• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Mariko Sakata | Raw Food and Plant-based Recipes

  • Home
  • Recipes
  • Travel
  • About
  • Contact
  • 日本語

Blooming Wild Rice

Share

Wild rice is a life saver for rice loving raw vegans. If you are like me, you probably were a little disappointed in the most common raw vegan rice options, like cauliflower rice or jicama rice. To be honest, the texture is not at all the same, and you can’t fool anybody. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still good, however for an Asian who grew up eating rice all her life, it’s a bit underwhelming. But then, I discovered wild rice being used in raw foods. It’s a superstar raw food ingredient that in my opinion, most closely resembles cooked rice when recreating rice dishes raw. Wild rice is a water-grass seed, and though it’s named “rice” it’s technically not a grain. It has twice as much protein than brown rice, and 30 times the amount of anti-oxidants of white rice. It’s also loaded with vitamin A, B, C, and E, and minerals such as potassium, magnesium, and zinc, to name a few. So I can fulfill my rice craving and nourish my body at the same time! Amazing!

raw vegan cilantro lime rice
Now, normally you have to cook it to eat it, but you can actually eat it raw by soaking it in water. This is called “blooming” since wild rice doesn’t sprout. Blooming softens and swells the rice as if it was cooked.

raw vegan cilantro lime rice
There is a traditional blooming technique shown in several raw food cookbooks, but the problem is, this “blooming” step never worked for me. The technique is to place the wild rice in a closed mason jar with water, and put it into the dehydrator for 12-24 hours at 110℉. Unfortunately, every time I tried it, the wild rice never softened much, even after 24 hours and more. It just never made much progress. Pretty disappointing after all the hours waiting and wild rice isn’t very cheap. I was almost ready to give up on it.

Then one of the raw food pioneers, Chef B Live showed me how he makes his own raw vegan Spanish Rice with wild rice, using a blooming technique that he learned from the legendary Chef Ito, the executive chef behind one of the best raw and vegan restaurant in the states, Au Lac in Fountain Valley, CA. Chef Ito’s techniques involves “scoring” the wild rice for a minute in a food processor in order to allow it to properly bloom when soaked in water. The scoring makes countless slices on the hard surface of the rice, which allows it to soak up the water fast and efficiently. Pure genius. This simple but yet vitally essential technique makes it fail-proof. If you ever choose to share this technique with others, please mention Chef Ito to give credit to him.

So the first thing you do with Chef Ito’s blooming technique is to score the wild rice for one full minute in the food processor. You have to continuously keep it running, so no pulsing here. FYI, it can be quite loud so I usually get out of the kitchen while it’s scoring. When it’s done, make sure the wild rice is completely covered with black powder. If it’s not, it’s a sign it’s not scored enough so keep it running a little longer.

raw vegan cilantro lime rice
Then rinse the wild rice well under water, until the water turns clear. Placed it into a large mason jar like the half gallon size, or a large bowl. Pour in water to soak and let it sit for 12-18 hours. Caution: Make sure the jar you use has enough room for the rice to expand 2.5 – 3 times. No kidding, 16oz of wild rice will literally fill a half gallon jar by the next day, it swells so much.
raw vegan cilantro lime rice
Once the wild rice is bloomed, drain and rinse well. Your wild rice is ready to be used and transformed into a tasty creation!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. gino

    June 29, 2019 at 4:39 pm

    Are you using an s blade in the food processor? For a full minute, wouldn’t that turn it in to flour?

    Reply
    • admin

      September 1, 2019 at 7:44 am

      Hi Gino,

      I am very sorry for the late response. Life took me away from my blog this year, and I wasn’t able to be on top of checking the comments I receive.
      You probably don’t need this answered by now, but wild rice is quite a hard seed, so it won’t turn into flour at all even with the use of the S blade. That’s why this method helps the soaking process that comes later. It scores the tough outer surface so that the water can penetrate better.

      Once again, my deepest apologies for the delayed response.

      Reply
  2. Sherry

    July 7, 2019 at 3:47 am

    Hi there, is there certain kind of food processor blade that is necessary to do the scoring? When i put wild rice in my food processor for a minute, everything gets ground into powder.

