Rice: It Keeps you Alive
By: Keith
The most important counter top kitchen appliance we own is our rice cooker. That along with our wok has been immeasurably handy for us over the last few months as we dig ourselves out of the financial hole we collapsed into last year. When the economy is bad and you can’t justify buying artichokes and salmon anymore, there is always rice. Furthermore, if you do choose to eat salmon (which everybody really should), rice disguises the fact that there might not be as much of the fish on the plate as there once was. By eating rice, a starch, all that’s really left to eat is protein and veg. That’s what makes rice the perfect food. It accompanies everything, it’s cheap, and it’s highly nutritive.
Types of Rice: There are thousands of types of rice. I don’t have the desire to be a rice expert so here’s the short version:
1. Long Grain: Jasmine rice is a long grain type from Thailand. It can be quite sticky, but most long grain rice is not cooked to be sticky.
2. Short Grain: The shorter the grain the more the rice tends to get sticky. Good for Chop Sticks.
3. Medium Grain: Arborio is a medium-grain rice from Italy that’s used in risotto.
4. White Rice: Describes a rice that is milled and polished. The oils, bran and germ are removed from white rice leaving only the endosperm (still quite salubrious) which increases shelf life.
5. Brown Rice: Is unmilled rice that has its hull removed but keeps its germ and bran. It can come in short, medium or long grains and can be any shade of color between red, brown and black.
6. Wild Rice: Not technically rice because it’s actually the seed of aquatic grass. Minnesota’s Native American Tribes still harvest it the traditional way, by hand from canoes. It’s easily the most expensive rice.
Nutritious: All rice is high in Iron, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Potassium, Magnesium, Vitamin E, Niacin, Thiamine and Folic acid. It has no cholesterol, no fat, and obviously not sodium. Brown rice though (rice that has only the hull removed) is far more nutritious in terms of its vitamin and fiber content. Brown rice has 4 times more fiber than white. It is also higher in all the above mentioned nutrients.
Cost: The cost of rice is what got me started here in the first place. It really can’t be beat. A 20 pound bag of Basmati rice costs about 15 bucks at Costco. However, a 20 pound bag of sushi rice is about 45 dollars. Still, even on the high side, rice is supremely cheap. Consider that a family of 4 will eat 2 cups of rice a day (American family that is). That 20 lb bag is going to last about a month. Even at 45 dollars, it’s pretty reasonable. At 15 dollars you’re practically eating for free.
The Machine: Rice is not difficult to prepare under any circumstance, but with my Zojurishi Neuro Fuzzy machine it’s impossible to screw up. Step one, soak rice. Step Two. Put rice and water into the machine. Step Three. Press button and walk away. When it’s done the machine plays a song (really!) and automatically keeps it warm until my lazy butt makes it to the kitchen (I’ve kept it waiting for hours before). I can cook any kind or rice and any sort of grain. It even has a setting for porridge, if I desire porridge. There is absolutely no freaking way to mess up your rice with one of these things.
Rice is not just the stuff that Sushi is wrapped in. It’s what most of the world eats to keep them alive. It’s cheap, tasty and nutritious. When the economy is bad and you’ve gone broke, you won’t starve, you’ll just eat more rice! Get some meat and veggies and whip yourself up a nice stir fry. You’re belly and your pocket book will thank you.
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I love rice!!! My favorite (although really not good for me) is white rice with butter and sugar!
Angie, Really? Butter and sugar? Yeah, that does sound a little unhealthy
however, it also sounds really yummy!
En Perú, el 90% de nuestras comidas están acompañadas por el arroz, es típico en mi paiz. Arroz con pollo, guiso con arroz, arroz con leche… mmmm ya me dio hambre
Abrazos,
Lu
Hola Lu, es bien cierto lo que dices, en otros países el arroz es uno de los ingredientes principales de cada comida y platillo. Yo viví en México por un año y cada comida siempre estaba acompañada con un plato de arroz. Gracias por visitar de nuevo y por tu comentario…
I love rice, however, it no longer loves me back. Brown basmati was once a staple in our household, but it spikes my blood sugar something fierce. As a result I’ve switched to grains like barley and quinoa, which when toasted before cooking can give a dish a similar nutty flavor.
.-= PJ Mullen´s last blog ..Wet Willy! =-.
PJ, yeah, you’re right. It’s a complex carbohydrate so that basically equals sugar. Quinoa? I’m not much of a foodie so I’m going to have to look that up
I’m so going to try that butter and sugar thing! Also.. Keith, I have to say it again..you can buy a 20 dollar rice cooker that cooks perfect rice every time.. any kind of rice..and keeps it warm for a long time (never left it hours before), however it probably won’t sing you a song. Get your kids to sing ya the dinner’s ready song (consists of a lot of happy yelling in our house) in it’s place!
Tammy, Every Korean and Japanese person I know has a rice cooker like this. If it was just a gimmick don’t you think they’d know it? I’m sorta sure they know about rice since they eat it at every meal.
My son and I love eating scrambled eggs over white rice with Pepper Plant hot sauce. Culinary perfection!
.-= dadshouse´s last blog ..Hungry For You =-.
David, that sounds delicious!
Now, I want to go out and buy a rice machine! Cheap, healthy, and delicious…it sounds like my kind of food.
What “kind” of rice is your favorite…and how do you usually serve it?