Recipe Instructions:
Rice
2/3 cup long-grain brown rice (see headnote)
1 1/2 cups cold water
Sweetened rice milk
1/4 cup long-grain brown rice
2 cups hot water
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1 pinch salt, plus more to taste
Directions
Cook the rice: Combine the ⅔ cup rice and 1 ½ cups water in a medium saucepan. Stir to combine and set over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, cover with a lid, then reduce the heat to low. Cook for about 40 minutes, or until all the water is gone and the rice is tender. Fluff with a fork and let cool uncovered. You can also refrigerate the rice in an airtight container until you’re ready to make the pudding.
Make the sweetened rice milk: Add the ¼ cup rice to a blender. Blend until finely processed, almost like cornmeal. Add the hot water and stir. Cover with the lid, but leave the keyhole open so steam can escape. Let the rice soak for at least 2 hours or up to 4 hours. Now add the brown sugar and salt, and blend on high until as smooth as possible. You should end up with about 2 ½ cups sweetened rice milk. (Psst: As it sits, it will naturally separate. Just blend again for a second or two, or stir vigorously, to bring it back together as needed.)
Add 2 cups of sweetened rice milk to the medium saucepan with the cooked rice. (If you want a looser rice pudding, you can add the extra rice milk toward the end, after it thickens up.) Set the saucepan over medium-low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, for 7 to 9 minutes, until the liquid is simmering and rice milk is thick and creamy. Taste carefully (it will be very hot!) and adjust the sugar and salt to taste. Add the extra milk if you want a looser pudding (or reserve if you want to refrigerate any leftovers and reheat later on). This is best hot or warm.
