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I don't have much luck with brown rice either. Maybe try other whole grains like quinoa?

I never liked brown rice because I think I wasn't cooking it right - it always ended up very dry and flavorless. Now I like boiling it or baking it in the oven (a Cook's Illustrated method). I also noticed that Cook's Illustrated has an article in the current (March/April) issue on sprucing up brown rice!

Also, I think brown rice is a bit of an acquired taste, but it also really grew on me after I started eating it more.

I grew up in Asia, and white rice was like cereal is to Americans--I ate it all the time and loved it. I didn't like brown rice at first, but now I find it more flavorful than white rice. I just made Mark Bittman's recipe for steamed chicken with scallion ginger sauce, and realized that I wanted brown rice instead of white rice as an accompaniment because the dish is fairly subtly flavored. With white rice, it would have been too bland. Probably not the advice you were looking for--tone down the other flavors--but it's worked for me.

In general, I am indifferent to brown rice under my curry etc, but when it comes to the following combo, nothing but brown rice will do!
Grilled/broiled salmon on top of brown rice, some tomatoes, avocados and Girard's Light Champagne dressing! A super quick, healthy, and balanced weeknight meal!

I use the Cooks illustrated bake method and find the rice is much nicer than on the stove, it doesn't get sticky. The other thing is are you rinsing your brown rice? this may also be your problem. Rinse the brown rice in a fine mesh sieve under cold running water for a few minutes. White rice doesn't need this step.

Last night I made this Very Green Rice and it was simply amazing! Its an awesome example of adding fresh herbs :)

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2008/01/cook-the-book-very-green-rice-recipe.html

I personally prefer brown instead of white rice (except in rice pudding). But try the brown basmati, it might be more familiar to you. Also for those that don't usually eat brown rice, I usually put half brown and half white rice in the rice cooker. Maybe you can start with this and slowly get use to adding less and less white rice.

Brown rice has definitely grown on me over the past couple of years, but if you wanted to try another whole grain, I recommend farro. I haven't been able to find it for a good price yet, but it's worth the splurge every once in a while--it is so good and I find it much easier to cook than rice on a stovetop.

I never much cared for rice because we grew up with Minute "rice." But I've come to love some many types. I love to eat them at restaurants but we've switched exclusively to brown at home.

Try basmati brown if you haven't. It might taste more familiar to you.

Cook big batches and freeze in the portion size you need. It freezes beautifully and makes it less of a burden to prepare during the week.

I like to treat it as a pilaf with LOTS of tasty additions. Most recipes don't include enough goodies. I like a bit of olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, minced greed onion, dried cherries, pistachios and whole bunches of mint and parsley.

I also like it with lots of herbs and seasonings and slivered snap peas, regular peas, and baby shrimp.

Also, it helps me to remember to reverse the proportions of my meal. I don't need a huge bowl of brown rice to feel full. I need some topped with a reasonable amount of protein and a large helping of veggies.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Brown-Rice-with-Shiitakes-and-Scallions-242806

Soy sauce! Low cal, can be high sodium, but you can get a low sodium kind. I think soy sauce works really well with brown rice. We eat brown rice with soy sauce and veggies about 3x a week. For convenience sake my partner makes a big batch of it on a weekend and freezes portions in sandwich bags so that all we do is microwave it in the bag when we're ready for dinner. Trader Joe's also makes good frozen brown rice for when you're on the go. Good luck.

there are many different kinds of brown rice, so my first suggestion would be to check out the bulk bins at your local grocery store and try a few out. you can also get some really nice rice blends that combine different types of rice with whole grains and seeds.

my second tip would be to flavor the cooking liquid not just the cooked rice. if i'm having a simple roasted chicken i'll add a smashed clove a garlic, some fresh thyme and a splash of white wine to the liquid. fish tacos with black beans - use lime juice and cilantro. stir fry - use tamari and ginger.


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My mom's brown rice recipe:
1. Chop a few shallots finely and fry with a small amount of oil in a large pan (or the pot where you'll be cooking the rice)
2. Add the dry rice grains and stir until the grains begin to toast and change colour.
3. Transfer shallot and rice mixture to the cooking pot and add sufficient chicken broth to serve as cooking liquid. A little squeeze of lemon juice is nice too.

This was to substitute for white rice at Chinese meals, as an accompaniment to veg and meat dishes.

I use it in soups a lot; tastes great that way. Also excellent in stir frys and with beans.

