Ask me about rice.

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Ask me about rice.

therattle: Jul 24, 2007; Soiled Meat

TychoCelchuuu posted:

Also, do you wash your hair with the liquid you've soaked the rice in? I tried doing it for a bit but it didn't seem to make much of a difference. My flatmate says the same thing: tried it a while, but no perceivable effect.

Never heard of that but apparently it�s good for watering plants.

# ¿ Dec 10, 2023 12:47

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# ¿ May 21, 2024 19:36

therattle: Jul 24, 2007; Soiled Meat

This thread is great! Thank you, dino.! i knew you were the man for the job.

Can i assume that brown rice isn't aged because the oils in the husk and bran go rancid? What is the deal with aging?

We eat a fair bit of rice because my son is coeliac. We usually have in the pantry: white basmati; brown basmati; sushi rice (used in a variety of East Asian dishes like tofu with spinach and sesame sauce, or sweet and sour tofu); jasmine rice (for eg Thai curries); and short-grain brown rice. The latter is delicious, really nutty - almost a substitute for pearl barley, which we can't use as it's got gluten. Oh, and pudding rice, because who doesn't love a good rice pudding? (or a rice pudding cake - this is extremely delicious: https://www.theguardian.com/food/2019/oct/14/rachel-roddy-recipe-bolognese-rice-cake-torta-di-riso )

# ¿ Dec 10, 2023 19:43

therattle: Jul 24, 2007; Soiled Meat

Carillon posted:

Do you have any recommendations for a good rice for rice pudding? I know a lot of it is picking the right recipe, but I imagine the right rice can make a big difference as well.

Here (UK) it�s literally called pudding rice but if you can�t find that arborio is fine. After all, what is risotto if not a savoury rice pudding?

# ¿ Dec 13, 2023 22:07

therattle: Jul 24, 2007; Soiled Meat

PokeJoe posted:

I follow the instructions of the rice cooker is that right

That�s always worked for me but I add some extra for brown.

# ¿ Dec 15, 2023 08:57

therattle: Jul 24, 2007; Soiled Meat

When my grandmother was provisioning her kitchen after she got married, she asked the grocer for half a pound of saffron. (This was South Africa around 1935, so probably even more exotic and relatively expensive than it is now).

# ¿ Dec 19, 2023 08:16

therattle: Jul 24, 2007; Soiled Meat

Coasterphreak posted:

crack a couple eggs on top and call it shakshuka.

That is not a shakshuka.

# ¿ Dec 20, 2023 18:31

therattle: Jul 24, 2007; Soiled Meat

I got some decent saffron in the Dordogne in France this summer.
I just tried a rice pudding recipe that called for the rice to be fully cooked before adding milk etc. Highly disappointing. The rice tasted much more of rice, and the pudding tasted of what it was: rice cooked with a milky sauce, rather than rice cooked by milk. Hard to express but I want a fan. This current batch of pudding rice also seems firmer than others - the rice doesn�t go very soft but retains a bit of a bite. I prefer my pudding rice soft.

# ¿ Dec 23, 2023 20:53

therattle: Jul 24, 2007; Soiled Meat

The Moon Monster posted:

Sometimes I think getting a rice maker might improve my life. Typically I'm cooking basmati by washing it then boiling it on a stovetop in 1.5x water for 5-10 minutes, I'd say 2-4 times a week. It turns out well, and I've actually gotten compliments and people asking for my "recipe" (I think people tend to use too much water and don't know to wash it when making stirfry/fried rice). But I've never actually used a rice maker, is there a level beyond, or would I just be wasting money?

Rice is my cooking Achilles Heel, so a rice cooker is very good for me. It�s also
Super convenient: at some point I just put the rice on, let it cook, fluff it up a bit when it�s done and leave it to keep warm until I�m ready.and it�s always good.

therattle fucked around with this message at 23:24 on Dec 30, 2023

# ¿ Dec 30, 2023 23:21

therattle: Jul 24, 2007; Soiled Meat

mystes posted:

It's less about being better and more about being able to dump rice into it and come back 30 minutes later with zero intervention/monitoring and always have perfect rice

^^^^^:nods enthusiastically:

# ¿ Dec 31, 2023 00:28

therattle: Jul 24, 2007; Soiled Meat

Buttchocks posted:

Are weevils an issue since you are importing and aging a metric fuckton of rice? I had weevils in my rice once and it was a mess.

Weevils or pantry moths? We just dealt with an infestation of the fuckers (moths), having had one some years ago. (These came in in some shelled walnuts we bought in France in August). Luckily, having learned from previous experience, most of our open bags of food were in sealed containers. I buy rice from the refill shop (where one takes one's own containers), and when I open it to take rice there are silk threads from the moth larvae - so sealing containers is not just to keep moths and their larvae out, but also to keep them in and stop them escaping into your pantry. So I also wondered if pantry moths were a problem.

