how to cook wild rice
How to Cook Wild Rice
Cooking perfect wild rice is an art, that takes some practice and judgment of water content, and cooking time for a particular variety of the rice. Here are a couple of different recipes to guide you...
Depending upon the recipe you want to make, choose the method of cooking the wild rice. Cooking it in a saucepan or microwave is perfect when you want to cook some exotic dishes like risotto or herb-flavored rice. You can also opt for this method of cooking when you want to make rice salads. However, the recipe with rice cooker works well, when you want to make rice for soups or want to serve the rice with some curry.
A cup of wild rice will yield around 3 - 4 cups of cooked rice, so use the proportions accordingly. Many people prefer not to add salt when cooking rice, so it is up to you if you wish to add salt while cooking it. However, personally I always add a little salt to the rice to balance its taste. Wild rice takes longer time to cook than white rice but it has many nutrients. It contains vitamin B3 and other B vitamins. It also contains calcium and potassium and is a good source of dietary fiber.
Cooking in a Saucepan
Take ⅔ cup of wild rice, take 2½ cup of water, and around ½ teaspoon salt or according to taste.
- Wash the rice three times with hot tap water and drain it properly.
- Take a saucepan and heat the rice, water, and salt till it boils.
- Reduce the heat and cover the pan with a lid.
- Let the mix simmer till the rice becomes tender and has absorbed the water. The perfect time is till it becomes tender, and it can be anywhere between half an hour to 45 minutes.
- Well-cooked wild rice will be tender but not mushy or very soft.
- Wash the rice properly and let it drain.
- In a casserole dish combine the water or broth with rice and mix salt in it.
- Microwave on high setting for 5 minutes.
- Then microwave the rice on medium or 50% power setting for half an hour.
- Let the rice stand for 15 minutes.
- Drain the rice and it is ready to eat.
- Wash the rice 3 times with clean hot water.
- Spray the nonstick cooking spray on the rice cooker or smear a little butter or olive oil.
- Add water in the cooker with salt, mix them together and then add the rice.
- Cover the cooker for around 40 minutes or till the rice cooker switches off.
- Let it stand for 10 - 15 minutes and serve.