How to Cook Brown Rice. A soaked and parboiled method.

Is brown rice on your table often? It is on ours! Since we eat a lot of brown rice, I wanted to learn to cook it perfectly in my Instant Pot. After a while, it became simple to do, and so delicious to enjoy with our meals. Presenting, How to Cook Brown Rice in your Instant Pot, A soaked and parboiled method.  Instructions are included for both long-grain and short-grain brown rice. 

Note: We are a brown rice eating family! When I began noticing and reading about arsenic in rice, I knew I would have to update my cooking methods to offer the most delicious and healthiest rice possible for my family. This added step to parboil the rice is quite easy to accommodate. Especially since we batch cook brown rice for storage in the freezer. Thank you for revisiting this post for the added information and instructions.    

Brown rice was not on my table in the early years of being a wife...

And yet, currently we eat quite a bit of brown rice. Not only good for us but also a good source of fiber and those important B vitamins. As a young wife, I did not even know about brown rice. Rice in my childhood home was always standard white rice. Sadly, I think I threw away a big bag of long-grain brown rice that had been given to me, those many years ago. At the time I could not imagine cooking rice for the 45 minutes as stated on the package. It must have taken another 30 years for me to learn about and enjoy eating whole unprocessed food.

Let me just say this right now...

I must confess, that I do not enjoy cooking brown rice on the stove, in a standard saucepan. It really does take 45 minutes give or take a few, and often it turned out gluey, and there is always the chance of scorching or downright burning should the cook get busy and take leave of the timer for a few moments...and yes that can happen to us all! And then one day I owned an electric pressure cooker, which I wore out! And now it's replacement, the Instant Pot. It was now time to tackle the brown rice issue...

And just so you know...

I am not now, nor have I ever been an appliance purist. It doesn't matter what brand you have, they all essentially do the same job. I got my first electric pressure cooker (not an Instant Pot) during a clearance sale and made the decision that it was worth the financial investment to learn how to use one, and I have not looked back, since!  When I wore that one out, the only reason I now own an Instant Pot is because they had taken over the market and they were on sale! Of course, this was after, I got over my fear of beginning. Yep, keep reading!

I am not pretty sure I have mentioned my fear of beginnings, you see it is legendary in my small circle and it has been lifelong. So, if you also have a hesitancy to begin a new job, or more to the point, learning a new process, or even how to use a new appliance, take heart, you are not alone. And honestly it will all work out. If nothing else, I am an excellent reminder that it will....

It has for me every single time, and it will for you as well! Especially the electric pressure cooker part! I must give credit where credit is owed, my dear husband was the first one to use the first electric pressure cooker that I brought home, and little by little, I got comfortable with it...and once the comfort sets in, watch out, there is nothing you won't do, and you will have a lot of fun in the process!

Now let's get back to cooking brown rice!

As far as cooking brown rice goes, one day I decided that it made more sense to use the electric pressure cooker to cook it. The only problem was, there were inadequate instructions. Want to know why? Well I am glad you asked! 

Brown rice like all grain/seed type food is a living plant, and it can (and does!) vary from type to type and crop year to crop year. Hard and fast rules on how to cook the rice may be written, and found on more than one source, but you will find that there is a bit of a learning curve with each new bag, as well as the next year's crop, or even the grain type. Living food is a lot like people, we pretty much look the same, but deep inside there are special traits that are unique to each of us, and even that one person. In the case of food, the same principal applies to that one crop, or the one type of rice.

What kind of differences?

Nothing major or impossible to work around. For instance, sometimes the rice would be a bit dry, and other times it would be quite wet, or even undercooked. None of those were anything like the fluffy rice we wanted on the table, but always the rice was edible. So we ate it! But as I got more adventurous with experimenting, I also got better at cooking it. Plus by now I had been using the electric pressure cooker so much, this is about where I wore my first one out! 

Enter the Instant Pot! There are only two features on the Instant Pot that are an improvement over my last electric pressure cooker and that of course is the sauté button AND a stainless steel cooking vessel! The sauté feature does save a pan or two when cooking a one dish meal. But for cooking rice, it makes absolutely no difference. It still requires the correct amount of water, rice, and time. Flat out! Oh and you know those buttons on the Instant Pot? They are simply pre-programmed times, for brown rice I program the cooking time I need, rather than using a preprogrammed button that cannot know what and how the rice needs to be cooked.  

