Even a novice housewife knows that rice needs to be washed before cooking various dishes. An advanced level involves soaking different types of rice to improve the consistency of porridge or pilaf, increasing the nutritional value of the cereal and its taste. How to soak rice for pilaf and porridge, what features do steamed, red and brown varieties of cereal have? This knowledge will help housewives to significantly improve their culinary achievements.
Why is it important to steam?
Doctors are loudly trumpeting the dangers of rice for the figure - the high sugar content, prohibitive glycemic index and high calorie content have made it the main enemy of all slender girls. In addition, it is a pure source of quickly digestible carbohydrates, which tend to actively “fill up” even the thinnest. Not the best option for weight loss! But don’t rush to draw conclusions and put an end to this product: there is a way to neutralize harmful components and reduce its calorie content.
If you're unsure whether you should soak your beans, we'll give you some facts. The most harmful and calorie-rich thing in this dish is starch. Under the influence of high temperatures, it is digested into a thick sticky mass (which is why cooking crumbly porridge is a real art). If you use soaking instead of cooking, the starch is removed from the grains into the liquid, and all you need to do is drain off this water, and with it everything harmful.
As a result, you not only lose weight, but also improve the condition of your body. Judge for yourself - after a week you will notice the following changes in your body:
- Losing weight by 3-5 kilograms;
- Getting rid of salts, liquids, waste and toxins;
- Normalization of digestion;
- A surge of strength and vitality;
- Acceleration of metabolism;
- Reducing cravings for junk food;
- Clean and glowing skin.
Why soak rice in water?
Firstly, rice grains contain a lot of starch. This substance is a natural paste: have you noticed how grains in porridge stick together if you don’t wash them before cooking? This is exactly the task facing housewives who want to prepare a crumbly side dish or pilaf: to free the grains from starch as much as possible. And simply rinsing under running water is not always enough.
Secondly, cereals are known for their high levels of inhibitors. These components inhibit germination. Once in the human digestive tract, they bind essential minerals and block the release of gastric juice enzymes. All this significantly affects the quality of digestion.
Rice is one of the leading grains in terms of the content of such an inhibitor - phytic acid. The absolute record holder is the brown or brown variety. Brown rice grains are not peeled, they must be soaked before cooking.
Cooking the perfect porridge
First you need to choose the right variety. Buy brown or unpolished, as they are much healthier for the body. The steamed or round variety will not work.
Since such grains cannot be steamed overnight, we will cook it for several days. To make this process more convenient, and for you to always have a ready-made portion at hand, use a special cooking system according to Malakhov:
- Take glass jars of the same size, marked 1, 2, 3 and 4;
- On the first day, pour four tablespoons of grains into jar No. 1 and fill with water;
- On the second day, change the liquid in the first jar and pour a portion into the second;
- On the third day we change it in two jars and make the preparation in the third in the same way;
- Fill the last jar with cereal and change the water in the first three again;
- On the fifth day you can start drinking the first portion. As soon as you empty it, fill it again and let it sit until ready, not forgetting to change the water every day.
Product Features
As the name suggests, this type of grain undergoes a steam heat treatment process before grinding. This procedure allows you to preserve much more nutrients, microelements and vitamins, because under the influence of temperature they move from the shell to the core. For this purpose, the grains are elongated, the color of the dry product changes from white to golden, translucent, but after cooking the processed grain cannot be distinguished from ordinary grain. The US military began steaming rice more than 50 years ago to facilitate the cooking process. Another advantage of heat treatment is that the prepared side dish turns out crumbly, the grains do not crumble, and these properties are preserved even after several heatings.
Choosing the right diet
Steamed rice is a kind of brush for our intestines, sweeping out all deposits, waste, toxins and other harmful substances.
It is best to clean for two weeks twice a year. The regime is easiest to tolerate in the fall and spring; moreover, this is a great way to tighten the body before summer or strengthen the immune system on the eve of winter.
It is worth mentioning that although this cleansing option has a beneficial effect on the body, it is more suitable for maintaining weight than for actively losing it. To significantly speed up this process, we recommend resorting to a more restrictive diet.
It represents three fasting days. All you can afford these days is one glass of grains per day. Don’t be alarmed - we are talking about dry cereal; when cooked, it increases in size several times, and you get a decent portion (700-800 grams). It must be prepared in the manner suggested above, and consumed in small portions throughout the day, washed down with herbal tea.
