Prepping Rice & Grains: This Applies to All Rice Mixes

You can make rice mixes using a variety of different kinds of rice and grains. But when you prep your rice or grains you need to keep in mind the soaking times.

If you need to soak white rice, then you would NOT soak it with brown rice. Why? This is because white rice will only need to soak for 30 minutes in the summer and brown rice needs to be soak for about 5 hours.

It is important to soak rice and grains that are supposed to be soaked for the same time period together in the same bowl and others in separate bowls.

Washing Rice & Grains

Rice and grains should be washed before cooking. You wash your rice and grains the same way no matter what type.

As I mentioned, wash rice and grains that have the same soaking time in the same bowl. You would not wash brown rice with white rice because brown rice is soaked for 5 hours, and white rice is soaked for as little as 30 minutes. Refer to the rice and grain section for a compiled list of soaking times for all the rice and grains.

Washing Rice Steps:

1. Put the grains that can be soaked together into a bowl and add cold water to your rice/grains.
2. Now gently swish the rice around 2-3 times. When you are washing your rice it should not be too rough like you are grabbing the rice, just do it gently then strain out that water.
3. You will repeat this 3-4 times.
4. On the third wash, you can save the water that you pour off of the rice.
5. This batch of water is called Soksaldemul “속쌀뜨물” and can be saved and used in soups and for blanching vegetables to add additional nutrients. Store it in the fridge for 3-4 days or in the freezer.
6. After saving the rice water, you can wash the rice again or move on to soaking your rice.

Soaking Rice & Grains

After washing based on the type of rice and grain, you will now need to soak them. Soaking your rice and grains is very important, it helps to make the texture fluffier. If you do not soak your rice or grains, then your water ratio will be off when you cook your rice. Keep in mind that you do not want to over soak your rice or it can start to smell and the shape can change.

The ratio for Korean rice should be 1 part water to 1 part rice.

Soaking Rice Steps:

1. So, after washing your rice, add some fresh cold water to your rice.
2. Now let the rice or grain soak for the recommended time that I listed in the rice and grain section. Do not over-soak your rice or your rice can begin to smell, the shape will become deformed, and the cooked rice outcome will be mushy.
3. Once you soak the rice and grain to the required time, you should let the rice strain in a sifter to make sure most of the water is out of the rice so that when you cook the rice it is not mushy because the ratio was thrown off. So just let the rice strain for about 5-10 minutes.
4. Now you can cook your rice. Remember the ratio is 1 part rice to 1 part water.