Читать книгу Vegan Cooking for One: Over 150 simple and appetizing meals - Leah Leneman - Страница 12

If used straight from the packet, brown rice generally takes about 45 minutes to cook, which makes it less than ideal for a really quick meal. However, if it is covered with boiling water in the morning and left to soak all day then it will only take about 20–25 minutes. (The method is to drain the soaking water, cover the rice with water about a ¼-inch (5mm) over the top and a little salt, bring to the boil, lower heat, cover pan and simmer until all the water is absorbed.) This is all very well for well-organized people but rather annoying if you arrive home in the evening to realize you have forgotten the soaking step. There are now several brands of brown rice available in supermarkets which require no soaking and take only 25 minutes or so to cook. The method with these types of rice is different: the rice is covered with lots of boiling water and simmered uncovered before being drained and more hot water poured over it. As the water is not all absorbed, this type of rice is not suitable for pilaus and similar dishes which require the flavouring to be incorporated into the rice. These supermarket packets also work out rather more expensive than rice bought at a wholefood shop. The best compromise may be to use the latter normally but keep the supermarket kind in stock for emergencies or when the soaking has been forgotten. I find about 3 oz (85g) wholefood shop brown rice or 2½ oz (70g) supermarket brown rice to be right for one serving.

Wholemeal (whole wheat) pasta is available now in a variety of shapes and sizes. Not all of the packets provide information on cooking time. Twelve to fifteen minutes seems to be about the average time required for most types of wholemeal (whole wheat) pasta to cook.

Most Chinese noodles are egg noodles, but Chinese shops (and some supermarkets) sell a variety of eggless noodles, some made from wheat flour and some from rice flour. Wholemeal (whole wheat) Chinese-style noodles are available at some health food stores. Most need little or no cooking, making them an ideal food for those in a hurry.