# ¿ Jan 8, 2024 11:17

therattle: Jul 24, 2007; Soiled Meat

buglord posted:

I�m not sure if it�s because I�m washing rice now (thanks to this thread) or salting rice now (thanks to this thread) but the texture is better and I get 90% less rice-crust at the bottom of my rice cooker.

I definitely get less rice crust when I wash my rice well.

# ¿ Jan 8, 2024 21:39

therattle: Jul 24, 2007; Soiled Meat

mawarannahr posted:

This is really interesting reading, thank you.

Heartily seconded.

mystes posted:

Yeah that's quite interesting

also mods please change the thread title to "ask me about rice: reefer madness"

Heartily seconded

# ¿ Jan 14, 2024 00:52

therattle: Jul 24, 2007; Soiled Meat

Just seconding dino.'s point about bugs. We have had two pantry moth infestations and they are a loving pain to deal with. (Thankfully the second wasn't as bad because most of our food was in sealed containers due to the lesson learned from the first one).

# ¿ Jan 16, 2024 21:43

therattle: Jul 24, 2007; Soiled Meat

PurpleXVI posted:

...I mean, okay, theoretically, let's say a rice weevil gets into my rice, and I boil it along with the rice, and eat it without noticing. Is that just going to be a real gross thing if I DO notice or are they potentially dangerous in some way to eat?

Because I'd say the big difference is that soup left out overnight can absolutely gently caress you up and maybe loving kill you if you get real unlucky.

Also I do live in Denmark. We get some proper winters from time to time.

It�s partly that it�s not great to eat moth poo poo, dead moths, webs, etc, and partly that they lay eggs loving everywhere and get into everything, and you have to throw out food and do a huge cleaning operation which is massively inconvenient.

# ¿ Jan 16, 2024 23:09

therattle: Jul 24, 2007; Soiled Meat

PurpleXVI posted:

If I eat their eggs I will be preventing them from reproducing. Problem solved.

As I say to my son, " I am not going to make you do this; I strongly suggest that you do, but you're old enough to make your own decisions and deal with the consequences".

# ¿ Jan 16, 2024 23:50

therattle: Jul 24, 2007; Soiled Meat

uber_stoat posted:

bugs are good at hitching rides to places they want to be. also if you're unlucky they might already be in your food when you buy it. put it in the freezer and then put it into the plastic tub.

Yeah. Sometimes (often) they are in the food and a sealed container is as much to keep them in and preventing them from spreading as it is to keep them out.

# ¿ Jan 17, 2024 01:05

therattle: Jul 24, 2007; Soiled Meat

Thirteen Orphans posted:

I use a rice cooker and do the �first joint first finger� method of making sure I put the right amount of water in (I usually eat sushi rice). I have to switch to brown rice; is there a different technique for how much water I�ll need?

I can�t give an exact amount but it needs more. Maybe 20%? I usually just eyeball it and it�s ok. Brown rice, to me at least, can take a lot of cooking and water, and I think is often served undercooked in a lot of places, which is, I think, why a lot of people don�t like it. It�s not cooked with enough water and it�s too tough. It can bear being cooked with too much water more than too little.

I�d be very curious to see if others agree.

# ¿ Jan 22, 2024 21:02

therattle: Jul 24, 2007; Soiled Meat

PokeJoe posted:

I remember white rice being seen as bad and brown rice being pushed for a few years but everyone immediately realized brown rice tastes like cardboard and takes too long to cook

Properly cooked brown rice is actually pretty good in certain uses. Short grain brown is quite delicious; it�s a good GF sub for barley. I use it with Japanese soups, for example, where it works really well.

# ¿ Jan 24, 2024 01:15

therattle: Jul 24, 2007; Soiled Meat

PokeJoe posted:

it still takes too long

Just change your timings! If I�m making brown rice it just becomes the first thing I do.

# ¿ Jan 24, 2024 08:20

therattle: Jul 24, 2007; Soiled Meat

E-flat posted:

Reading the stuff about pests and pest control was really eye opening. I used to work for a food pantry as a warehouse manager, and more than once (though very rarely!) we�d find bugs in our bags of rice. I can�t recall the brand(s) other than we usually got our rice in one pound bags that had a red label, but mahatma and goya are familiar names.

We got most of our food from a local food bank. They gave our other warehouse pantry moths, and frequently would give us stuff past the best-by date. (Granted, those dates aren�t federally regulated or even required, but we still couldn�t give outdated food out.)

As a total rice novice who has been frustrated by gummy fried rice, the other parts of this thread have also been helpful.

The secret to fried rice is to use rice that has been cooked and cooled, ideally the day before.

# ¿ Jan 24, 2024 12:18

therattle: Jul 24, 2007; Soiled Meat

Everett False posted:

When my spouse was diagnosed as diabetic, they were told by their doctor that they should avoid all rice and if they had to eat rice it should only ever be brown rice.