Cooking method in a slow cooker
Many owners have already equipped their kitchens with a useful and convenient device that allows them to minimize the time spent at the stove. This miracle saucepan cooks, stews, and bakes (depending on the built-in functions). How to cook steamed rice in a slow cooker? Standard method: use the “Pilaf” mode, and then replace it with “Warming”. The proportion of cereal to water changes to 1:3, and the amount of loading and cooking time depend on the capacity of the bowl; for this you should study the attached instructions.
The steamed cereal is washed and soaked for an hour, then transferred to a slow cooker, water is added and the desired mode is set. 10 minutes before the end of cooking, switch the function. You can experiment with this device: use the “Buckwheat” mode, which is suitable for cooking rice for rolls and sushi, or “Milk porridge”.
Rules for taking for weight loss
To bring your body back to normal, you must adhere to the recommendations of a healthy lifestyle and remember the features of eating rice given below:
- Combination with fat, meat, sweet and spicy is prohibited. It is not forbidden to eat this during other meals - most importantly, in moderation;
- Stock up on apple juice, green tea and clean water for these days - you will have to drink frequently and generously;
- Consume foods rich in potassium regularly. You can find it in fruits, nuts, dried apricots, raisins and vegetables. By the way, the combination of cereals with dried fruits and nuts is very tasty! Just don't forget about the high calorie content;
- You can’t overeat at night - your last meal should be at least three hours before bedtime;
- The product does not tolerate harmful additives: salt, sugar, cream, butter and milk. No one is forcing you to eat dry cereal: if you want to dilute the taste, use spices and seasonings without artificial flavors and emulsifiers (lemon juice, curry, ginger, pepper, cinnamon or suneli hops).
How to soak rice: all the rules
To get a sticky porridge, you can soak the rice for a short time. This will retain the small amount of starch needed to make the porridge sticky.
But for pilaf, starch is not needed at all. Before preparing this complex dish, be sure to soak any type of rice you choose. The easiest to prepare is steamed long-grain: it is cleared of almost everything and hardly sticks together even with a standard rinse in five waters. Does it need to be soaked? Still, yes, just try pouring water on a handful of grains. The liquid will become cloudy and taste unpleasant.
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Is it possible to soak rice overnight?
Soaking rice in advance is the best solution for busy housewives. Soak the grains overnight, and by morning you will have grains completely ready for cooking.
What water should you soak rice in?
One of the most important points for preparing a crumbly side dish, and especially pilaf, is the correct choice of water temperature for soaking. The easiest way is to pour cold water over the rice, but it will take more time to completely remove starch and neutralize antinutrients.
The best option is hot water, about 60 degrees. What kind of water you shouldn't soak cereal in is boiling water. It will cause the grains to swell very quickly and unevenly.
The peculiarity of rice that has been kept in cold water is that during the final rinsing it becomes brittle. Do not rub the grains to prevent them from cracking. This can lead to excess viscosity, which we are trying so hard to get rid of.
Tip from Miss Clean magazine: After the warm water has cooled, change it to a new portion. This will make the pilaf even more crumbly, and the grains will be saturated with oil and spices.
Some housewives recommend soaking rice in salt water. The cereal will absorb as much salt as needed.
How long to soak rice for pilaf
How long does rice take to soak? Try to remember this at least a couple of hours in advance. The optimal time is 7-8 hours. But there are several varieties of cereals, and they have fundamental differences.
Do I need to soak parboiled rice?
The steamed type is the easiest for culinary experiments. How long will it take for these purified grains to become as fluffy as possible? The answer is from half an hour to two hours.
Red rice
Soak red rice for 3-5 hours. At the same time, do not forget that after the “water procedures” the time for cooking cereals is reduced by almost half.
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Brown (brown) rice
Brown rice requires a special approach: if it is not soaked, it simply will not cook. The shells of the grains are very rough and contain many inhibitors. To prepare the brown variety, soak it for at least 8-12 hours.
Cooking in a steamer
How to cook long grain parboiled rice? If you have a steamer, cook in it. It will retain all the beneficial substances of the product in question. The rice is washed several times until the water is clear. After this, you can soak it in hot liquid for half an hour, this will preserve all the nutritional value of the grains. Then the cereal is thrown onto a sieve and the water is allowed to drain for about 15-20 minutes. For 1 cup of rice take 1.5-2 cups of water, the output will be 3 cups of crumbly side dish. It is advisable to serve the cooked rice immediately. To make the dish airy and not stick together, during the cooking process, sprinkle it with lemon juice or add a little vegetable or butter.
Rice is placed in a special container for cooking cereals, and water is poured there. If the cooking time for porridge is not determined automatically, the timer is set to 30 minutes.
