Rice Varieties

[hitchmeer]

I got so much valuable help from this community on my Thai fried rice, I thought I'd try again. I made a black rice pudding from a Thai cookbook the other night. It called for cooking the rice in coconut milk and then to bake it (the dish sitting in a larger dish of water. Everything looked good, but the rice wasn't fully cooked by the end. It was so dissappointing to have this beautiful dish and not be able to enjoy it. Should I have soaked the rice first before cooking it in the coconut milk? The recipe didn't call for this and as it was my first experience with this type of rice I didn't know what to do. HELP!!!!

[Shiewie]

Hi Hitchmeer

The black glutinous rice needs to be soaked at least 4 hours / overnight before baking / steaming it.

Black glutinous rice is also used in Malaysian cooking and is called "pulut hitam" (Malay) or "hak lor mai" (Cantonese).

[hitchmeer]

Thanks for the advice! I'll try the recipe again keeping that in mind. Do you know of any other sweet or savory recipes using black glutinous rice?

Matt

[Pan]

hitchmeer:

I haven't tried this recipe, but this is a classic Malaysian dish (though on an Indonesian recipe site):

Bubur Pulut Hitam

[Shiewie]

Yes, bubur pulut hitam (black glutinous rice porridge) is a traditional Malaysian dessert. Some versions here add some dried longans to it. Here's a link to a recipe of bubur pulut hitam with dried longans. It's traditionally served hot. However, I like it cold from the fridge without the coconut cream topping.

Another traditional Malaysian dessert which uses black glutinous rice is "kuih koci pulut hitam". A mixture of white and black glutinous rice flours are used to form a dough with a filling of dessicated coconut cooked in palm sugar ("inti"). The dough is then topped with some coconut cream, wrapped in a banana leave and is steamed.

Here's a recipe for it from a Malaysian food magazine, Flavours (I haven't tried the recipe though)

Kuih Koci Pulut Hitam

(Makes 15-20 pieces)

Ingredients

Inti (palm sugar filling)

150g palm sugar ("gula Melaka")

1/2 cup water

1 pandan leave, knotted

175g grated fresh coconut, white only

Pinch of salt

1 tablespoon plain (all-purpose) flour

Dough balls

70g black gluntinous rice

130g glutinous rice flour

3/4 cup and 3 tablespoons thin coconut milk

Coconut cream topping

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup thick coconut milk

Banana leaves fpr wrapping, scaleded and cut into 14 x 15cm rectangles

Instructions

Filling

Place palm sugar, water and pandan leaf in a saucepan and cook until sugar dissolves. Strain syrup into a clean saucepan and add grated coconut and a pinch of salt. Continue cooking over a low fire until filling thickens. Stir in plain flour to bind filling. Set aside to cool.

Dough balls and coconut cream topping

Combine both types of glutinous rice flours in a bowl. In a small saucepan, combine thin coconut milk and salt, cook mixture over a low fire until the milk is warm. Do not let it boil. Pour warm milk into bowl of mixed glutinous rice flours and knead the mixture lightly to forma smooth pliable dough. Pinch off small pieces of dough (20g each). Roll the pieces of dough into smooth balls. Flatten the balls slightly and fill with 1 teaspoon of inti (coconut and palm sugar filling) and pinch dough over to encase the filling.

In a wide tray, mix thick coconut milk with salt and place the filled dough balls on it leaving some space between the balls. Steam for 15 minutes.

Place the cooked dough balls in the centre of a rectangle of banana leaf. Top with 1 teaspoon of the cooked coconut cream mixture from the tray. Bring the two sides of the banana leave to meet. Make small rolling folds where the edges of the banana leaf meets until it forms a tight roll. Fold the ends under. Arrange on a steamer and steam for 5 minutes.

[hitchmeer]

Success! I made the black rice pudding again today after having soaked the rice in water for 4-5 hours. MUCH BETTER! Thanks again for the help. I'm anxious to try the other recipes.

Matt

[Shel_B]

This article about rice varieties appeared in our local newspaper this morning.  Toots and I have been wanting to try new varieties of rice and rice/grain combinations.  The article has given us the impetus to move ahead.  We're familiar with several varieties of brown rice, cultivated and true wild rice, jasmine and basmati, but are unfamiliar with most of the rice varieties mentioned in the article. 

 

I'm sure numerous eGers are familiar with many of these rice varieties ... anyone care to comment on their favorites and preferred methods of cooking, and maybe describe some of their characteristics?  Thanks so much ...

[heidih]

Korean markets are a great source for the rice/grain combos - lots of different ones. See here for a brief overview http://theasiangrandmotherscookbook.com/2013/01/16/korean-mixed-grain-rice/

 

I have sampled it at the market and had it at friends (cooked in the fuzzy logic cooker)  

[Deryn]

Forbidden rice is black but purple when cooked. The name can actually can refer to any black rice from what I understand - and there are several. Bhutan red rice is supposed to be grown in the Himalayas (but there are other red rices too). It is red(dish-brown), partially hulled, and pinkish (well, it can be darker than 'pink' in my experience) and a bit sticky usually when cooked. Both are, to my mind, far more flavourful than white rice. And I like their grainy-like textures.