I put the juice of one orange in with the water in the rice cooker. It was delicious with baked chicken.

i'm not sure this is what you're looking for, but since we're on the topic - i had about a cup of leftover plain unsalted brown rice from dinner, so i put it back in a pot with a cup of dry oatmeal, two cups of water, and about 3/4 cup of milk (i think you could play with the ratio of milk and water as long as you had the right amount of liquid) and cooked it till the liquid was absorbed (watch it, it can bubble over if the pot is too small). the rice was soft but still chewy, and the oatmeal was perfect. eating it for breakfast this week reheated with a little more milk and brown sugar.

I always make brown rice with homemade chicken stock instead of water. It definitely helps flavor-wise. I keep stock in the freezer in 1-cup increments, which happens to be just about perfect for making rice for 2 people (at our house, at least).

It's still not the deliciousness that white rice is, but the health benefits really do outweigh that "comfort food" aspect of white rice. Plus, I keep hoping that if I eat it long enough, it will take on that "comfort food" feeling.

We also discovered, when trying to switch over to brown rice, that not all brown rices are the same. The large bag we bought at the Asian market was definitely better than the Uncle Ben's (or whatever name brand it was) we found at the supermarket. It makes a huge difference to have good brown rice to start out with.

I love brown rice and it's nutty taste in comparison with white. But I also often am also using it as the base for flavorful stews or curries (Indian, Thai coconut, stirfries, chipotle black beans), so it soaks up those flavors.

If you want to eat it as a side dish, try the broth, as many people have mentioned. In particular, I like Rick Bayless' Green Rice (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Green-Poblano-Rice-Arroz-Verde-al-Poblano-15367), but you need to up the quantity of liquid to 1 3/4 to 2 C. I also like rice salads: either the unhealthy kind my mom used to make (room temp. rice plus fresh peas, corn, mayo, tons of lemon juice or vinegar, lots of fresh dill), or healthier (room temp rice plus fresh herbs, lemon, tahini, and tons of steamed veggies).

I've been getting the brown rice blends and brown/wild rice blends, such as Lundberg ( http://www.amazon.com/Lundberg-Jubilee-Gourmet-Blend-16-Ounce/dp/B000G82L5I ).

I love steamed brown rice from Thai takeout, though I'm not sure if it's guilt free this way, I'm sure they sneak some butter or something in there.

If it's the texture of the brown rice you don't like, I would suggest that you pre-soak it overnight before cooking. It still turns out a little chewier than white rice, but much more softer than if you hadn't pre-soaked it. A costlier alternative is to get a pressure rice cooker that has a special setting for brown rice.

If it's just the flavor of the brown rice you don't like, then try mixing it with a small bit of soy sauce and sesame oil - it's an old Korean trick that moms used to get their kids to eat rice, or when there were no decent side dishes available.

I despise short-grain brown rice. Brown jasmine is much better. Be sure to put a pinch of salt in with the cooking water, it helps the flavor a lot. Or try other whole grains. My biggest problem with brown rice is that it's not familiar. We always at white rice growing up so for meals Mom used to make, I just make white rice. If it's something new, I use brown rice. It's helped get me past the "But it's just not RIGHT!" phase.

Another vote for brown Basmati rice. I didn't used to be crazy about brown rice either, but once I got onto the Basmati variety, I really got hooked, and now I can't imagine going back to flavorless, nutrient-less white rice.
I do think it takes some getting used to if you're eating it in place of white rice and I agree that it needs more salt.
I cook mine in my el cheapo rice cooker.

Chicken stock- totally changes the game. Homemade or store bought, cook it in chicken stock instead of water and add some salt- DELICIOUS. I also like to start sauteeing some onion, then adding the rice, stock, S&P, and then towards the end, some toasted pine nuts or pecans and dried cranberries. I also like making sauces- reduced chicken stock and lemon juice if I am making roasted chicken, OJ, soy sauce, ginger and apricot preserves for more asian flavors- and putting some over the rice. Enjoy!

I've found that the key for good tasting brown rice is using some salt and mixing it with wild rice. I have a rice cooker, so this may not work for you, but I use 1/4 cup wild rice to 3/4 cup brown jasmine (I'm another vote for either the brown jasmine or brown basmati, they taste pretty similar to me) and cook them together. I pre-rinse the wild rice, and put it in the cooker with the total amount of water required for all the rice, add salt (I never measured, but it's a good long shake) and cook that for 15 - 20 minutes. Then I add in the rinsed brown rice and finish cooking. It tastes great with a little bit of butter, or juices from whatever dish you're making that night.

In my experience, a lot of the brown rice from bulk stores is old and somewhat rancid and this really tastes bad. For me, switching to a specific brand of rice (I use Lundberg) has made all the difference; the Lundberg brown rice tastes a little difference from white rice, but its mild flavour is adaptable to a wide variety of rice recipes. Why not give it a try?

Make a salad with it.

Cold, cooked, brown rice seasoned with your favorite vinaigrette, herbs, lots of small diced veggies, nuts, dried cranberries or raisins if you want.

