brown rice & veggies
Okay, this is a really simple dish that requires little to no explaination. I'm not here to post a recipe- I just wanted an excuse to talk about brown rice. I have always, always LOATHED brown rice. I hated the texture, the weird flavor, everything about it. It has nothing to do with the fluffy white rice I grew up with, and I always considered it to be hippie chow, not worth bothering with. But, since having my son, I've become a little more health conscious. I quit smoking when I found out I was pregnant, I tried (and failed, haha) to eat healthy while pregnant, and I've been working on improving my diet ever since. I gained a lot of weight during my pregnancy and my midwife kept blah-blahing me about how I shouldn't eat white rice. I probably ate steamed rice and broccoli at least once a day while I was pregnant and I just couldn't fathom how white rice could be bad for you. I still can't, honestly. It's just RICE, GUYS! But whatever. I took some of her advice and tried to get myself to snack on nuts (not my favorite, but they're growing on me), switched to whole wheat bread instead of french breads or english muffin bread (my favorite). But, I could never give up my white rice. Jasmine rice, specifically. My best friend growing up came from a Filipino family, and she always had rice in the rice cooker, any time of the day. Jasmine rice has always been my favorite, so imagine my surprise when I came across a bag of BROWN jasmine rice at trader joe's! Okay man, OKAY! I decided to try it and I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised.
First of all, I realized immediately upon reading the package instructions that the reason I've hated brown rice my whole life is that EVERYONE COOKS IT WRONG. 2-1 ratio of water to rice, for 50 MINUTES? No wonder it's always so gummy and gross! Use your dang rice cooker like normal! (What? You don't have a rice cooker? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? They cost like FIVE DOLLARS. Go get one. RIGHT NOW.) I always wash my rice and then fill my rice cooker until the rice is just covered and then a little bit extra. I stick my finger in to gauge how much water I need, and it usually comes out to almost the second line on my (OH MY GOD, LUKA AND ABBY GOT BACK TOGETHER!!!!!) finger. The brown rice maintains a kind of snap when cooked in the rice cooker that kind of reminds me of quinoa. (OH MY GOD ER SEASON FINALE WTF!!!!)
The second thing I try to remind myself of when I'm making brown rice is to not treat it like rice. It's not going to taste like white rice, so why bother trying to use it as a replacement? My favorite way to eat brown rice is with lightly steamed vegetables, drizzled with olive oil, a little bit of salt & pepper, and most importantly- lemon juice.
I don't know what it is about the lemon juice that makes the brown rice taste so good, but you should really try it. It brings out the nuttiness and doesn't try to disguise the flavor, it just enhances it. I like to use a little bit of butter, but I always try to use olive oil too, otherwise I end up wanting to add MORE AND MORE butter, and if I'm going to eat half a stick of butter- what's the effin' point of eating brown rice in the first place? I'm trying to be healthy!
If you're interested- dinner tonight was steamed broccoli, carrots, and chard (which, in hindsight- I really should have sauteed with some garlic. Just the chard- I guess I don't like steamed leafy greens.), topped with pan-fried chicken breast. Not super exciting, not culinary genius, but absolutely delicious and filling.
I'd love to pretend like I'm this big crazy health nut and that all I had for dessert was tasty peaches, but that would be a lie. After we went for our after-dinner walk, I came home, sat on the kitchen floor (hiding from my kid) and ate half a pint of Karamel Sutra. LOOK, I'M NOT PERFECT, OKAY? Hahaha!
Anyway. If you've always been skeptical of brown rice, this post is designed to convince you give it a try. Honestly, I haven't eaten much white rice since I started trying the brown, even though I'll still admit that I prefer it. Well- that's not true. They each serve their purpose. You'd never catch me trying to make brown rice sushi, for instance- (GROSS!) or even bother with it for stir fry meals or curries, but when I really want something healthy, easy, and light- I'll opt for the brown.
I AM STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHY THE HELL WHITE RICE IS SO EVIL, THOUGH. (Don't tell me, I don't really care.) I hope my midwife is proud. To recap: 1. Ignore label instructions and use a rice cooker. 2. lemon juice! 3. GET LONG GRAIN, like jasmine or basmati. (Jasmine!)
First of all, I realized immediately upon reading the package instructions that the reason I've hated brown rice my whole life is that EVERYONE COOKS IT WRONG. 2-1 ratio of water to rice, for 50 MINUTES? No wonder it's always so gummy and gross! Use your dang rice cooker like normal! (What? You don't have a rice cooker? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? They cost like FIVE DOLLARS. Go get one. RIGHT NOW.) I always wash my rice and then fill my rice cooker until the rice is just covered and then a little bit extra. I stick my finger in to gauge how much water I need, and it usually comes out to almost the second line on my (OH MY GOD, LUKA AND ABBY GOT BACK TOGETHER!!!!!) finger. The brown rice maintains a kind of snap when cooked in the rice cooker that kind of reminds me of quinoa. (OH MY GOD ER SEASON FINALE WTF!!!!)
The second thing I try to remind myself of when I'm making brown rice is to not treat it like rice. It's not going to taste like white rice, so why bother trying to use it as a replacement? My favorite way to eat brown rice is with lightly steamed vegetables, drizzled with olive oil, a little bit of salt & pepper, and most importantly- lemon juice.
I don't know what it is about the lemon juice that makes the brown rice taste so good, but you should really try it. It brings out the nuttiness and doesn't try to disguise the flavor, it just enhances it. I like to use a little bit of butter, but I always try to use olive oil too, otherwise I end up wanting to add MORE AND MORE butter, and if I'm going to eat half a stick of butter- what's the effin' point of eating brown rice in the first place? I'm trying to be healthy!
If you're interested- dinner tonight was steamed broccoli, carrots, and chard (which, in hindsight- I really should have sauteed with some garlic. Just the chard- I guess I don't like steamed leafy greens.), topped with pan-fried chicken breast. Not super exciting, not culinary genius, but absolutely delicious and filling.
I'd love to pretend like I'm this big crazy health nut and that all I had for dessert was tasty peaches, but that would be a lie. After we went for our after-dinner walk, I came home, sat on the kitchen floor (hiding from my kid) and ate half a pint of Karamel Sutra. LOOK, I'M NOT PERFECT, OKAY? Hahaha!
Anyway. If you've always been skeptical of brown rice, this post is designed to convince you give it a try. Honestly, I haven't eaten much white rice since I started trying the brown, even though I'll still admit that I prefer it. Well- that's not true. They each serve their purpose. You'd never catch me trying to make brown rice sushi, for instance- (GROSS!) or even bother with it for stir fry meals or curries, but when I really want something healthy, easy, and light- I'll opt for the brown.
I AM STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHY THE HELL WHITE RICE IS SO EVIL, THOUGH. (Don't tell me, I don't really care.) I hope my midwife is proud. To recap: 1. Ignore label instructions and use a rice cooker. 2. lemon juice! 3. GET LONG GRAIN, like jasmine or basmati. (Jasmine!)
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