I'm having so much trouble with flavoring brown rice. I can't seem to get any flavor to it. My last batch I added a teaspoon each of garlic, oregano leaves, and cumin powder. And while it smelled really good, there was still no taste to it. I put the spices in after the water and rice, but before boiling or cooking it. And I am using Uncle Bens brown rice. Should I add more spices, like two teaspoons each? Also, does anyone know what kinds of spices they use in those spanish rice recipes? The boxes never say. Thanks!

If you aren't vegetarian/vegan, you can get a LOT of flavor from cooking in low sodium chicken broth instead of water. I've never tried it with veggie stock, but I bet it would have roughly the same effect.

I also find that the bit of sodium in the broth helps bring out the flavors of the spices. If you continue cooking in water, try adding a few pinches of salt to help emphasize the spice flavors.

I had forgotten about using broth instead, but it can get expensive. Maybe I'll toss in a boullion cube. And I'll try the salt next time. I have some sea salt, so I'll give it a shot. I never knew salt could bring out other flavors. Thanks!

Yes, yes, yes!
My bf is a chef and has introduced me to the absolute delicious WONDER of brown rice cooked in chicken broth...amazing. Also try (if on sale) using fresh herbs and fresh garlic versus powders.

So you boiled the spices in with the rice? I've never thought of that. I've always added the spices after it's drained.

I like cooking my brown rice plain, because I cook a bunch at a time and use it for breakfast cereal (with cinnamon, honey, and milk) as well as in savory dishes.

There are definitely some brown-rice aficionados around here, I hope this post generates some good responses.

If you are using fresh herbs, they do well boiled in with the rice, powders stay stronger if u put them on after boiling. I found a recipe in my cooking light magazine this month for brown rice that is SOOO good, i highly recommend:
Roasted Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Rice
2 cups cubed peeled fresh pumpkin
1.5 cups cubed peeled sweet potato
cooking spray
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup diced onion
1/3 cup diced celery
2 tsp minced garlic
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 cup brown rice
2 tsp chopped fresh sage
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 bay leaf

1. preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. arrange pumpkin and sweet potato on a cookie sheet with cooking spray and bake for 35 min, stirring after 20. Remove from oven and set aside.
3. heat oil in sauce pan over med-high heat. Add onion, celery, and garlic to pan, saute 3 min or until onion is tender. Add broth and other ingredients to onion mixture, stir to combine, bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 50 minutes or until rice is done and liquid is mostly absorbed. Remove from heat; discard bay leaf. Add pumpkin mixture, stir gently to combine.
yield: 6 servings
calories: 200
fat: 2.5 grams
protein: 5.9 grams
carb: 38.8 grams
fiber: 3 grams

I don't usually use canned broth. I like soup base or broth or bouillon powders. They're really the equivalent of bouillon powder, but you can measure out what you want and it dissolves right away. Many grocery stores including Walmart sell "Better n' Bouillon" a paste soup base, but I buy powdered chicken soup base at a bulk grocery store. I get a quart of powder for about the price of a large jar of cubes.

The most important ingredients in spanish rice are tomato and sauteed onion. To get spanish rice that is like what you get at a restaurant, you probably also need to add lard or some sort of animal fat (bacon would work)--but this will up the calories considerably. Some recipes also call for bell pepper. The spices that you could add include salt, pepper, basil, oregano, cumin, and chili powder (if you like it spicy).

A short-cut would be to mix some salsa with the rice for the last five to ten minutes of cooking time. Another short-cut would be to use tomato-based vegetable juice (like V-8 or Trader Joe's Garden Patch juice) in place of some of the liquid. You will need to adjust the calories based on how much salsa and/or vegetable juice you add.

I knew a chef from Louisiana who said one of his big secrets in all types of cooking, not just rice, was to try to never use water. He said he used a lot of juices and one of his favorites was apple juice. Go figure!

Is it possible that your rice is stale? The reason I ask, is that I find that fresh plain brown rice has a wonderful nutty, sweet flavor that regular rice doesn't have. I actually prefer to *not* put a bunch of stuf fin my brown rice because it covers up that great flavor.

I know that when I've let the rice get a little stale, it loses a lot of it's flavor, and then I do kinda think it's bland.

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Yup, I use the LF low sodium chicken broth and my brown rice tastes absolutely yummy, without anything else added. Then again, I'm a rice fiend, so....