You'll be surprised how much you'll like it. Nice and cold and crunchy, chewy, tangy. Perfect for brown bag lunches too.

invest in a good rice! i introduced brown rice to my parents (they were poo-pooing it, too, but the docs told them to switch). they were using a cheap long grain from walmart. once they had the good organic, short grain, they were converts! it's sweeter, nuttier & has a better texture.
for a staple, paying a little extra for a product that tastes infinitely better is worth it!

When making plain brown rice, you must first fry it with a very small amount of oil and one chopped onion. Just for a minute or two. Then, you can add the water, of transfer it to a rice cooking pan. Trust me, I'm known for my delicious brown rice. Oh, and adding herbs before the rice is done is great too. I like parsley.

Seriously? I eat rice all the time, and I've never noticed anything different between white and brown. Not taste, texture, nothing.

in addition to these other suggestions, try branching out to other whole grains. millet, for example, has a wonderfully satisfying texture and is very mildly flavored like white rice. it doesn't have that same toughness that many other whole grains have. for a fluffiness similar to rice, i rinse 1c millet, add it to a warm skillet to toast for a few minutes, add about 2.5c water and bring to a boil, cover and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes undisturbed.

i eat it often with just butter, salt, and parmesan cheese.

Brown rice is not only good in soups, it pairs well with spicy foods. In a pinch, hot sauce does the trick for me.

Another vote for Lundberg here - California brown jasmine rice is wonderful if you can get it.

I love the "sweet brown rice" I get from the bins at Whole Foods. Great texture.

you've got to rinse all rice - otherwise it tastes funny.

i absolutely love a mix from Trader Joe's - it's got brown rice, daikon seeds, and some other stuff. it's so good and you can put it in a rice cooker - use leftovers with butter and sugar for a quick rice pudding. the flavors of the natural grains are so good. i am sorry i forget the name. it's in a clear plastic bag in the rice and pasta aisle.

I eat brown rice regularly, but I use my pressure cooker, and the recipe for "Mushrooms and Leeks with Saffron Brown Rice" from Lorna Sass's book Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure. Two cups of thinly sliced leeks, half a pound of sliced mushrooms, a diced carrot, some fennel seeds, a tiny pinch of saffron, and 1½ cups of brown rice (rinsed, of course) plus water and salt (or, for me, salt substitute).

I hate to print her recipe (and the book has no online previews), but basically you sauté the leeks for a minute or two in a small amount of oil (2 teaspoons, I think), then add all the other ingredients and cook under high pressure for 25 minutes. Let the pressure come down naturally for 10 minutes, quick-release any remaining pressure, and stir in 2 tablespoons of fresh minced parsley (or, I suppose, any other herb you like that goes with your meal).

It's incredibly yummy and super-easy with a pressure cooker. The very bottom can get a bit over-caramelized, but I've never seen it burned or crunchy, just a nice dark brown. The mushrooms release their umami with the nutty-chewy rice, the leeks pair perfectly (though onions are fine as well), and it's just all a giant win.

Strong recommendation. The book, and Sass's other books, have several other brown rice recipes, as well as recipes using lots of whole grains. The lima bean-quinoa vegetable soup is also very good.

I add a Rapunzel brand Vegan Vegetable Bouillon cube to my brown rice. It's so easy and adds a great, subtle flavor to the rice.

try adding olive oil, freshly grated Parmaggiano Reggiano cheese, and black pepper!

Vince from http://www.scordo.com

A while back, I sampled a Japanese premium short grain brown rice at Hmart (a Korean chain supermarket) and have been buying it ever since. It's really light and fluffy and is very close in texture and taste to white rice. I used to put in twice the amount of water (or more) indicated on my rice cooker to cook the old brown rice I ate previously, but with this kind, I use the same amount of water as I did for white, and it comes out really nicely. So nicely that I've been seriously wondering whether it is a valid healthy grain.

It's called Sukoyaka Genmai whole grain brown rice. I buy it on sale for $19.99 for 15 pounds at Hmart.

I am not a fan of short-grain brown rice. I love brown jasmine rice and plain long-grain. Also, if the rice you are buying has a lot of green grains, find another type. The green grains always have a bitter taste to me.

Sometimes sauteeing the rice in a little butter or oil before adding the water makes it taste nice, and it seems to stick to itself less that way if that's what you like. Personally, I prefer it a little sticky.

I like to make brown rice and put some thick chili over it like Cattle Drive Chicken Chili from Costco. You could also brown up some ground beef and add some tomato sauce and salsa and kidney beans. I like to use some tortilla chips to scoop it all up too.

Better Than Bouillon Mushroom Base makes the best brown rice for just about any use.