Well: Cooking With Sprouted Brown Rice

。 Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

If you’ve never heard of sprouted brown rice, you’re not alone, writes Martha Rose Shulman in this week’s Recipes for Health.

Until recently I’d never heard of sprouted brown rice. These sprouts aren’t like the ones you put on a sandwich. Sprouted brown rice looks and feels like regular brown rice, and it must be cooked for the same amount of time. But once cooked, it’s sweeter and more delicate than ordinary brown rice, and a little less chewy.

Sprouting any grain increases its nutritional value by making its nutrients more bio-available, among them calcium. But it’s the flavor and texture of this new sprout that have gotten me hooked. If you’ve been hard pressed to get your family to embrace brown rice, this may be the way to go.

Here are five ways to cook with sprouted brown rice:

Sprouted Brown Rice Bowl With Carrot and Hijiki: Julienne carrots with hijiki seaweed is a traditional Japanese combination. Tofu is added to bulk up the protein.

Stir-Fried Bean Sprouts With Sprouted Brown Rice: Shorten the time spent stir-frying by substituting pea sprouts for the bean sprouts in this dish.

Rice Bowl With Spinach and Smoked Trout: Make an excellent meal for one by mixing cooked rice with just a few handy ingredients.

Shrimp and Brown Rice Soup: This irresistible soup is inspired by a Southeast Asian dish traditionally made with Thai jasmine rice.

Thai-Style Sprouted Rice and Herb Salad: The dressing for this Thai salad is made with far less fish sauce, and therefore sodium, than is used in the traditional version.