Rice: Varieties, Storage, Preparation, Use

[weinoo]

10 hours ago, chromedome said:

Part of the reason I've been eating less rice is that I also eat a lot of other grains, but I'll maintain a tactful silence on that front lest I incur the Wrath of Mitch.

 

No wrath...as a chef and proprietor, I'm sure you've hoped your employees can stay focused on the job or task at hand. We've become a world of short-attention spans, and I don't know that that's the greatest accomplishment.

[weinoo]

Jeez, there are so many other grains than rice.

 

I wonder if there's a thread about that?

 

Oh - lookie here...

 

[liuzhou]

12 minutes ago, weinoo said:

 

@liuzhou - this is awesome.  Have you ever tried that Cambodian rice- that would be one I'd be interested in.

 

I wonder if the alkaline rice is ground up to use for certain noodles?

 

Yes, I've had the Cambodian Rice. It's not so different from the Thai Hom Mali - but slightly cheaper! I doubt I could tell them apart in a blind tasting.

I see where you are coming from with the alkaline rice, but I doubt very much that's how it is used. Your average supermarket shopper is not going to be grinding rice to make noodles, when they can buy the noodles for a fraction of what it would cost in terms of cash and effort.

 

Edited December 1, 2020 by liuzhou (log)

[weinoo]

1 minute ago, liuzhou said:

Your average supermarket shopper is not going to be grinding rice to make noodles, when they can buy the noodles for a fraction of what it would cost in terms of cash and effort.

 

Totally makes sense.

[weinoo]

Oh shit - there's even an Alkaline Diet!!

 

http://www.icakusa.com/content/alkaline-diet

 

How I ever made it to 40 I'll never know. 

Edited December 1, 2020 by weinoo (log)

[ElsieD]

The other day I decided expand on my rice eating experiences which has been limited to good old Uncle Ben's and risotto rice as noted above (forgot to mention japonica).  I bought some regular brown rice and some brown basmati.  They were both cooked in the Instant Pot using the P-in-P method.  I'd like to know what took me so long to try the brown basmati.  It was delicious and now I'm sorry I didn't buy more, given we are in lockdown again.  It was soooo good.  The regular brown rice was meh.  I'd like to now try some other kinds of rice.   I'd like to start with 2 or 3.   What do you recommend I start with?

[weinoo]

Jasmine.  Some short grain Japanese.

[ElsieD]

8 minutes ago, weinoo said:

Jasmine.  Some short grain Japanese.

I've put Lundberg brown Jasmine on my list.  Is short grain Japanese white sushi rice?

[weinoo]

Just now, ElsieD said:

I've put Lundberg brown Jasmine on my list.  Is short grain Japanese white sushi rice?

It can be. Try white rice, it's better.

[ElsieD]

1 hour ago, weinoo said:

It can be. Try white rice, it's better.

White what?  White Jasmine?  Sorry to sound so stunned but I know next to nothing about rice.

[weinoo]

Yes - white jasmine - try to get stuff from Thailand - easily available. White Japanese. I have been also trying some partially milled Japanese rices; I really like them, but they're a little tougher to find, a bit more expensive, well worth it.

 

This California Haiga is partially milled, so has the benefits of brown rice, without the annoying old hippie, health-food store aspect. I really an amazed at its texture and flavor, but I can't vouch for the IP methods; I use my rice cooker. Remember to wash, drain and not use too much water - very close to even amounts of rice and water. 

 

 

Quote

 Haiga-mai rice, on the other hand, undergoes a special milling process that removes the bran but not the germ, giving it the fast cooking time, tender texture, and easy digestibility of white rice while retaining the nutritious germ of brown rice. Also called semi-polished or half-milled rice, haiga-mai is the best of both rice worlds!

 

Available...here (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

Edited January 18, 2021 by weinoo (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 minute ago, weinoo said:

Yes - white jasmine - try to get stuff from Thailand - easily available. White Japanese. I have been also trying some partially milled Japanese rices; I really like them, but they're a little tougher to find, a bit more expensive, well worth it.

 

This California Haigai is partially milled, so has the benefits of brown rice, without the annoying old hippie, health-food store aspect. I really an amazed at its texture and flavor, but I can't vouch for the IP methods; I use my rice cooker. Remember to wash, drain and not use too much water - very close to even amounts of rice and water. 

 

 

 

Available...here (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

 

Except it doesn't taste as good as Tamaki Gold.

 

[ElsieD]

1 hour ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Except it doesn't taste as good as Tamaki Gold.

 

 

I found that one on Amazon.ca.  A 6.81 kilogram package costs $194.28 but to lessen the pair, they throw in a $6 pain of chopsticks for free!

Edited January 18, 2021 by ElsieD
It's a pair of chopsticks, not a pain (log)

[ElsieD]

11 minutes ago, weinoo said:

Yes - white jasmine - try to get stuff from Thailand - easily available. White Japanese. I have been also trying some partially milled Japanese rices; I really like them, but they're a little tougher to find, a bit more expensive, well worth it.

