Black Rice: How To Cook the Dark Grains

Black rice: variants for cooking

The first way to prepare black rice is to boil it. We explain how you can do this.

• Cooking rice is a variation where you cook rice, no matter what kind, in water. Afterward, pour off excess water.
• To cook black rice, first wash it with water, preferably twice. Then the rice goes into a saucepan. Add 6 to 8 times the amount of water and a little salt.
• Heat everything until the water boils. Then you can reduce the temperature to medium heat. Now the rice should continue to simmer without the lid.
• For black rice, the cooking time is very long, about 35 minutes, while for white rice, it only takes 15 to 20 minutes.
• After 35 minutes you can test whether the rice is done. If this is the case, you can use a sieve to drain off the excess water. Now your rice is ready to be served.

Steaming Black Rice- An alternative to cooking

This second method of preparing rice is also known as the swelling rice method. We explain how to do it here.

• The process of steaming differs from cooking in that less water is used. You don’t have to pour off any water at the end.
  With this method, you also wash the rice twice, but then pour twice the amount of water over it. The amount of water in black rice is slightly more than in white rice.
• While white rice usually has twice the amount of water added, black rice uses 2.5 times the amount of water. Add some salt.
• Bring the rice to a boil, then reduce the heat and put a lid on the pot. The rice is now simmering for 35 minutes, stirring occasionally. The rice should then have absorbed the water.
• After the cooking time, you can taste the rice. If it is not cooked yet, you can add more water if necessary and extend the cooking time. When the rice is cooked, it’s ready to serve.

Black rice from the rice cooker

Like all other types of rice, black rice can also be prepared in a special rice cooker. We explain how to do this.

• The proportions of black rice and water when preparing it with the rice cooker correspond to those when steaming rice. The ratio of rice to water is 1:2.5.
• Here, too, the rice is first washed twice. Then water and salt are added. For the cooking process, you should select the whole grain mode for black rice.
• All preparations are made and the rice cooker cooks the black rice until it is ready. Then you can serve the rice.