No need to cook with this Raw Organic Lotus Forbidden Black Rice! This tasty raw dish is flavorful and filled with superfood nutrition.
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Black rice truly is a super food that has as many antioxidants as blueberries and is regarded as a longevity super food in China that can prevent cancer and other diseases! The story goes, in ancient times the Emperor of China discovered this special black rice and it's amazing health benefits. Wanting to keep all the special nutritional powers to himself, the emperor made this black rice "forbidden" for anyone but him. Today, thanks to Lotus Foods, we can all enjoy this once-forbidden black rice in the most organic, all natural, fair-trade and sustainable way possible!
So far, this Lotus rice is the ONLY rice I can soak overnight that will be sprouted & soft and taste cooked & delicious! In the raw food world, there hasn't really been a "raw rice" available-so this Lotus brand rice is very special and unique. Fortunately, it's also affordable at only $3.89-$3.99 a bag at your local Whole Foods Market, your nearest health food store, or online! You can eat a bowl of this raw rice on its own (after soaking it and disposing of the soaking water, of course) or pair it with a tasty curry or stir fry.
How to Make Raw Oranic Lotus Forbidden Black Rice
- Pour entire rice package into bowl.
- Fill bowl with water 1 inch above rice.
- Cover bowl & let rice soak 10-12 hours.
- Drain water, rinse rice, and pat dry.
- Drizzle with olive oil & add seasonings.
- Mix together and serve.
Full directions for how to make Raw Organic Lotus Forbidden Black Rice are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Raw Organic Lotus Forbidden Black Rice FAQs
Do I have to soak the rice for 10 hours?
You do need to make sure to let your rice soak for at least 10 hours. Since this rice is not cooked, it takes much longer to soak in the water and become soft. You can do this step during the day, but I like to soak my rice right before I go to sleep at night. Then, when I wake up, my rice is done and ready to eat!
Can I reuse the rice's soaking water?
Do NOT reuse the soaking water from your rice. You can use it to water plants or for a science experiment, but you cannot reuse the water in any kind of food or drink. The raw rice is soaked in water partially to remove any kind of debris or insects that are still stuck to the rice pearls. This means that the soaking water is full of all kinds of dirt and debris that are not edible.
How can I switch up this recipe?
I like to keep my rice simple with chopped cilantro, kelp, cayenne pepper, a squeeze of organic lime, and celtic sea salt. But some of my friends like to add chopped organic jalapeno or raw organic peas to their rice. Or they add mango and avocado, which is really gourmet and delicious-like a Mexican or Spanish Rice. Use your imagination and get creative!
Find more Raw and Almost-Raw Entrees on VegKitchen.
Recipe
Raw Organic Lotus Forbidden Black Rice
Ingredients
- 1 bag Lotus Food Organic Forbidden Black Rice
- pure water enough to cover the rice
- herbs and spices I use kelp, cayenne, celtic sea salt, and chopped fresh organic cilantro
- organic extra-virgin olive oil
- organic lime juice to taste
Instructions
- Pour an entire package of Lotus Foods Organic Forbidden Rice into a large glass or ceramic mixing bowl.
- Fill the bowl with pure water until it covers the rice, plus about 1 inch.
- Cover the bowl with a plate or plastic wrap to keep the rice clean and protected as it soaks.
- Let rice soak for 10-12 hours.
- Drain the water. You can use the soaking water to water your plants or reuse it in some way-just DO NOT reuse the water in food or drinks.
- Rinse the rice with a bit of new clean water, then drain again and pat dry with paper towels.
- Drizzle rice with olive oil and sprinkle with your favorite herbs, spices, and seasonings.
- Mix together with a wooden spoon and serve!
Nutrition (Estimate per Serving)
Contributed by Raw Chef Bryan Au. Raw Chef Bryan Au is the author of Raw Star Recipes. Visit him on the web at Raw in Ten Minutes.
Rossana Bannana says
I tried raw black rice without researching and grateful to stumble across this page to know it's safe to eat this raw after soaking overnight or few days. I used seaweed as an alternative to Japanese cooked rice rolls. It can be pretty messy, so it's like a seaweed taco. 😀
Cheers to good health!
Nava says
Rossana, sorry for the sluggish approval of your comment — my in box threatens to bury me alive. Glad you found this post useful!
Roger says
Wow I have never heard of this rice before. It sounds very interesting. I check out the link to the online Lotus Foods Organic site and it looks like little black insects.
I would love to give this a try.
Charlotte says
Why can't you eat or drink the left over water? I feel like it would be very nutritious but I haven't found any answers online
Nava says
Charlotte, that's a good question, to which I don't know the answer. I'll see if I can get the author of this post to weigh in.
lena says
THIS FORBIDDEN BLACK RICE IS GREAT, I USED IT IN MY VEGGIE SOUP. I MAKE VEGGIE SOUP FROM SCRATCH AND USE RICE, BEANS OR QUINOA AS MY ADD ON DAILY, THE FORBIDDEN RICE WAS EXCELENT, USE IT TODAY FOR THE FIRST TIME, A MUST HAVE, NEXT I AM MAKING VEGGIE BURGERS WITH IT. ANY RECIPE IDEAS FOR A VEGETARIAN WITH THE RICE. THANKS
Kathy says
Had this raw version at a juice bar brunch recently and am so glad to find instructions on how to duplicate. Chef fixed it in a wrap along with other veggies and it was delicious! Have mine soaking now.
Oshinn says
For those who are wondering- soaking rice releases the physic acid inside of it. Physic acid makes a lot of minerals unabsorbable. This is also why you soak beans and throw away bean water.
Gail Dupar says
Why cant you use a stainless steel bowl for soaking the rice?
Merry says
Thank you so much. I'm pretty new to raw food and this sounds very doable. I can imagine it through a salad of rocket, celery, parsley, Basil, like that. Happy Planet (and Ourselves) Cleaning, folks!
0pp0 says
I added a spoon of almond butter to put in a \"taco\" held it together. Seems tasty with the Almond Butter. Also the antioxidants blunt the insulin response to the starch.
Great article,
0pp0
Claire says
I tried soaking this brand of black rice and all it did was make them break open and start peeling off the outer black layer. No sprouts! 🙁