 

This California Haigai is partially milled, so has the benefits of brown rice, without the annoying old hippie, health-food store aspect. I really an amazed at its texture and flavor, but I can't vouch for the IP methods; I use my rice cooker. Remember to wash, drain and not use too much water - very close to even amounts of rice and water. 

 

 

 

Available...here (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

 

I could not find that brand here but I did find Nishiki Haiga Rice.    Is that sort of the same thing?  It's $9.99 for 5 pounds which sure is cheap.  

[weinoo]

28 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

I could not find that brand here but I did find Nishiki Haiga Rice.    Is that sort of the same thing?

 

Yep, good stuff.

[KennethT]

17 hours ago, ElsieD said:

 

I found that one on Amazon.ca.  A 6.81 kilogram package costs $194.28 but to lessen the pair, they throw in a $6 pain of chopsticks for free!

We need a "shocked" button!!! 😮😮😮

[ElsieD]

I've spent a good part of the past two days reading up on rice and noting the various varieties.  They are now on my list.  I have about 12 of them.  In looking around, most of them seem to come in 10 pound bags or larger which is way too much for testing purposes.   I need to find smaller quantities.  As soon as I can, I will go to a couple of Asian stores that I know carry a large selection and see what I can find.  Lundberg rices, which I am familiar with, are available here at our local store but the store does not carry all of their product.  I'm looking forward to trying some of them out and will report back once I get my hands on some.  We are still under lockdown......

[heidih]

In my experience most Asian markets trend to bigger quantities. Also the wonderful array of rices is fun but I find knowing the best way to cook each type massively affects the outcome. 

[weinoo]

Asian stores will certainly carry a decent quantity of Asian rices.

 

For Spanish, Italian, Indian, Pakistani, French, American, etc. etc. you may have to look elsewhere.

Edited January 19, 2021 by weinoo (log)

[BeeZee]

I've used Etsy to purchase small amounts of wild rice, there are some different types available.

[liuzhou]

On 1/19/2021 at 9:45 AM, ElsieD said:

In looking around, most of them seem to come in 10 pound bags or larger which is way too much for testing purposes.   I need to find smaller quantities.  As soon as I can, I will go to a couple of Asian stores that I know carry a large selection and see what I can find.

 

I have no experience of Asian stores in Canada or the USA, but in my experience in Europe and, more specifically, Asia, your Asian store is likely to be the last place to sell rice in smaller quantities.

 

As I'm sure you know, most Asian people eat rice every day and so buy the stuff in 5 or 10kg bags. That's certainly all my locals stores have.

 

British-Malaysian comedian Nigel Ng has built a whole career talking about this.
 

 

Edited January 30, 2021 by liuzhou (log)

[chromedome]

1 hour ago, ElsieD said:

I've spent a good part of the past two days reading up on rice and noting the various varieties.  They are now on my list.  I have about 12 of them.  In looking around, most of them seem to come in 10 pound bags or larger which is way too much for testing purposes.   I need to find smaller quantities.  As soon as I can, I will go to a couple of Asian stores that I know carry a large selection and see what I can find.  Lundberg rices, which I am familiar with, are available here at our local store but the store does not carry all of their product.  I'm looking forward to trying some of them out and will report back once I get my hands on some.  We are still under lockdown......

Superstore carries a lot of specialty rices in smaller bags, Sobeys as well but to a lesser extent. You'll pay more on a per-weight basis, but it's still a useful way to try a bunch and see what you like. Also there's Bulk Barn, if you have one near you.

I've just finished a bag of red Thai "cargo" rice, which I quite liked. It's basically the same thing as brown rice, except for a slightly different set of phytochemicals giving it its color. I found the flavor quite nice, with a decidedly nutty undertone. I'm also partial to the black "forbidden" rice...I usually use it to make dessert (cooked in coconut milk, you get a rice pudding with a beautiful purple color) but it also works in savory dishes.

 

I'm probably an outlier in the current crowd, in that I favor the whole-grain rices over white for general-purpose eating. I have basmati, arborio and a run-of-the-mill Chinese long-grain white that I use for specific dishes.

[heidih]

7 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

 

I have no experience of Asian stores in Canada or the USA, but in my experience in Europe and, more specifically, Asia, your Asian store is likely to be the last place to sell rice in smaller quantities.

 

As I'm sure you know, most Asian people eat rice every and so buy the stuff in 5 or 10kg bags. That's certainly all my locals stores have.

 

British-Malaysian comedian Nigel Ng has built a whole career talking about this.
 

 

OOh my - grew up in part with Uncle Ben's converted. Makes an ok pilaf thing but no rice taste. Love the video and the reference to drying your unfortunately drenched phone in rice. Thanks!

[gfweb]

10 minutes ago, heidih said:

reference to drying your unfortunately drenched phone in rice. Thanks!

Vacuum sealer is the master phone dryer. Ask me how I know, LOL

[heidih]

29 minutes ago, gfweb said:

Vacuum sealer is the master phone dryer. Ask me how I know, LOL

Think we have all been there. From my pocket into 5 gallon bucket full of water. The rice betrayed me but the promise of a good Yelp review got a start up repair service to fix it quickly for free. Humans can in fact work cooperatively.