How to Cook Fluffy Brown Rice - "Bikkuri-Daki"

It is difficult and time-consuming to cook brown rice well. So we are excited to share with you a fantastically simple way to cook fluffy and delicious brown rice, it's called "bikkuri-daki." The word bikkuri means surprise and daki means to boil, in Japanese. The surprise, which we will explain below, shocks the grains of rice into splitting their shells, and this results in a fluffy texture. According to Wikipedia, this method has been used in the Tohoku-area of Japan for a long time, and before people started using specialized pressure cookers for hard rices, it was a well-known method. Usually when cooking brown rice, you need to soak it for several hours to let it absorb enough water, and cooking usually happens in a pressure cooker or electric rice-cooker. The bikkuri-daki method is a fast and easy alternative that yields great results.

Cooking time

30-35 mins

Ingredients

Brown rice
Water 1 - For every 1 cup of rice, add 1.2-1.4 cups of water
Water 2 - For every 1 cup of rice, add 0.9-1.2 cups of cold water

Directions:

Measure and wash the rice, then add to the pot.
Measure Water 1 and add to the pot.
Start cooking on high heat with the lid on for 15 - 20 minutes. *Listen for a hissing sound, which indicates that the water is mostly evaporated. Pay close attention or your rice will burn*
Once you hear the hissing sound, pour Water 2 into the pot. It should be very cold in order to "surprise" the rice. Mix the rice and cold water well, and replace the lid.
Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, reduce heat once more to low and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Turn the heat off, leaving the pot where it is and wait 5 minutes. *Do not remove the lid yet*
After the 5 minute mark, you can fluff the rice with a rice paddle or fork. Enjoy!

Bikkuri-daki requires some practice, but after you do it a couple of times, you will be a master of bikkuri-daki!

Since the cooking time of brown rice using the bikkuri-daki method is greatly reduced, it is believed that more nutrition is retained as opposed to other cooking methods.

Using this method has allowed us to eat tasty brown rice with great texture.

If you are interested in the nutrition aspect of rice, check out this article:

Better than White & Brown rice; It's Haiga-Mai!

In Japan, OKAZU is commonly eaten with just rice!