoy,
Carla :)
**An amino acid is the most simple unit of protein. When you eat protein your digestive enzymes break it down into amino acids which the body can then use. An essential amino acid is one we need to get from food, we cannot manufacture it within the body.