    Reply
    • Lynda Renaud

      January 13, 2020 at 11:27 pm

      Sherry already commented that when she followed your instructions , her wild rice was ground into a powder!!
      You did not address her reply…
      Do you have a solution? I really don’t want to waste my wild rice. The Health food store does not sell wild rice…cheaply priced!!
      Perhaps Sherry’s wild rice had been pre-treated. Did you inquire about that?
      Thanks
      P.S. I am anxiously awaiting your reply
      Perhaps Sherry did not put a sufficient amount of wild rice in her food processor & 1 minute was too long!
      Personally, I would have started with a shorter time. One can always continue if that time was insufficient, right?!
      It all depends on how old the rice is…

      Reply
      • admin

        February 26, 2020 at 7:02 am

        Hi Lynda,

        Thank you for pointing out Sherry’s question. I had another question about wild rice from someone else at the time and got it mixed up and mis-read Sherry’s and didn’t address the issue. I completely somehow missed that hers turned into flour. I just realized that so thank you so much for bringing it into my attention.

        My recipes for wild rice dishes usually use half a pound of rice, so I think the issue is probably the amount in use. I never had an issue with this amount. If the amount in use is a much smaller amount, it’ll probably turn into flour if your food processor is a good one. So I would not recommend trying this method in small batches for the full minute. I would also just watch it while you are processing like you said. I would stop in between, and check the rice. Make sure all of the rice isn’t breaking into small bits overall. You will see some broken rice from processing, but most of them should fairly keep its size. If it seems fine, you can do the full minute, because if you cut it too short in time when it can take the processing, you can underscore it and it won’t absorb the water as well.

        Hope this helps and thank you for reading me blog.

        Reply
    • admin

      February 26, 2020 at 6:49 am

      Hi Sherry,

      I realized in my previous response I misread your post and my response was off from what you were asking. I’m so sorry, I just re-read it and realized that. I think it may be because of the amount you are using may be a bit too little. May I ask how much you are using in the food processor. My recipes usually use half a pound of wild rice. For that amount, I never had a problem in my experience, so I am guessing you may be using too little and the S blade may be too overpowering for a small amount. Once again, I apologize for the misunderstanding your question!

      Reply
  3. A

    March 7, 2020 at 10:50 pm

    Wild rice is not raw. It is toasted over heat as part of the harvesting process.

    Reply
    • admin

      March 9, 2020 at 3:05 am

      Thank you for your comment.
      Store bought ones generally are, but you can purchase wild rice that is heated under 118F, which will be considered raw, from an ebay seller.

      Reply
  4. Mano

    November 19, 2020 at 1:17 pm

    Why not wash the wild rice at the beginning and not after it is scored.?
    That way you can preserve the bran and the nutrients

    Reply
    • admin

      September 9, 2021 at 8:15 am

      Hi Mano,

      Thank you for your comment.

      If you wash the rice before scoring, the food processor will not be able to score them as well, compared to when scored dry.
      Also, after scoring, you are left with quite a bit of black bran powder. So much so that the water is pitch black when you wash it.
      So it’ll make better dishes if you wash the rice after scoring, so that the dish you make doesn’t become soot color.
      You also need to soak the rice after scoring, then rinse afterwards, so you have to wash the rice after scoring regardless.
      Please let me know if you have any other questions. Thank you!

      Reply
  5. Nancy McDonald Lowe

    February 27, 2021 at 11:14 pm

    Would a about a minute pulsing in a high speed blender at high speed work just as well for promoting blooming?

    Reply
    • admin

      September 9, 2021 at 8:07 am

      Hi Nancy,

      Thank you for your comment.
      I have never tried it with a high speed blender, so I cannot say for certain, but the base of the blender is much smaller than the food processor, so it may have a harder time scoring it evenly. I suspect it may end up pulverizing the rice at the bottom instead, so I do recommend the use of food processor over a blender.
      Let me know if you have any other questions. Thank you!