... I still eat a lot of white rice. I hate brown rice. No matter how careful we are there's always at least one hard gross hull in there. And it's not as good with an egg on top.

My son is diabetic and white rice is definitely the lot worse than brown from a GI perspective.

# ¿ Jan 24, 2024 16:33

therattle: Jul 24, 2007; Soiled Meat

Love you too, dino.!

# ¿ Jan 27, 2024 21:07

therattle: Jul 24, 2007; Soiled Meat

Switchback posted:

Dino what are your opinions about those pouches of rice you microwave for 90 seconds?

I�m not dino but I hate the plastic waste in those. I�d rather cook a load of rice and freeE portions.

# ¿ Feb 4, 2024 10:56

therattle: Jul 24, 2007; Soiled Meat

Doom Rooster posted:

Yeah. Just eat a 1/2 cup of the Uncle Ben�s straight up, then wash it down with 3/4 cup of water. No need to waste time microwaving it.

You need to have a hot bath or shower afterwards to ensure it cooks through properly

# ¿ Feb 5, 2024 11:49

therattle: Jul 24, 2007; Soiled Meat

Decoy Badger posted:

What does purity of rice mean? If my Thai hom mali is 97% pure what's the other 240g floating around in the sack composed of?

Unscrupulous rice dealers will cut the rice with all kinds of foreign bodies like cornstarch, fake rice, bits of plastic, flour, et cetera. That�s why whenever there�s a big rice deal, before the buyer hands over the suitcase of cash to the seller�s heavies, they�ll have someone like dino. come along to cut open a bag with a knife, scoop out some rice, taste it, and (if applicable) nod their heads to say that it�s pure, or maybe even something like �oh yeah,that�s the good poo poo�

# ¿ Feb 11, 2024 12:32

therattle: Jul 24, 2007; Soiled Meat

His Divine Shadow posted:

I tried whole grain rice and boy is it better for my sugar levels compared to white rice. I also like the texture.

Yes, nutritionally it might not make much difference but the GI is much better.

# ¿ Feb 20, 2024 15:21

therattle: Jul 24, 2007; Soiled Meat

dino. posted:

1121 is the longest grains in the world, and is the sort that's bought by those people for whom the length is the most important. They're going to be super vigorous about removing brokens and damaged/discoloured and other such issues. It's their premium product, and fetches a pretty hefty price in the market. I've never had an issue with the quality control of the company who produces that stuff.

dino. posted:

I�ve never bought it. Is it the stuff made by Chaman Lal Setia or something?

https://www.maharanirice.co.in/

I�ve had their unbranded rice before, and didn�t have quality issues; I never tried their branded stuff. That�s all I�ll say about that company.

I think this is dino.�s subtle way of saying that this company is run by assholes.

# ¿ Mar 2, 2024 09:12

therattle: Jul 24, 2007; Soiled Meat

CRIP EATIN BREAD posted:

i don�t have a ton to add except that im blown away by how much there is to know about rice.

i buy costco�s thai hom mali jasmine rice and i really like it. any idea where this lands on the quality scale?

Almost everything is interesting when you start to dig down into the details

# ¿ Mar 4, 2024 00:40

therattle: Jul 24, 2007; Soiled Meat

PurpleXVI posted:

Probably one of the most basic idiot questions that certainly someone in the thread has asked before, but if you had a pick between Jasmine and Basmati rice, which types of dishes/flavours would you feel was a better fit for one of them than the other?

Not a rice expert, but I think jasmine is more delicate and lends itself to SE and E Asian flavours, like Thai curries, etc. Basmati is more robust in every way, and more suited to S Asian and Central Asian/Middle Eastern dishes.

# ¿ Mar 6, 2024 18:54

therattle: Jul 24, 2007; Soiled Meat

See those grains of rice stuck to the side of the bag? If I shake the bag they�ll move but stay stuck. They are being held there by the webs spun by pantry moth larvae. If you see these know that your food has some bugs in it. This is a good reason to keep your opened food bags in airtight containers: bugs can�t get in - or out.
(this is sushi rice from a well-known upscale UK supermarket chain; I bought it because I needed it and was in a hurry. I usually get my sushi rice from our local Asian grocer or the refill bulk food shop. Rice from the latter often has bugs too.)

https://imgur.com/gallery/8kS9BK8

# ¿ Mar 9, 2024 18:37

therattle: Jul 24, 2007; Soiled Meat

I hate wasting water (when I was growing up, there was a terrible drought) and word on the street is that the starchy rice water that is a byproduct from when one rinses rice is really good for plants.

# ¿ Mar 31, 2024 12:28

therattle: Jul 24, 2007; Soiled Meat

VictualSquid posted:

Are you still eating dumb rice?
Have some app supported smart rice instead, very original:

I have been washing and soaking my rice more assiduously as a result of this thread and it does make a difference. I�m yet to use smart rice though.

