Rice. That innocent white grain, easy to cook and easy to digest, an uncomplaining supporting player in any course of any meal. Could anything be simpler?
Rice. Divided into at least 25 species, grown in more than 100 countries, categorized by its physical appearance (long-grain, short-grain, etc.), how it’s milled (white, brown, etc.), by its intended use (curry rice, etc.), by its generic name (basmati, arborio, etc.), by how it’s grown (organic, etc.), and cooked in a dozen ways. Could anything be more complicated?
Actually, rice can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. Precooked or instant rice can be rehydrated and heated in a minute or so. The tradeoff is a lack of flavor and texture, and we appear to be increasingly unwilling to accept less as more.
Our consumption of rice has nearly doubled in the past dozen years, Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid report in “The Seductions of Rice” (Artisan, $35). And, as our taste for authentic ethnic ingredients grows as well, a significant portion of that rice is basmati from India, jasmine from Thailand and Japanese-style rice grown in this country.
Alford and Duguid, energetic tour guides with an earlier culinary travelogue titled “Flatbreads and Flavors, A Baker’s Atlas,” took the following tack:
After introductory chapters about the various types of the world’s most popular grain and how it is cultivated, the husband-and-wife team takes readers to eight growing regions in various parts of the globe. In each, they explain how rice is used in the diet and present recipes based on what they learned.
“We wanted to present rice as the anchor of a meal in cultures from Japan to Senegal, not just produce a collection of rice casserole dishes,” Duguid said.. “So we didn’t start by looking for something to support a big portion of chicken or beef. No, we started with the rice … and then thought about what we could put with it. It’s so easy to improvise that way and so much easier to provide something a picky eater or someone on a restrictive diet will eat.”
In regard to health and diet, rice has several things going for it. The grain is free of cholesterol, fat and sodium-all of which many cooks promptly add–and is non-allergenic. It is about 80 percent starch and thus provides essential carbohydrates, contains several B vitamins and small amounts of protein, fiber and such minerals as zinc, phosphorus and iodine. Brown rice is valued by nutritionists because it contains considerably more fiber than white.
Duguid even has kind words for often-maligned white rice, pointing out that it contains 8 percent protein and is easier to prepare and digest than other types.
Still, Sri Owen’s comment in her 1994 volume, “The Rice Book,” offers a challenge to expand one’s taste horizons beyond white rice: “In flavor, texture and general satisfaction no other staple food comes anywhere near it.”
Such expansion is easily done. In “The Seductions of Rice,” a full-page color photograph presents 36 varieties, and the authors discuss more in a “rice dictionary.”
Separating the grains
Although size, shape and processing matter, the most crucial element in cooking and serving any rice is its starch content. Once again this “simple” grain confounds us by containing not one but two starch types, amylose and amylopectin.
The term “sticky” is a layman’s description for rice with low levels of amylose and high levels of amylopectin that has a soft texture when cooked. Thai sticky rice is an example.
Rices high in amylose and low in amylopectin will be firm and dry (non-sticky) when cooked. Long- to medium-grain, non-sticky rices include classic American (sometimes called Carolina), aromatic types including Texmati, Persian and basmati, jasmine grown in Thailand and the United States, javanica (bulu) popular in Indonesia and the Philippines.
There is even a sticky, long-grain rice from Thailand that sometimes is black in color.
The best medium- to short-grain non-sticky rices are Japanese (not exported from Japan but grown in the U.S. and Australia) and Mediterranean, including Italian, Spanish and Egyptian rices. An American product in this category is called CalRiso.
Short-grain sticky rice is cultivated in Thailand, Japan, Korea and China. It is often used in sweet dishes.
Duguid’s favorite rices are Japanese-style and the aromatic jasmine. The grains of the former are “distinct yet slightly sticky” and the latter, “soft, slightly clinging.”
Cooking methods
With so much variety, it will come as no surprise that there are multiple methods for cooking rice. Generally speaking, any rice is best employed in recipes from the country where it is produced.
The box-top (back, actually) method for cooking converted (par-boiled) rice is known as the Chinese method: Measure slightly more than twice as much water than rice, heat to a boil, add optional butter and salt, stir in the rice, lower heat to a simmer, cover and cook 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let rest, covered, 5 minutes or until all the water is absorbed.
In “With the Grain,” Raymond Sokolov says the rice is more satisfying if the water-rice ratio is reduced to slightly less than 2-to-1.
The Indian method uses considerably more water: 1 quart to 1 cup of rice. Heat the water to a rolling boil, add optional salt and rice and boil, uncovered, until rice is tender enough to chew, about 10 minutes. Drain rice, return to pan, cover and let stand until tender, about 10 minutes. Cook basmati and other long-grain, non-sticky rices by this method.
