Reader question: I have not figured out how to buy parboiled brown rice. Can you please give me some examples of brands? Is this like minute rice? I’ve always thought the nutrition was not as good as whole uncooked rice. ~ Gail H., San Francisco Bay Area, California
Hi Gail. Parboiled rice is rice that has been soaked in the husk, steamed, and dried before sale. Re-cooking parboiled rice does not take as long as cooking raw rice does because it has been partially pre-cooked already. On the stovetop, parboiled rice may cook in one-third the time needed to cook raw rice.
Parboiled white rice retains 80% of the nutrients of brown rice, more than regular white rice, which loses a lot of nutrients when the bran is removed during polishing. During parboiling, the nutrients are pushed from the bran into the endosperm, or kernel, of the rice.
Parboiled rice is often sold as “instant” rice, “minute” rice, “boil-in-a-bag” rice… The sole ingredient in parboiled rice is rice. Rice that has been slightly pre-cooked and then dried out. I can find parboiled brown rice in “boil-in-a-bag”, 1-cup portions in my local Kroger’s grocery store as well as in natural health groceries.
When I want to prepare brown rice in a Glorious One-Pot Meal, I find using parboiled brown rice gives more consistent results than starting with raw brown rice.
What I have not been able to find is parboiled organic brown rice. I’m holding out hope. If anyone finds any, please let me know!
