{How To} Soaking Adzuki Beans & Brown Rice

Feeds:: Posts; Comments

{How To} Soaking Adzuki Beans & Brown Rice

05/02/2011 by Nichole

At the start of this year I read through the book seen in the picture below, Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. It has a lot of great information and since reading it I have altered how I prepare many of my meals.

A little bit of effort does a lot of good!

One of the main changes I’ve incorporated is soaking beans, grains, legumes, nuts, rice & seeds before cooking them. Before the industrial revolution traditional diets soaked and fermented these items before eating them but along the way it fell out of fashion when convenience reigned supreme. Unfortunately it was at the expense of our health. So if you want to increase the health benefits of the meals you make I would highly suggest learning to soak!

The reason to soak these items is to treat the phytic acid that is present in the outside of the grains. Phytic acid is an antinutrient that binds with essential minerals in our diet and blocks their absorption. Using acidulated water to soak will also allow enzymes and helpful bacteria to help break down the phytic acid and proteins to enable better digestion. To learn more you can read the book linked to above or visit the Weston A. Price Foundation’s website.

Getting ready to soak beans.

{Recipe} Cooked Adzuki Beans
(adapted from Sally’s book linked to above)
2 cups dried adzuki beans
Filtered water
2 Tbsp whey

Cover the dried beans with water and mix in whey. Cover with a kitchen towel and let sit in a warm area for 24 hours. Drain and rinse beans well. Place in a dutch oven, cover with filtered water and bring to a boil. Skim off foam, reduce heat and simmer for 1.5-2 hours or until beans are tender. Add more water during cooking if necessary. Once tender drain beans and use in your recipes.
*** I like to make up a big batch and freeze a few jars to have on hand.

Getting ready to soak brown rice.

{Recipe} Cooked Brown Rice
(adapted from Sally’s book linked to above)
2 cups brown rice
4 cups filtered water
4 Tbsp whey
1 tsp sea salt
4 Tbsp butter

Put rice, filtered water and whey in a dutch oven and cover. Let sit in a warm place for 8 hours. Bring to a boil and skim off foam. Stir in sea salt and butter and reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 45 minutes over low heat. Keep the lid on the whole time.
*** Different types of brown rice will cook quicker, I really like a short grain, red rice that cooks in about 30 minutes.

About these ads

Posted in {Putting Up} | Tagged reduce phytic acid, remove phytic acid, soaking beans, soaking rice | 3 Comments

3 Responses

on 05/04/2011 at 10:49 am | Reply cooking all the thyme

Great post! I’ve barely skimmed this Nourishing Traditions book so far, but I’m glad I got it and can’t wait to read more of it.
Do you always use whey? I’ve been using some of my Brown Cow Plain yogurt. Should work the same, right? Also have used 2 T. of lemon juice.
Where do you get your whey?
p.s.- Are you going to show us your water kefir drink?
- on 05/04/2011 at 11:12 am | Reply Nichole
  
  Thanks Heather!
  Enjoy reading the book, it’s a lot to take in the first time!
  
  I use whey because it holds well in the fridge & doesn’t flavor what I’m soaking. To make it I drain a large container of organic yogurt overnight and then store the whey in a jar & eat the leftover yogurt (cream cheese) in lots of ways. Directions are in the NT book. But using yogurt & lemon juice is usually fine.
  
  I need to get some better pictures of my water kefir before I can write a post… it’s coming soon!
on 12/06/2011 at 9:54 pm | Reply {Heartwarming and Nourishing} Beef and Bean Chili | cooking all the thyme

[...] the help of my cousin over at Born in the Wrong Century, reading this blog post over at Nourished Kitchen, and my Nourishing Traditions cookbook, I have [...]

Comments RSS

Follow “Born in the Wrong Century”

%d bloggers like this:

Born in the Wrong Century

The musings of a gal who would've made a great homesteader!