Mediterranean rices from Italy and Spain are short- to medium-grain and usually are washed and drained before cooking. The grains are heated briefly with oil or butter before liquid is added and, in the case of risotto, the liquid may be added gradually through the cooking period. Any solid ingredients are added at the end of cooking. In the case of paella, the rice cooks with other solid ingredients.
Sticky rice is soaked several hours or overnight in cold water; drained, rinsed and steamed 30 minutes.
Brown rice is cooked in slightly more than two times as much water. Stir rice into cold water, cover and heat to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer 40 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 10 minutes.
Leftover rice may be stir-fried, but do not try to reboil or steam as it will become gummy.
RICE PUDDING WITH SAFFRON AND ROSE WATER (ZERDE)
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 55 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
“This aromatic rice pudding from Turkey contains no milk, cream or butter,” Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid write in “Seductions of Rice.”
1 teaspoon saffron threads, toasted, crushed, see note
1/2 cup medium-grain rice, such as baldo, arborio or CalRiso
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup rose water, see note
3 tablespoons cornstarch, rice starch, potato starch or arrowroot
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted, see note
Pomegranate seeds, optional
1. Place saffron and 1/2 cup water in small bowl; soak 30 minutes. Stir to dissolve saffron; set aside.
2. Put rice and 6 cups water in large saucepan. Heat to boil over medium heat; cook until rice is very soft, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Stir in sugar. Reduce heat to low, cook 30 minutes.
3. Add rose water and saffron mixture to rice. Heat to boil; boil 3 minutes. Stir together starch and 2 tablespoons water in small bowl. Add to rice; boil 1 minute to thicken.
4. Pour pudding into small dessert bowls; chill well. Serve garnished with pine nuts and pomegranate seeds, if using. Place remaining pine nuts in small bowl so guests can pass.
Note: To toast saffron threads , heat small dry skillet over low heat. Add saffron. Toast, stirring often, until saffron is fragrant. Follow same procedure for pine nuts, toasting just until lightly browned; nuts burn easily. Rose water is available in Middle Easern markets.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories ……….. 270 Fat ………. 2.9 g Saturated fat .. 0.5 g
% calories from fat .. 9 Cholesterol .. .0 mg Sodium ………. 1 mg
Carbohydrates ….. 59 g Protein …… 2.4 g Fiber ………. 0.8 g
GREEN RICE SOUP
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Adapted from “The Rice Book,” by Sri Owen.
5 cups water
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup uncooked white rice
2 tablespoons olive oil, peanut oil or clarified butter
3 shallots or 1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon each, ground: nutmeg, white pepper
5 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 to 1 1/2 cups sorrel, spinach, lettuce leaves or watercress, shredded
1. Heat water and salt to boil. Add rice; cook 6 minutes. Drain; reserve cooking water.
2. Heat oil in large saucepan. Add shallots and garlic; cook, stirring often, until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in nutmeg and pepper. Pour in broth. Heat to boil; add rice. Simmer 10 minutes. Add sorrel; simmer 4 minutes.
3. Put soup into blender; blend until smooth. Return to saucepan. Adjust seasoning. Add some of reserved rice cooking water if soup is too thick; heat through.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories ………… 175 Fat ………… 9 g Saturated fat .. 1.5 g
% calories from fat .. 46 Cholesterol .. .0 mg Sodium …… 1,055 mg
Carbohydrates …… 15 g Protein …….. 8 g Fiber ………. 1.7 g
CHICKEN SAUSAGE WITH WHITE BEANS AND ROSEMARY
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Adapted from a recipe in “On Rice,” by Rick Rodgers.
1 pound hot or sweet chicken or turkey Italian sausage
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup low-sodium canned chicken broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary or 1 1/2 teaspoon dried
2 cans (15 ounces each) cannellini beans
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 cups rice, cooked
1. Pierce sausage all over with fork. Place in medium saucepan; add enough cold water to cover. Heat to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, uncovered, until sausage is firm, about 8 minutes. Transfer sausage to plate; cool. Cut sausage into 1/2-inch-thick rounds. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in large Dutch oven or oven-safe casserole over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper and garlic. Cook, stirring often, until vegetables soften, about 4 minutes.
3. Stir in broth, wine and rosemary. Heat to simmer; reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes. Stir in beans and sausage rounds; simmer until beans are hot, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Spoon rice into individual soup bowls; top with beans and sausage.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories ………. 480 Fat1 ………… 7 g Sat. fat ……. 4.8 g
% cal. from fat …. 33 Chol. ……… 95 mg Sodium …… 1,305 mg
Carb. ………… 49 g Protein …….. 30 g Fiber ……….. 10 g
