Boiled Brown/Ofada Rice

Ho brown rice, the less attractive but very necessary and healthy sister. We know you will never be white, we know we will never truly enjoy you the same way, but alas we eat you anyway because you are better for us. We appreciate your goodness brown rice. lol.

I eat a lot of brown rice, it honestly almost as delicious as white rice if it’s cooked right. Most people often have issues with the texture but that can easily be fixed by just cooking it right. I have several brown rice recipes on the website including this Jollof Brown rice recipe which has rave reviews!

Wait, while I am doing this post. Let me quickly answer some frequent rice related questions that I get:

Is basmati rice good for weight loss? : I always assume this is regarding comparative calories. The simple answer is no. White basmati rice vs parboiled rice have very comparable calorie content. Depending on the brand, the caloric difference is often less than 10. However if we look from a glycemic load perspective, it’s a slightly better choice.

Is ofada rice the same as brown rice: The simple answer is  it depends. What makes rice brown, is simply the exterior coating known as bran being intact. Any type of rice can be either white or brown, it’s simply a matter of whether the bran has been removed or not. I have seen brands on Ofada rice where the bran is predominantly intact (you will notice lots of redish/brownish coverings on the rice grains), I have also seen brands where majority of the bran has been removed.

Is brown rice better: Absolutely, brown is always better. You get more nutrition from whole grains than you do from processed foods. On weight loss, it’s also a much better option as it increases satiety (feeling of fullness) due to the high fiber content. The body also has to do more work to convert into available energy. To keep things simple, you actually burn more calories eating brown rice than you do with white rice. This being said, brown rice should be consumed in very small amount. Carbohydrate rich foods like rice, pasta, yam, potatoes etc should never make up more than 40% of your plate. That will be around 1-2 cups of cooked rice depending on your personal requirement.

Any other question? please leave it in the comment form below.

Here is my tested and trusted method of cooking brown rice. It can be used for ofada rice as well.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of rice
• Water – lots

Direction:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil on high heat. Wash then add in the rice. Reduce heat to medium and allow the rice to boil uncovered for 30-35 minutes

• Remove from heat. Quickly drain the rice to remove all the water (you should probably use a colander).
  • Note: you want to do this quickly and move on to the next step. The rice has to be hot and steaming when it goes back into the pot.

• Pour drained rice back into the pot and season with some salt. Return the pot to the stove and cover it tightly. Allow the rice to rest for 10-15 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

And there you have it, fluffy brown rice that isn’t mushy or unevenly cooked.

Quick Recipe Idea – Fried Ofada Rice

Ingredients :

• 2 cups cooked brown Ofada rice
• Precook meat or smoked fish
• 6 raw shrimps – cleaned
• 1 maggi cube
• Salt – to taste
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/3 cup chopped  onion
• 1/3 cup chopped green onion
• 1 cooking spoon stew base
• 1 tablespoon oil

Direction

• Place a large skillet on high heat. heat up the oil. Add in shrimps and onions. stir fry for 2 minutes. Remove shrimps and set aside

• Add in stew base, cooked meat, maggi, salt and pepper. stir. Cover and simmer for 2-3 minutes

• Stir in the rice and green onion. Stir fry for 2 minutes. Taste and adjust for seasoning.

Serve rice garnished with cooked shrimps. Enjoy!!!