Do you soak your grains? We always do, and there were no soaked rice instructions to be found for the Instant Pot!

Since I also prefer to soak brown rice before cooking it, instructions were nowhere to be found. Well, that is, until now! Soaking will affect the amount of water needed for cooking along with the cooking time. We cook and use two types of brown rice, short grain is added to our yeast bread recipe. And long grain brown rice to go along with our meals. Learning how much water meant some trial and error. Luckily the errors were used in bread, rice pudding, or simply eaten with a mental note about changing up the amount of water in future batches! And while my amounts are not perfect (remember the whole living food issue?) they are pretty good. 

An additional thought on this process/recipe:

And finally this! Like most appliances, I have discovered that my Instant Pot cooks slightly different, from the many recipes I have tried. Cooking time can vary from appliance to appliance, as well as using a 6 QT. model or the larger 8 QT. My current IP model (a 6 QT.) seems to need an additional minute or two. Adjust the cooking time listed in the recipe if needed for your own particular model. 

Soaking rice is easy! Plus impurities go down the drain. 

How to Soak Rice.  

Measure out the amount of rice you wish to cook, 

place in a large enough bowl to be able to cover it with water, 

add 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar, 

cover with cool water, add enough water to cover the rice by one to two inches,

 

let it sit for at least 24 hours. 

Kitchen tip: brown rice freezes and reheats beautifully. Make a large batch and freeze packages of cooked rice for future meals.

When Ready to Cook the Rice: 

This process now includes parboiling with final cooking in your Pressure Cooker. 

Drain the rice in a wire mesh strainer, rinse well.  

To parboil the rice, place 5 cups of water for each cup of rice into a large stockpot and bring to a boil. Add the drained rice and when the water returns to a boil, boil for two minutes. Use a timer, and drain the rice as soon as the timer signals. 

Let the parboiled rice drain until no drips are coming off the bottom of the strainer.  You are now ready to cook the drained rice.

If however, the day gets busy and I can not cook the soaked rice as planned, it can be stored (up to 3 days) in a covered container in the refrigerator until cooked.  

Pretty simple, right?

 

Can I cook rice in a stove-top model pressure cooker? 

Why yes you can, and I do when traveling in our little 5thwheel, and even now where we live in a 40ft caravan. The cooking time will pretty much be the same, depending upon your stove-top model. 

A stove-top model may require a more hands-on approach. Speaking from personal experience, my stove-top does not hold the pressure at tightly as the electric model. Therefore, I am careful at the end of the cooking time to keep a close watch to prevent scorching...

NOTE: feel free to multiply the ingredients per total volume allowed for cooking.

I often cook 4 cups of dry rice, after soaking and parboiling. The cooking time does not increase, only the time needed to build up the pressure, before cooking begins. 

And speaking about building up the pressure, once the pressure is built, the Instant Pot signals that the food is now being cooked under pressure. At that moment, I set a second timer for the amount of cooking time, plus the NPR time, so I don't lose track. One trick I taught myself along the way gaining experience while  using my Instant Pot. 

Why? 

Because the best way to over cook rice, is to leave it too long in the NPR phase. 

FINAL NOTE: All our brown rice recipes have been updated for the new cooking methods, regarding possible high arsenic levels. 

 

Ingredients needed for this recipe:

• soaked & parboiled brown rice
• apple cider vinegar
• water
• salt

You will also need the following:

• electric pressure cooker, or stovetop model
• liquid measuring cup
• measuring spoons

Now we are ready to begin!

How to Long Grain Cook Brown Rice in Your Instant Pot.

by the seat of my pants!

UPDATED: 09.07.2024

1 c Long Grain Brown Rice, that has been soaked, drained, parboiled and completely drained - see above

apple cider vinegar - for soaking the rice

7/8 c room temperature water (simply remove 2 T from 1 c water)

1/4 t salt

Place all ingredients in the Instant Pot, attach the lid, and close the vent. 

Set cooking time for 21 minutes. 

When cooking time is up, let sit for an additional 6 minutes NPR. Important: for best cooking results, do not go beyond the recommended NPR standing time, to avoid overcooked rice. 

After the NPR time is up, carefully open the valve, to release the remaining pressure. 

After opening the vent, gently fluff the rice.  

