What We’re Cooking With Now: Brown Rice

By Dana Patton, executive chef, Café Phipps

Looking for adventure in the kitchen? Our monthly What We're Cooking with Now post features a fresh produce ingredient, explains how to find the market's finest, and includes a recipe to try at home.

Brown Rice

Why: Brown rice is a good source of magnesium, phosphorus, selenium, thiamin, niacin and vitamin B6, and it also provides 88 percent of your daily manganese in just one cooked cup.

Shopping Tip: Before cooking, rinse and go through your rice to make sure there are not any small stones or debris. 

Preparation: To cook brown rice, add one part rice to two parts boiling water or broth. After the liquid has returned to a boil, turn down the heat, cover and simmer for about 45 minutes. 

Recipe: Red Curry Rice

½ medium yellow onion, peeled and cut into ½ inch slices
2 large leeks, thinly sliced and rinsed
2 cups shiitake mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks or grated
4 teaspoons Thai red curry paste
¼ cup toasted slivered almonds
4 green onions, thinly sliced
2 cups cooked brown rice, fully cooled
Salt and pepper to taste

Put 1 cup of dried brown rice and 2 cups of water or stock into a pot. Bring to a boil, cover and cook over medium heat until water is absorbed (about 45 minutes total). Let cool.

Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add onion, leeks, mushrooms and carrots and cook for about 5 – 6 minutes, stirring frequently. Add water 1 – 2 tablespoons at a time to keep vegetables from sticking to the pan. Whisk in the curry paste and cook for another 30 seconds. Add the almonds, green onion and rice and cook until heated through. Season with salt and pepper.