      Reply
  6. Nancy McDonald Lowe

    February 27, 2021 at 11:15 pm

    Would a about a minute pulsing in a high speed blender at high speed work just as well for promoting blooming? This is the first time I have ever been here or commented here.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Raw Vegan Carbonara Risotto with Green Peas says:
    October 16, 2016 at 12:50 pm

    […] “scoring” and then blooming it (soaking), which results in a nice al dente texture. Check out how to bloom the wild rice here. I recommend starting to soak the cashews for the carbonara sauce 2-4 hours before you are […]

    Reply
  2. Raw Vegan Garlic Fried Rice says:
    October 20, 2016 at 6:59 am

    […] you need to prep the wild rice by blooming it. Check out the instructions on how to bloom the wild rice here. I recommend starting to soak the cashews 2-4 hours before you’re done soaking the wild rice, […]

    Reply
  3. Raw Vegan Kimchi Risotto says:
    November 2, 2017 at 4:54 am

    […] “scoring” and then blooming it (soaking), which results in a nice al dente texture. Check out how to bloom the wild rice here. I recommend starting to soak the cashews for the kimchi sauce 2-4 hours before you are […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Mariko Sakata

Hi, I'm Mariko! I am a raw food chef, instructor, and a cookbook author. Plant-based cooking is my passion. My creations are plant-based, mostly raw, and gluten free.
Hope you enjoy my recipes! Check out my About page to find out more about me.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

marikosakata

拙著『乳製品を使わないヴィーガンチーズ』の担当してくださった敏腕ベテラン編集者の方が、テンプレートを使って、誰でもたった1冊から本を出版できる画期的なサービス、BOOKOを考案され、そのクラウドファンディングをされています📚

好きなことをいつか本にできたらな✨と思われている方は結構いらっしゃると思います。現に私もその一人でした🙋🏻‍♀️私も何年も、「いつかレシピ本を出版できたらな✨」と考えていました。ただ出版社による商業出版は初版部数なども絡み、著者の実践、フォロワー数、トピックの需要などと、様々なファクターが問われ、誰でもとはいかず、ハードルが高く感じられるかもしれません。kindle出版の手もあるけれど、やはり紙の本も出版したいとなると、自費出版も最低部数があるためコストが高く、これもハードルが高く感じられます。

そこで誰でも手軽に一冊から紙の本が出版できるサービス、Booko登場!📗
BookoはAmazonのたった1冊から本を出版できるオンデマンド印刷サービスを利用。Bookoが作成した本の印刷用データをAmazonに送ると、
✔️Amazonがその本を販売📱💻
✔️購入されたら印刷📗
✔️配送してくれ🚛
✔️著者には印税60%が支払われる💴
というものです。

このサービスだと個人出版がノーリスクになり、非常に手軽で身近になりますが、只一つ大きなハードルが残ります⛰それは個人が出版用の印刷データの作成しなければいけないこと!出版業界にはレイアウトの様々な基準やルールがあり、商業出版ではデザイナーがレイアウトをデザインしてくださります。これを一から素人が作成するのは大変!

そこにBookoサービスが介入✨数々のベストセラーを20年以上手掛けられてきたベテラン編集者の方が今までの叡智を盛り込んでデザイナーと手掛けた、誰でも簡単に編集できる出版用テンプレートを提案💻 
Bookoの
📗料理本
📗実用書
📗ビジュアルブック
📗ポートフォリオ
📗小説
📗ビジネス書
のカテゴリーの中から好きなテンプレートを選んで、内容を編集したら、Bookoが印刷用データを作成。後はAmazonに送信するだけで、Amazonが販売、印刷、配送、印税を支払ってくれます📚

今までハードルが高かった本の出版を簡単に、手軽に、誰でもできるように身近してくれる画期的なサービス、Booko! 
一冊から出版できて最低部数がないから、ご自宅で開くお教室用のテキストブック、クックパッドやインスタグラムに今まで投稿したレシピを纏めて料理本などと、個人出版できる可能性は無限大✨Bookoサービスのローンチに向けて現在ウェブサイトや数々のテンプレートを作成中なので、どうぞあなたと出版との距離をグーンッと縮めてくれるBookoのクラウドファンディングのご支援のほど、宜しくお願い申し上げます🙇🏻‍♀️クラウドファンディングのリンクはプロフィールのリンクからか、ストーリーをご覧ください。
I love hand rolls💕 When it comes to making sush I love hand rolls💕 When it comes to making sushi at home, hand rolls are the best in my humble opinion. You just have to prepare the sushi rice, your choice of fillings, and nori. No hassle of using sushi mats. 

