For brown rice in an on/off rice cooker, try doing 1:1 + 0.5 cups of water for evaporation.
TL;DR/W:
When cooking different types of rice sous vide, they all absorb water in a 1:1 ratio. The only difference is how long it took to cook through (white long grain is less than brown or wild, for example).
So, the deciding factor is how much the cooking method evaporates water in that time. Sous vide can’t evaporate water, so it’s still 1:1 but other methods need more water. Rice cookers are pretty consistent, so it’s easier to calculate the additional water for evaporation. For white rice, it’s about 0.25 cups for evaporation while brown rice needs about 0.5 cups for evaporation because it cooks longer.
There are more details in the video/blog post about other methods, like boiling rice similar to pasta
This is really interesting regarding the extra water and I suppose it makes sense with the more basic models that have a vent hole. I have been using an Instant Pot for a bunch of years now and have a custom pressure cooking setting that gives me fluffy and perfect brown rice using water at a 1:1 ratio. I believe the cook time must be slightly longer than the white rice setting(default button). 21 mins and about 10 mins to cooldown before venting gets perfect results 100% of the time.
I have been tempted to invest in a more traditional cooker like a Zojirushi thanks in large part to “Uncle Roger” but paid $45 for the Instant Pot and I don’t really use it for anything else.
Ethan mentions it in the video with the stove top method since it varies based on the saucepan, but if you have a method that consistently makes rice the way you like it, then stick with that.
Zojirushi is designed for households that have rice for each meal, 3x a day. Even then, Pailin’s Kitchen noted in https://youtu.be/j9tvO5XNGkU that replacement parts are expensive, so a more entry-level rice cooker can be more worth it. Washing rice in a separate bowl might help reduce wear and drying the gasket might help it last longer, but I digress.
IMO, an Instant Pot is more versatile since it’s designed as an all-in-one appliance. However, I have an oven, stove top, and enamel cast iron, so I’d rather make use of them. Rice is challenging in cast iron because of heat retention; it’s actually easier to cook it in the oven.
For me, a rice cooker frees up the oven and is very set-it-and-forget-it, so it was an easy choice
If I didn’t already have the above, I’d probably have a rice cooker and crock pot, for which I understand the Instant Pot is a good replacement
Ethan Chlebowski did a video on rice in https://youtu.be/IjjdAheuNKs where he cooks rice sous vide to determine water ratios and cook times. There are more details in the companion blog post at https://www.cookwell.com/education/video-companion/rice-cooking-fundamentals-4-methods
For brown rice in an on/off rice cooker, try doing 1:1 + 0.5 cups of water for evaporation.
TL;DR/W: When cooking different types of rice sous vide, they all absorb water in a 1:1 ratio. The only difference is how long it took to cook through (white long grain is less than brown or wild, for example).
So, the deciding factor is how much the cooking method evaporates water in that time. Sous vide can’t evaporate water, so it’s still 1:1 but other methods need more water. Rice cookers are pretty consistent, so it’s easier to calculate the additional water for evaporation. For white rice, it’s about 0.25 cups for evaporation while brown rice needs about 0.5 cups for evaporation because it cooks longer.
There are more details in the video/blog post about other methods, like boiling rice similar to pasta
This is really interesting regarding the extra water and I suppose it makes sense with the more basic models that have a vent hole. I have been using an Instant Pot for a bunch of years now and have a custom pressure cooking setting that gives me fluffy and perfect brown rice using water at a 1:1 ratio. I believe the cook time must be slightly longer than the white rice setting(default button). 21 mins and about 10 mins to cooldown before venting gets perfect results 100% of the time.
I have been tempted to invest in a more traditional cooker like a Zojirushi thanks in large part to “Uncle Roger” but paid $45 for the Instant Pot and I don’t really use it for anything else.
Ethan mentions it in the video with the stove top method since it varies based on the saucepan, but if you have a method that consistently makes rice the way you like it, then stick with that.
Zojirushi is designed for households that have rice for each meal, 3x a day. Even then, Pailin’s Kitchen noted in https://youtu.be/j9tvO5XNGkU that replacement parts are expensive, so a more entry-level rice cooker can be more worth it. Washing rice in a separate bowl might help reduce wear and drying the gasket might help it last longer, but I digress.
IMO, an Instant Pot is more versatile since it’s designed as an all-in-one appliance. However, I have an oven, stove top, and enamel cast iron, so I’d rather make use of them. Rice is challenging in cast iron because of heat retention; it’s actually easier to cook it in the oven.
For me, a rice cooker frees up the oven and is very set-it-and-forget-it, so it was an easy choice
If I didn’t already have the above, I’d probably have a rice cooker and crock pot, for which I understand the Instant Pot is a good replacement