Bulgur takes about 20 minutes total to cook, though half of that time is resting time off the heat, where the grains continue to absorb the cooking liquid. Technically, bulgur doesn’t have to be cooked per se but rather soaked because the grains are already parboiled. Just soaking works very well for fine-grind bulgur. But for medium or coarse bulgur, the soaking method will take a few hours at least, so starting things off with a simmer and then soaking it reduces the time involved.