This time, my fillings are Just Egg tamagoyaki, black eyed peas tempeh spicy tuna, homemade tofu ham, carrots, cucumbers, baby chard, avocados, red clover sprouts, etc. All vegan and gluten free😊 I also used @otafuku_global ‘s delicious vegan sushi sauce they had kindly sent me✨It was perfection, especially with the Just Egg tamagoyaki😋

ヴィーガン・グルテンフリー手巻き寿司🍣 スクランブルドエッグや卵焼きが作れる卵代替え品Just Eggと自家製テンペがあったので手巻き寿司にすることに。Just Egg卵焼き、スパイシーテンペツナ、自家製豆腐ハムに野菜やアボカド、スプラウツをたっぷり✨ @otafuku_global さんが送ってくださったヴィーガン寿司ソースと頂いて最高でした😋
I couldn’t find the 100% buckwheat soba I usuall I couldn’t find the 100% buckwheat soba I usually get at the Japanese market for the yearly Japanese tradition of eating soba on New Years Eve. I’m trying these ones out from Amazon as a replacement, but these look very different from the Japanese ones🧐 I’m not quite sure how they are going to turn out, but we’ll see🤷🏻‍♀️ 

Black eyed peas tempeh are done just in time for New Year’s Day tomorrow. Have a lovely New Year’s Eve and a happy year everyone!

日系マーケットに十割そばがなかったので、急遽アマゾンで見つけた100%蕎麦粉のお蕎麦を購入。見た目が全然日本の十割蕎麦と違うから大丈夫なのか不安ですが。。。
明日用に発酵しておいたブラックアイドピーズのテンペも間に合って仕上がりました。

喪中のため、新年のご挨拶を控えさせていただきますが、本年も大変お世話になりました。来年も引き続きどうぞ宜しくお願い申し上げます。
Happy holidays everyone! Hope you all have a wonde Happy holidays everyone! Hope you all have a wonderful holiday season🎄✨💕

メリークリスマス🎄✨素敵なクリスマスをお過ごしください🎅🏼
Sunday DIY💪🏼 I’ve been meaning to clean u Sunday DIY💪🏼 
I’ve been meaning to clean up this corroded brass pepper mill, a friend of mine handed down to me, for quite some time now. 

I finally got to it, and with the help of a few YouTube videos and some trial and error,
I got it cleaned up pretty good✨ At one point, the whole thing turned copper, but with some serious elbow grease, it’s back to shiny brass again and I’m in love✨ 

友人から去年譲り受けたヴィンテージの真鍮のペッパーミル🧂緑青や酸化も全体にあって、今までクリーンアップも先延ばしに。このサイズでこのようなコンディションの真鍮を磨くのは初めてなので、YouTubeの力を借りて悪戦苦闘😅一時は完全に銅のペッパーミルになりましたが、何とかピカピカの真鍮に戻りました✨これから使うのが楽しみです💕
Adding sweet potato and vegan marshmallow casserol Adding sweet potato and vegan marshmallow casserole to our Thanksgiving feast this year🥘  Ever since I had this dish in North Carolina many years ago, it’s been on my mind. I think it’s gonna be a keeper for years to come🍠 Happy Thanksgiving everyone✨

今年の感謝祭にはスイートポテトとヴィーガンマシュマロのキャセロールをプラス🥘何年も前にノースキャロライナでこのキャセロールを食べてから、ずっと作ろうと思っていた一品。まるでデザートのようだから、辛党の私にはデザートいらず。Happy Thanksgiving✨
Thank you @plantbasehappy2 for trying out my vegan Thank you @plantbasehappy2 for trying out my vegan Boursin cheese recipe🙏🏼✨ So happy to see you enjoyed it💕

@plantbasehappy2 さん、拙著のブルサン風チーズレシピをお試しくださり、誠に有難うございます🙇🏻‍♀️✨お口に合ったようで大変光栄です💕

Repost from @plantbasehappy2

 vegan ブルサン風チーズ🧀

材料はヘルシーなのに濃厚なチーズ !
クラッカーとお酒が止まらない …

完全に @marikosakata さんのレシピ本に虜です 𓈒𓏸︎︎︎︎
@tomoko_inner_beauty , thank you so much for tryin @tomoko_inner_beauty , thank you so much for trying my out the vegan mozzarella recipe from my book🙏🏼✨

