SONDRA Kapepa of Kailua wondered if she can cook a combination of brown and white rice in a rice cooker. Cooker nice for brown rice
The answer is yes! She can combine brown and white rices in any desired proportion and cook as for regular rice in a rice cooker.
Isle grain guru Norma Masip Koenig recommended presoaking brown rice; she said soaked rice is easier to digest.
To prepare brown rice in a rice cooker, Koenig said Wash rice; drain. Place rice in a glass bowl, add two parts water and soak 8 hours or overnight. Place in a rice cooker; cook.
Kapepa also asked for a rice-cooker pilaf recipe that ran several years ago in By Request.The carbohydrate- and fiber-rich recipe follows, and a recipe for a hearty supper dish incorporating cooked brown rice. If desired, combine brown and white rices for either recipe, and use a rice cooker to prepare the grain called "your culinary strong right arm."
2 cups uncooked brown rice Eric Tash's Rice Cooker Pilaf
1/4 cup uncooked EACH barley, lentils, rye berries and wheat berries
1 package (10 ounces) frozen vegetables
1 can (8 ounces) mushroom pieces, drained
1 can (5 ounces) water chestnuts, drained and sliced
3 cups water (add more if softer rice desired)
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) chicken brothRinse brown rice. Add remaining ingredients and mix. Cover and cook in a rice cooker.
Refrigerated or frozen cooked pilaf can be microwave reheated. Makes 10 (1-cup) servings.
Note: For a plainer side dish, cook: 2 cups uncooked brown rice, 6 cups water, 1/2 cup EACH uncooked lentils, barley, rye berries and wheat berries and 1 bouillon cube.
Approximate nutritional analysis per serving pilaf: 225 calories, 2 grams total fat, 0.5 grams saturated fat, no cholesterol, 290 milligrams sodium.
Ground Turkey
and Confetti Brown Rice(From Kit Snedaker, Copley News Service) 1-1/2 cups chicken stock OR canned low-sodium broth
1 cup water
1 cup brown rice
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 green onions, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1/2 EACH green, red and yellow bell pepper, finely diced
1 pound lean ground turkey
Salt and pepper to tasteHeat stock and water to boiling. Add rice. Reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook until rice is tender, about 45 minutes.
Heat oil in skillet. Add vegetables and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 6 to 8 minutes.
Add turkey, salt and pepper. Stir over medium heat, until browned and cooked through, about 7 minutes. Stir in cooked rice. Cook until rice is hot, 4 or 5 minutes. Makes 4 to 6 servings.
Note: The "Hawaiian Airlines Flight Attendant Cookbook" mentioned here last week is no longer available. However, copies are available in the Hawaii public library system for borrowing.
