Rice—it’s not all equal?

[Anonymous]

Try brown basmati. It’s so good that I sometimes eat it for breakfast.

[Anonymous]

I grew up on a farm in the midwest. I'd never made rice and only rice we had in our house was Uncle Ben's. And then, I went to Thailand for 3 years on an agriculture development project. Wow! I don't know why I didn't realize there were so many different kinds of rice - there were so many different types or corn, potatoes and tomatoes, after all. I'll never go back to Uncle Ben's!

But, getting back to the OP. It's not so much the brand of rice as what kind of rice. Long grain vs short grain; brown vs white; high gluten ("sticky") vs lower gluten; parboiled/converted vs not; etc. My go to rice for everyday stuff is white jasmine rice - a long grain, white, regular gluten, not parboiled/converted rice. It's what you find in many of the Asian restaurants and certainly all the Thai restaurants. Brand doesn't really matter. I get mine from Costco. I prefer more newly harvested rice but there's nothing wrong with older rice.

Oh - you have GOT to wash your rice before cooking! Do NOT skip that step! I put it in a strainer/sieve, run water through it until the water runs clear.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband and I are from different Asian countries, so we have dozens of different sorts of rice in our pantry, that all have their specific uses.

Yes, you need to try a variety and find the sort you like best!

Personally, I've gone off rice a bit. I ate SO MUCH rice growing up! The two I really like these days is a good Basmati and a different grain altogether, "wild rice" (actually a grass, and native to the US!).

What brand of Basmati do you recommend?

Indian here. Whatever you can find. I usually get the one from Costco.

I like the costco basmati rice too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As long as we're making anonymous confessions of things that we didn't know, here is one of mine. I didn't know that there are different types of avocados. I've been eating Hass avocados my entire life and just had a Hall recently. Halls are like 3x the size of a Hass avocado.

Yes but they have different uses and water content. A hall avocado is grown in a humid climate -- Florida, Puerto Rico, Cuba, DR, etc, Hass avocados are grown in a drier atmosphere -- California, Mexico

I hate guac made with a Hall. Hass is the way to go. The oil makes them easier to blend and smash.

Hall for me are better sliced, and ate plain. Or with a bit of your favorite seasoning sprinkled on top.

https://www.foodrepublic.com/2012/10/18/know-your-avocado-varieties-and-when-theyre-in-season/

Sorry to derail the rice thead.

I was the previous poster. Thank you for this info. And to everyone else, sorry for the derail.

[Anonymous]

We lived on a western Pacific island for almost 5 years and came to love the ubiquitous medium-grain Calrose rice. It works for many East Asian food preparations, and I even love it with chili, braises, grilled meats, etc. Its our workhorse rice LOL.

Otherwise we keep basmati on hand for Indian or Persian style food. I’m a sucker for a great Persian tah deeg, even if mine doesn’t always come out perfectly!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I grew up on a farm in the midwest. I'd never made rice and only rice we had in our house was Uncle Ben's. And then, I went to Thailand for 3 years on an agriculture development project. Wow! I don't know why I didn't realize there were so many different kinds of rice - there were so many different types or corn, potatoes and tomatoes, after all. I'll never go back to Uncle Ben's!

But, getting back to the OP. It's not so much the brand of rice as what kind of rice. Long grain vs short grain; brown vs white; high gluten ("sticky") vs lower gluten; parboiled/converted vs not; etc. My go to rice for everyday stuff is white jasmine rice - a long grain, white, regular gluten, not parboiled/converted rice. It's what you find in many of the Asian restaurants and certainly all the Thai restaurants. Brand doesn't really matter. I get mine from Costco. I prefer more newly harvested rice but there's nothing wrong with older rice.

Oh - you have GOT to wash your rice before cooking! Do NOT skip that step! I put it in a strainer/sieve, run water through it until the water runs clear.

Midwesterner here and same thoughts on rice! We never ate it, unless Mom made some American variation of moo goo gai Pan in the electric skillet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up on a farm in the midwest. I'd never made rice and only rice we had in our house was Uncle Ben's. And then, I went to Thailand for 3 years on an agriculture development project. Wow! I don't know why I didn't realize there were so many different kinds of rice - there were so many different types or corn, potatoes and tomatoes, after all. I'll never go back to Uncle Ben's!

But, getting back to the OP. It's not so much the brand of rice as what kind of rice. Long grain vs short grain; brown vs white; high gluten ("sticky") vs lower gluten; parboiled/converted vs not; etc. My go to rice for everyday stuff is white jasmine rice - a long grain, white, regular gluten, not parboiled/converted rice. It's what you find in many of the Asian restaurants and certainly all the Thai restaurants. Brand doesn't really matter. I get mine from Costco. I prefer more newly harvested rice but there's nothing wrong with older rice.

Oh - you have GOT to wash your rice before cooking! Do NOT skip that step! I put it in a strainer/sieve, run water through it until the water runs clear.

Midwesterner here and same thoughts on rice! We never ate it, unless Mom made some American variation of moo goo gai Pan in the electric skillet.

Yes! The electric skillet! My mom bought one to keep here so she can use it when she comes to visit. I've never used it but she still clings to it! I have gotten her to use the Instant Pot rather than the stovetop pressure cooker.

[Anonymous]

Everyone should try Carolina Gold Rice.
https://ansonmills.com/products/23

[Anonymous]

Black rice is amazing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Organic Brown Jasmati will legit change your life. [/quote

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up on a farm in the midwest. I'd never made rice and only rice we had in our house was Uncle Ben's. And then, I went to Thailand for 3 years on an agriculture development project. Wow! I don't know why I didn't realize there were so many different kinds of rice - there were so many different types or corn, potatoes and tomatoes, after all. I'll never go back to Uncle Ben's!

But, getting back to the OP. It's not so much the brand of rice as what kind of rice. Long grain vs short grain; brown vs white; high gluten ("sticky") vs lower gluten; parboiled/converted vs not; etc. My go to rice for everyday stuff is white jasmine rice - a long grain, white, regular gluten, not parboiled/converted rice. It's what you find in many of the Asian restaurants and certainly all the Thai restaurants. Brand doesn't really matter. I get mine from Costco. I prefer more newly harvested rice but there's nothing wrong with older rice.

Oh - you have GOT to wash your rice before cooking! Do NOT skip that step! I put it in a strainer/sieve, run water through it until the water runs clear.

Midwesterner here and same thoughts on rice! We never ate it, unless Mom made some American variation of moo goo gai Pan in the electric skillet.

My mom was a good cook, and used lots of seasoning...unless it was a rice dish.

Minute Rice and LaChoy for "Chinese food". Bleh!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everyone should try Carolina Gold Rice.
https://ansonmills.com/products/23

Is this the brand that OP used?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everyone should try Carolina Gold Rice.
https://ansonmills.com/products/23

Is this the brand that OP used?

I don't know. I am not OP. I watched a documentary that featured this rice and I bought a bag. It was very good and the flavor was amazing. I made shrimp gumbo with it. I still have half a bag left. I might make some tonight.

[Anonymous]

Be careful where your rice is grown. Rice grown in the American south has significantly more arsenic than rice grown in other Regions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Be careful where your rice is grown. Rice grown in the American south has significantly more arsenic than rice grown in other Regions.

LIE.
I lived in rice country. If anything it's better with stricter ingredient codes. If what you say is true, how come the pigeons and squirrels eating the raw rice didn't drop dead in the streets from the poison. WATER, COKES, Subway bread contain arsenic also.