少し涼しくなってきて、発酵ヴィーガンチーズ作りが楽しくなる季節🍂 @tomoko_inner_beauty さん、ヴィーガンモッツァレラをお試しくださり、誠に有難うございます🙇🏻‍♀️💕

Repost from @tomoko_inner_beauty
•
Vegan cheese 🧀✨✨✨
 
今日も暑かった💦
 
暑くても秋の気配が訪れると
食べたくなるヴィーガンチーズ🧀😍✨✨✨
 
@marikosakata さんのヴィーガンチーズは
まさにチーズ🧀✨っていう味わい✨
 
コクがあって、発酵させるからちゃんとチーズ🧀
なのに身体に負担がなくて心地よい🥰✨
 
ナッツをリジュベラックという玄米で作る乳酸菌飲料で
発酵させて、
味を整えて寒天で固める、という工程。
 
ご著書を見たときは、難しそう…と思っていて
 
まりこさんの実演を見せていただいた時に
ステップが分かりやすかったのと
試食で頂いたチーズがとにかく美味しくて😍🧀
 
作ってみたらやっぱり美味しかった😍🧀
 
なので今回倍量で作りました🧀🧀✨
 
そのまま食べても
クラッカーに載せても
小さく切ってサラダに載せても🥗美味しい😍🧀
 
 
気に入っている食べ方は
小さく切って塩昆布と和えたり
 
塩昆布+醤油少々でご飯に混ぜておにぎりに🍙
海苔を巻いて食べるとめっちゃ美味しいです😍🍙
 
 
写真のクラッカーはグルテンフリー✨
玄米や十六穀米のさくさく軽い薄味クラッカー✨
 
小さなパッケージなので持ち歩きおやつになりそう🍘
薄味なのでクルトン替わりにも使えそうです🥰✨
 ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
 
YouTubeチャンネル作りました❣️
ゆったり癒しのスイーツ動画、ぜひご覧ください✨
 
20種類のギルトフリースイーツが動画で学べるudemy講座
 
ロースイーツのいちごのフレジェ講座🍓✨発売中
 
お申し込み、詳細はプロフィール欄のリンクよりご覧いただけます✨
 
お問い合わせはメッセージをどうぞ🥰✨✨
 
 @tomoko_inner_beauty 
 
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
Thank you @plantbasehappy2 for purchasing my book, Thank you @plantbasehappy2 for purchasing my book, and trying out one of the recipes🙏🏼✨

@plantbasehappy2 さん、拙著をご購入くださり、そして早速ナチョスチーズレシピを試してくださり、誠に有難うございました🙇🏻‍♀️✨お気に召していただけたようで、嬉しい限りです💕

Repost from @plantbasehappy2
•
vegan ナチョスチーズ & トルティーヤチップス !

ソースはナチョスチーズ味!🧀
トルティーヤチップスにディップするスタイル。

美味しすぎて、トルティーヤチップスと
コロナビール買い足した位。

ソースは @marikosakata さんの
レシピ本から。
本当に買ってよかった!!!!!

旦那はveganではないのだけど
レシピ本みて全部美味しそう!!
俺でもこれも作れそう!!と言ってた☺︎ たのしみ

一番惹かれた ナチョスから作りました 𓂃٭
まだ今はフードプロセッサーしかないから
粒が残ってるけどこれはこれで美味しい!

市販でようやくveganチーズが手に入る
ようになってきたけど添加物なぁ、、
と思ってたし、なんか惜しい!が多くて。(しょうがない)

この本にのっているものはリアルにチーズ、、

しかもテンション上がるチーズばかり!!
これから作るのが楽しみ🧀
Follow on Instagram
This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Like Me On Facebook

Facebook Pagelike Widget

Never miss a recipe!

Recent Posts

vegan cheese cookbook tokyo book launch events 2019

Vegan Cheese Cookbook Tokyo Book Launch Events

Tokyo vegan cooking classes

Tokyo Vegan Cooking Classes

Tokyo vegan cooking classes

Tokyo Vegan Restaurants

raw vegan kimchi risotto

Raw Vegan Kimchi Risotto

Footer

June 2025
M T W T F S S
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30  
« Nov    
Instagram requires authorization to view a user profile. Use autorized account in widget settings

Follow me on

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Search

Copyright © 2025 Mariko Sakata | Raw Food and Plant-based Recipes on the Foodie Pro Theme