Bulghur wheat or bulgur is a wonderful staple ingredient in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes. It's a tasty alternative to rice and makes for a great base in salads. But each type of bulghur can get confusing so here's a simplified guide on how to cook this wholesome, nutty staple!
Bulghur, also spelled bulgur, is a whole grain made from cracked wheat (most commonly durum wheat). It is a staple in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines and is known for its nutty flavour and chewy texture. Bulghur is partially cooked during processing, which means it cooks relatively quickly compared to other whole grains like brown rice.
The reason why I put together this guide is because every packet of bulgur that I bought had no instructions which was just so odd. Whenever you buy a grain (or really an ingredient for that matter), there's always a little paragraph on how to cook it. Rice always has instructions but the packets of bulghur were bereft of them. BTW I also recommend buying bulghur from a Mediterranean or Middle Eastern supermarket where it is less than half the price of the supermarket and you can get more varieties. I found yellow and red bulgur for $3.49 per 1kg whereas the supermarket has 500g of bulghur for $4.50!
Fine Or Coarse Bulghur?
There are different grind sizes of bulghur, ranging from fine to coarse, and each size is suited for different types of dishes. The first question when cooking bulghur is which type: fine or coarse/extra coarse. Fine bulghur doesn't require any boiling, just steeping in water whereas coarse and extra coarse bulghur requires steaming like rice. Think of fine bulghur like couscous and use it in dishes like tabbouleh and kibbeh and think of coarse bulghur like brown rice and use it in pilafs, soups and stuffings.
Different Colours of Bulghur
Bulghur also comes in a variety of colours from white, yellow to red (that looks more brown than red) and these are just based on the different types of wheat used. Yellow Bulgur is the most common type of bulgur, denoted by its yellow colour that comes from durum wheat. Dark or red bulgur is made from red soft wheat like bezostaja and golia. It has a slightly stronger flavour compared to yellow bulgur.
Ratios Of Water to Bulghur For Cooking
Fine Bulghur uses 1 part Bulghur to 1.8 parts liquid
Coarse Bulghur uses 1 part Bulghur to 1.5 parts liquid
How To Make Your Bulghur Taste Even Better!
I always cook rice with stock to give it extra flavour and I recommend cooking bulghur with stock whether it be chicken, vegetable or beef stock!
Is Bulgur Healthier Than Rice?
I love rice (it's genetic I swear haha) but bulghur has more fibre (around 3 times), protein and more calcium than brown rice. However it is not gluten free so it is not suitable for coelics.
What Recipes Can You Use Bulghur In?
You can use fine bulghur in place of couscous in this Chicken, Date & Apricot Tagine, Lemon Curd Roast Chicken, Marbella Chicken and Yakhni Gaza Chicken & Carrot Stew or for something fresh you can use the coarse bulghur in this Herbed and Honeyed Bulgur Wheat Nut Salad or this delicious Jennifer Aniston Salad!
Storing Cooked Bulghur
You can cook bulghur ahead of time which is handy if you want to use it in cold salads. It keeps in an airtight container for up to 3-5 days. You can also freeze cooked bulghur for up to 3 months.
So while bulghur isn't a difficult ingredient to cook, you do have to know a bit about it to cook it! I mentioned I bought the bulghur from a small Arabic supermarket. I just happened upon the store when I had to pick Mr NQN from the station after work. I was waiting in the car and parked outside it when I thought that they might have just what I needed and I bought 3 different types from there and then sat back in the car to wait for him. When Mr NQN got into the car I started excitedly showing him the bags of bulghur and how they were different. "I'm going to make tabbouleh for dinner because this cooks quickly and then a salad with this coarse bulghur!"
Then I turned to him and asked him, "How was work?". Mr NQN is a technical sort of guy but it never fails to surprise me when he comes out with his quirky responses. "Did you tell everyone about your birthday weekend?" I asked him. "No. I didn't tell everyone. I told a few people. But only when it was appropriate," he replied. I mean seriously, we could not be from more different worlds with our communication!
So tell me Dear Reader, how often do you cook or eat bulghur? Do you shop at smaller grocery stores or do you tend to buy in one lot from the supermarket?
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