How to Cook Black Rice

Step 1

Measure out your rice in the rice cooker pot and rinse it, pouring off the water.

Step 2

To the rice in the pot, add the amount of water that corresponds to the number of rice cooker cups you added. (The little plastic cup the rice cooker comes with is usually equivalent to US ¾ cup.) If you added 3 rice cooker cups, fill with water to the number 3 line.

Step 3

Cover and soak the rice for at least 4-6 hours, or overnight. Put the pot into your rice cooker, and turn it on.

Step 4

Measure out your rice and note the volume. Rinse your rice, drain, and add it to a bowl. Cover with 2 inches/5cm of fresh water. Cover and soak the rice for at least 4-6 hours, or overnight.

Step 5

When you’re ready to cook the rice, pour the soaking liquid into a measuring cup. Transfer the soaked rice to a pot that will accommodate the rice once cooked—it will almost triple in volume.

Step 6

Now, look at the volume of soaking liquid in your measuring cup. You want the same volume of water as the amount of rice you started with. So if you started with 2 cups of rice, you need 2 cups of water to cook it. You may need to add some additional water to your soaking liquid to get to this volume.

Step 7

Add the water to the pot with the rice. Put the pot on the stove, and turn on the heat to medium-high. Cover and bring the pot to a boil. Then immediately turn down the heat to medium low, and cook for 15-20 minutes with lid on, until all the water is absorbed into the rice. Shut off the heat, and let your rice sit covered on the stove for another 10-15 minutes to finish cooking.