 

I love all rices. But, if I am eating white rice (which I try not to do too much), I try to use converted (because it is better for you than non-parboiled). The darker rices are, like 'brown' rice, better nutritionally for you. Supposedly Forbidden rice has more antioxidants in it than blueberries.

 

Characteristics? Not quite sure what you mean by that .. and not sure I can tell you. Buy a bit and try them, Shel.

[Shel_B]

Staff Note: This post and responses to it were split from the "Ever suffer from Culinary Ennui? If so, what do you do?" topic.

 

On 6/14/2025 at 4:53 PM, Katie Meadow said:

My latest crush is Carolina Gold rice. If you can overcome ennui enough to make it fresh, it's fabulous with just butter and salt.

@Katie Meadow where do you get your rice? I've started looking into getting some, but I'm a bt confused about the offerings' quality and authenticity.

[Katie Meadow]

4 hours ago, Shel_B said:

@Katie Meadow where do you get your rice? I've started looking into getting some, but I'm a bt confused about the offerings' quality aInd authenticity.

I am a loyal customer of Marsh Hen Mill on Edisto Island. I visited the store when I was on the island in April. I love their grits and I love their Carolina Gold rice. That's the only rice I buy by mail. All the other rice I use I can find here in the East Bay.  I agree that I'm confused by the Charleston Gold or aromatic rice varieties, but as far as I know MHM only sells the one type and I'm sticking to that for now. 

[weinoo]

20 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

I am a loyal customer of Marsh Hen Mill on Edisto Island. I visited the store when I was on the island in April. I love their grits and I love their Carolina Gold rice. That's the only rice I buy by mail. All the other rice I use I can find here in the East Bay.  I agree that I'm confused by the Charleston Gold or aromatic rice varieties, but as far as I know MHM only sells the one type and I'm sticking to that for now. 

 

There are both Carolina Gold and Charelston Gold rices. Charleston is an offspring of Carolina rice, with slightly different aromatic and finished product qualities (Charleston being the more aromatic of the two).

[blue_dolphin]

21 minutes ago, weinoo said:

Charleston being the more aromatic of the two

This is true. I previously thought the development of Charleston Gold was driven by productivity, which was surely a factor, but it seems that an aromatic variant was indeed one of the initial project goals. Charleston Gold: A Direct Descendant of Carolina Gold

 

I haven’t done a side-by-side comparison myself.  I have both the regular Carolina Gold and the Charleston Gold brown rice from Marsh Hen but they’re not really a direct comparison since one is a brown rice. The Charleston Gold brown rice is indeed an aromatic long grain brown rice, though if I’m after a brown rice, i usually go for the chew of a medium grain rice like Massa Organics. 

[Shel_B]

3 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

I’m after a brown rice, i usually go for the chew of a medium grain rice like Massa Organics. 

Bingo! Great rice.

[weinoo]

1 hour ago, blue_dolphin said:

I have both the regular Carolina Gold and the Charleston Gold brown rice from Marsh Hen but they’re not really a direct comparison since one is a brown rice.

 

I have both varieties as well, either from Carolina Plantation or Anson Mills, both fully milled (i.e.: white rices).

 

On one bag (Carolina Gold), the instructions imply that it is the variety which might be more suitable for risotto or rice pudding...I've used both interchangably, but never for a risotto.

 

Quote

This heirloom rice is known for its "chameleon starch properties". It can produce fluffy, individual grains, creamy risotto, or sticky rice, depending on how it's cooked. Anson Mills, a producer of Carolina Gold rice, says it's a great choice for risotto due to its ability to create a creamy texture while keeping the grains separate. 

[Katie Meadow]

Okay, I'm going to assume from now on tnat Charleston Gold means aromatic. I don't think I've had it. 

 

When it comes to cooking, it appears that tradition dictates  rinsing well, then pre-boiling and draining, then giving the grains a turn in the oven on a sheet pan. I admit I am getting more lazy with every passing day. I rinse my Carolina Gold several times, gently, until the water runs clear.  Then I cook it like I do basmati, on top of the stove. Rinsed well, I don't find it to be very sticky. 

 

I'm stickin' to Italian Carnaroli rice for risotto. In concert with laziness i'm not prone to a lot of experimenting, If it works, and I'm happy with it I keep doing it.Well, with exceptions. 

[weinoo]

2 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

When it comes to cooking, it appears that tradition dictates  rinsing well, then pre-boiling and draining, then giving the grains a turn in the oven on a sheet pan.

 

Yeah, this has never happened in my kitchen.  But it's def a technique restaurants use for any number of different rice dishes.

 

In school, we learned the "French" way of cooking rice, which is sorta like cooking pasta.  What do the French know about rice anyway?

[Katie Meadow]

3 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

Yeah, this has never happened in my kitchen.  But it's def a technique restaurants use for any number of different rice dishes.

 

In school, we learned the "French" way of cooking rice, which is sorta like cooking pasta.  What do the French know about rice anyway?

You don't know how reassuring it is to know you don't treat your rice to a dry sauna.  You think I'm being sarcastic, but I'm not, really!  Life is short and getting shorter.