cooking and freezing brown rice

[Anonymous]

I love brown rice but do not love that it usually takes an hour to cook. We've been using the Trader Joe's frozen brown rice bags that you microwave, and we really like them. However, I am concerned about the chemicals leaching from the plastic from the plastic bag. I've been considering getting a rice cooker to make a big batch and then freezing them on my own and re-heating in glassware in the microwave. Does anybody successfully do this? Are there any tricks to the trade to get the consistency right? My first attempt seemed a little soggy when I reheated it.

[Anonymous]

I was going to suggest the TJ's frozen brown rice... We also love it. I share your concerns about the microwaving in plastic, but have so far suppressed that worry. I'm wondering if it would be possible to heat the TJ rice in a glass container with some sort of cover. I should try it.

I can never get brown rice to have such a perfect consistency, and I imagine frozen and reheated it would get even worse.

[Anonymous]

I’ve never really had luck freezing any rice - I find it gets mushy on reheating.

I wonder if undercooking slightly and steaming to reheat would work?

[Anonymous]

I take "microwave in the bag" rice out and heat it on the stove, it works fine. I've heard you partially boil it and stop when it's still a bit crunchy, but haven't perfected the technique.

[Anonymous]

I have no advice on frozen rice, but as a time saver I buy della brown basmati rice, which cooks in 20 minutes.

[Anonymous]

I have a rice cooker and cook brown rice. When we freeze rice, we don't typically unfreeze it in a microwave. Just put it back in the rick cooker under the "warm" setting.

Pro tip - get a pressure rice cooker. It's a bit more in cost but the rice will last longer without spoiling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have no advice on frozen rice, but as a time saver I buy della brown basmati rice, which cooks in 20 minutes.

TJ's also has a quick cook brown rice. I haven't tried it though.

[Anonymous]

I just cut open the Trader Joe's bag and pour the rice into a glass dish and microwave. It turns out great.

[Anonymous]

Buy the microwave minuter rice. I cook it in the microwave for 1-2 minutes.

[Anonymous]

I freeze brown rice and it works out great. I reheat once thawed on the stovetop with a little water added to maintain moisture.

[Anonymous]

If you eat a lot of rice, get a Zojirushi rice cooker. Worth every penny and you can set it on a timer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just cut open the Trader Joe's bag and pour the rice into a glass dish and microwave. It turns out great.

Do you cover it, and how?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just cut open the Trader Joe's bag and pour the rice into a glass dish and microwave. It turns out great.

Do you cover it, and how?

Yes, I cover it. I use a small Corning Ware dish with the lid it came with. I have some other Corning Ware dishes called "Grab Its" that are round and don't have lids, so when I use one of those, I just use a regular saucer or bread plate as a lid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you eat a lot of rice, get a Zojirushi rice cooker. Worth every penny and you can set it on a timer.

+1

I use mine often and love that I can set it in the morning before work and come home to fresh rice for dinner. It’s also nice for cooking steel cut oats overnight and for cooking other grains.

[Anonymous]

I gave up and use my Instant Pot. Cook time is 6 minutes, so about 12 minutes start to finish? It’s delicious, fast, and keeps in the fridge for a day or two.