Brown rice is the common term for unmilled or partly milled rice. As it retains a layer of bran and dietary fiber, brown rice is often claimed to be healthier and more nutritious than fully milled white rice. Along with its outer hull, it retains many vitamins and minerals, including niacin, vitamin B6, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, selenium, and vitamin E. Brown rice contains only a small amount of protein, however this protien is a particularly good source of the amino acid lysine. Brown rice contains about four times the amount of fiber found in white rice, and this is considered the primary reason for choosing one over another as it has been shown to reduce the incidence of some forms of cancer and coronary heart disease.

It also is chewier than white rice, has a mild nutty flavor and becomes rancid faster. Brown rice comes in long and short grain varieties. It is widely available in bulk.

In much of Asia, brown rice (玄米, genmai in Japanese) is associated with poverty and wartime shortages, and is rarely eaten except by the sick, the elderly and as a cure for constipation.

Role in Traditional Chinese Medicine

In the Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine , the oldest-known book of traditional Chinese medicine and the foundation of the macrobiotic diet, a ten-day period during which the patient eats only rice is described as the first remedy for disease. In `medieval days' the sages treated illness first by diet, usually prescribing a regime of rice gruel (short grain brown rice) for ten days. If this treatment was not successful, then the roots and leaves of medicinal plants were used to harmonize the energies. Acupuncture and moxibustion were employed only as a last resort. If the emotions and the will of the patient are stable, says the Classic, then cereals alone can effect a cure. Grains have a special importance and power as human food. Water and grains are the root of life and 'death comes only when they are exhausted.' In particular, rice is mentioned as a vital and harmonious food."

Cooking Technique

The basic cooking technique involves measuring about 350 ml of the grain into a pot, (rinsing first with water to wash away the dust that comes in transport), then covering with 700 ml of water. Add a dash of table salt (option). Bring to a boil, then turn down heat so the rice boils slowly for 45 minutes.

Recipe for pressure-cooked brown rice: 1/2 teaspoon good sea salt to 4 cups of short grain brown rice and 8 cups of pure water. Wash rice and put in pressure cooker. Add water and bring to a boil. Add salt and place cover on pressure cooker. Bring cooker up to pressure then reduce flame to medium-low. Put flame deflector under cooker and cook for 40 min. Remove pressure cooker from flame and let sit for 5 min. without opening, then remove rice from the pot so it doesn't keep cooking. Use 1-2 teaspoons of salt per pot according to personal taste and need.