If not serving right away, re-cover and let sit, until it is time to serve, this will prevent the rice from drying out.

How to Cook Short Grain Brown Rice in Your Instant Pot

by the seat of my pants!

UPDATED: 09.07.2024

1 c Short Grain Brown Rice, that has been soaked, drained, parboiled and drained completely - see above

apple cider vinegar - for soaking the rice

1 c  room temperature water

1/4 t salt

Place all ingredients in the Instant Pot, attach lid, close vent.

Set cooking time to 23 minutes.

When cooking time is up, let sit for NPR an additional 8 minutes. Important: for best cooking results, do not go beyond the recommended NPR standing time, to avoid overcooked rice. 

Carefully open the vent to release the remaining pressure.

Gently fluff the cooked rice. 

If not serving right away, re-cover and let sit, until it is time to serve, this will prevent the rice from drying out.

Storage options for cooked rice from How to Cook Brown Rice in your Instant Pot. Cooked rice may be kept covered in the refrigerator for two to three days. You may freeze cooked brown rice by placing it into a freezer bag or freezer container with a tight-fitting lid while still warm. Place in the freezer immediately. Let thaw before using, in the refrigerator. 

UPDATE:  For your convenience, a "copy and paste" version of How to Cook Brown Rice in your Instant Pot has been included below. 

You may also enjoy: 

How to Make Coconut Brown Rice. A Soaked Rice Method.

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Printable "copy and paste" version:

How to Soak Rice.  

Measure out the amount of rice you wish to cook, 

place in a large enough bowl to be able to cover it with water, 

add 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar, 

cover with cool water, add enough water to cover the rice by one to two inches,

 

let it sit for at least 24 hours. 

Kitchen tip: brown rice freezes and reheats beautifully. Make a large batch and freeze packages of cooked rice for future meals.

When Ready to Cook the Rice: 

This process now includes parboiling with final cooking in your Pressure Cooker. 

Drain the rice in a wire mesh strainer, rinse well.  

To parboil the rice, place 5 cups of water for each cup of rice into a large stockpot and bring to a boil. Add the drained rice and when the water returns to a boil, boil for two minutes. Use a timer, and drain the rice as soon as the timer signals. 

Let the parboiled rice drain until no drips are coming off the bottom of the strainer.  You are now ready to cook the drained rice.

If however, the day gets busy and I can not cook the soaked rice as planned, it can be stored (up to 3 days) in a covered container in the refrigerator until cooked.  

Pretty simple, right?

How to Long Grain Cook Brown Rice in Your Instant Pot.

by the seat of my pants!

UPDATED: 09.07.2024

1 c Long Grain Brown Rice, that has been soaked, drained, parboiled and completely drained - see above

apple cider vinegar - for soaking the rice

7/8 c room temperature water (simply remove 2 T from 1 c water)

1/4 t salt

Place all ingredients in the Instant Pot, attach the lid, and close the vent. 

Set cooking time for 21 minutes. 

When cooking time is up, let sit for an additional 6 minutes NPR. Important: for best cooking results, do not go beyond the recommended NPR standing time, to avoid overcooked rice. 

After opening the vent, gently fluff the rice. 

 If not serving right away, re-cover and let sit, until it is time to serve, this will prevent the rice from drying out.

How to Cook Short Grain Brown Rice in Your Instant Pot

by the seat of my pants!

UPDATED: 09.07.2024

1 c Short Grain Brown Rice, that has been soaked, drained, parboiled and drained completely - see above

apple cider vinegar - for soaking the rice

1 c  room temperature water

1/4 t salt

Place all ingredients in the Instant Pot, attach lid, close vent.

Set cooking time to 23 minutes.

When cooking time is up, let sit for NPR an additional 8 minutes. Important: for best cooking results, do not go beyond the recommended NPR standing time, to avoid overcooked rice. 

Carefully open the vent to release the remaining pressure.

Gently fluff the cooked rice. 

If not serving right away, re-cover and let sit, until it is time to serve, this will prevent the rice from drying out.

Storage options for cooked rice from How to Cook Brown Rice in your Instant Pot. Cooked rice may be kept covered in the refrigerator for two to three days. You may freeze cooked brown rice by placing it into a freezer bag or freezer container with a tight-fitting lid while still warm. Place in the freezer immediately. Let thaw before using, in the refrigerator.