# ¿ Mar 31, 2024 14:35

therattle: Jul 24, 2007; Soiled Meat

dino. posted:

Rinse your rice, and feed it to your plants. Or, use it to rinse down the sink. Or use it to wash your hair. Apparently water from rinsing rice is supposed to be really good for your hair. Not sure if it's an old Indian folk thing, or if it's actually a real thing.

That�s because it�s water. Hair likes water. Apparently rice water actually really helps plants, because it has various beneficial nutrients. So there!

# ¿ Apr 2, 2024 20:36

therattle: Jul 24, 2007; Soiled Meat

El Spamo posted:

I did just put in the early spring flowers around the house, no better time to start. I do this with the dog's water she doesn't drink, may as well do it with rice rinse water. Even one big bowl full of rice rinse water is better than not rinsing at all.

The first rinse is the richest anyway.

# ¿ Apr 3, 2024 17:08

therattle: Jul 24, 2007; Soiled Meat

We are staying at my SIL�s holiday cottage in the country while our kitchen is enquiring final renovation stages. There is no sieve (!) so I am using the large cafeti�re to wash the rice

# ¿ Apr 7, 2024 16:47

therattle: Jul 24, 2007; Soiled Meat

dino. posted:

So couple of things to know.

Short grain rice is not at all common. In the USA, it accounts for like 1% of rice grown. Globally, it accounts for less than 2% of all annual trade. If you asked me tomorrow to source short grain rice, I'd have a very hard time sourcing it easily for a couple of reasons.

- For one thing, anyone who grows short grain has already got stone clad contracts in place as to whom it's going to. The people who buy short grain rice really really need for it to show up, so they buy the rice before it's grown, and contract the farmer to grow it for them.

- For another thing, In the extremely rare instance where that particular rice mill can't use the short grain they ordered, it would take them seconds to find a buyer for it, because it's something that's terminally out of stock everywhere on the production side.

In general, short grain, regardless of fancy processing, is going to be expensive in general. But now, you add the marketing behind "no wash rice", and the extra processing step, and all of sudden the price is going to shoot right up. Every extra step that has to be done in the rice mill will always add extra money to the final price of the commodity grain, thereby jacking up the price of the packaged goods. The one exception to this is brown rice. Brown rice is significantly cheaper than white rice, because it has way fewer steps for processing. However, brown rice on the grocery store shelf is generally more expensive than white rice, because of consumer perception that the rice is a healthier product, so they're willing to pay for it. Yes, brown rice does have a shorter shelf life, but most rice sellers in the retail level aren't keeping the bags sitting around for a year or more. They usually need more rice every month or so.

Other thing is that your Tamanishiki is a mix of two different premium short grain rices, of which koshihikari is one. Of course that's going to be freaking expensive. Anyone who's watched Iron Chef knows that koshihikari is like crack for all the fans of sushi and the like, for having the perfect texture for it.

Also, are you ordering your rice on the Internet? If so, most of that cost is the shipping, as rice is extremely dense, and moving it around via post is freaking expensive. Your better bet is to see if you can find an Asian grocery shop that carries other brands of musenmai that's cheaper, and see what you can find. To be honest, if you do try any other stuff, you might notice a definite change in texture and flavour, because you've been buying top shelf stuff all this time, and anything less might end up disappointing. Have you tried other lengths of grain for a daily driver, like medium grain? And does it have to the the no rinse stuff?

I do love these rice-fact-bombs that dino drops.

# ¿ Apr 11, 2024 16:16

therattle: Jul 24, 2007; Soiled Meat

Switchback posted:

Rice thread is best thread.

Now do lentils

I�m going to blow your mind: rice with lentils.

(I�d love a lentils thread. I loving love lentils.)

# ¿ Apr 13, 2024 16:01

therattle: Jul 24, 2007; Soiled Meat

HerpicleOmnicron5 posted:

okay awesome thank you for the info, would the food still be good within that 24hr period? the cosori also keeps it at 60c/140f

Wouldn�t you just refrigerate and reheat after a full day?

# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 22:42

therattle: Jul 24, 2007; Soiled Meat

david_a posted:

I think that logic kind of falls apart when you are comparing it to keeping it heated for multiple days.

You could say it�s�fuzzy logic

# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 08:00

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# ¿ May 21, 2024 19:36

therattle: Jul 24, 2007; Soiled Meat

Cached Money posted:

Just freeze it and you'll avoid the risk of keeping it in the fridge for too long. It might taste slightly worse, but if I have to choose between severe food poisoning and slightly worse rice it's an easy choice.

Absolutely. I find that after about 3 days ride starts to get an unpleasant and slightly worrying smell.

# ¿ May 3, 2024 11:54

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