Rice

My Rice Story

Updated 9 Jan 2020

Rice is a ubiquitous and gluten-free starch that is the base for many foods and food products. It is the #1 consumed carb in the world, followed by #2 wheat. In this post I want to discuss nutrition in rice, preparing and cooking variations, and list some rice alternatives.

I must admit, I love white rice. I like the texture (when cooked correctly), the flavor, and how much it satisfies. (remember white rice is essentially all carbs). When I lived in Japan we had plenty of opportunities to taste the way rice was prepared, I like just a pain bowl of white rice on the side that I can dip into when I want.

I have a memory from my late teens of a girlfriend’s boyfriend who ate nothing but rice with little else, and he got rickets. The lesson I learned from this is eating just one thing is not healthy, we need variety to get all of our nutritional requirements met.

Aspects of Rice

Grains + Texture

Visually, rice comes in short, medium and long grains.

• Short: Sushi or Japanese rice cooks very sticky
• Medium: Arborio that cooks a bit chewy + sticky
• Long: Jasmine or Basmati that cooks fluffy
• Very long: Wild rice

The texture of rice is sticky, parboiled, or chewy.

• Sticky rice has lots of starch (often used for rice flour) so cooks very sticky which I find chewy
• Parboiled rice (a steam-pressure process before milling) has gelatinized the starch but cooks fluffy
• Brown rice is naturally heartier and chewy

Rice Colors

• Polished white
• Brown
• Red
• Dark purple or black (aka Forbidden Rice or Black Rice)
• Dark brown to black (aka wild rice)

Rice Aromatics

• Jasmine: often called Thai rice has a subtle jasmine aroma
• Basmati: often used in Indian cuisine

Rice + Health Concerns

Rice + Arsenic

I have a blog entry discussing the issue of arsenic in rice. We know it is in rice, brown rice in particular. We also know it is in products derived from rice (vinegar, noodles, crackers, cereal, etc.).

I tend not to eat brown rice but will eat white, red, forbidden and wild rice. I tend to buy Lundberg Family Farms rice as they review and post arsenic levels in their rice and are working hard to remove it from their foods. I do not buy rice from any other country except for Indian Basmati, Thai Jasmin, and Japanese Sushi rice. Although I buy organic rice, this is not a solution, for the food may be organic but arsenic is persistent and throughout the soil from previous farming practices.

Soaking

So the issue of rinsing, soaking and cooking rice becomes important to help reduce arsenic levels. (Provided, of course, we do not have arsenic in our drinking water.) Some people suggest soaking rice overnight, claiming it gets rid of arsenic by 80%; if doing this use filtered water.

Rinsing

I wash and rinse any rice I am going to use as this will remove 28% of the arsenic. (4) The ratio I use is 6C water to 1C rice for placing in a bowl and washing. Then I drain the water and do this repeatedly until the water is clear.

I put the wet rice in a strainer to run water over it. This is because white rice tends to be “polished” with talc and this additional rinsing helps remove that material from the food as well.

Rice + Aluminum

Also in my blog on rice, I talk about cooking rice in aluminum rice cookers since aluminum has been associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Even the National Institute for Health lists aluminium as having moderate evidence implicating it in risks for dementia. We know aluminum leaches into food from pans and foils. We also know scientific studies have found excessive consumption of aluminum is possible from these sources.

So my answer is to not cook in aluminum pans, I got rid of my rice cooker and just cook on the stove top in cast iron, ceramic, or steel pans. If using foil I will wrap food in parchment first then use the foil around that.

Preparing Rice

Here are a variety of rice cooking suggestions

Momoko Nakamura‘s Cooking Japanese Brown Rice on Stovetop

Prepare the Rice: First, she uses a cast-iron pot, although any heavy bottom pot will probably do. She suggests you place the rice on a plate, appreciate and touch it, while picking out impurities. (I am being serious here, the review of the rice can be aesthetically pleasing as well as have a purpose.) Rinse the rice through a strainer first. Then place the wet brown rice in a bowl and add a large amount of cold water. In a swift, motion run your hand through the rice, and rinse to remove much of the starch or other impurities that surround it. Repeat this process two more times, draining and using new cold water each time. Finally, drain the rice and place it in a pot with double the amount of cold water to the measured rice.

PattyCooks Stovetop Cooking

Put the rice in the pot and add the water. Then follow her cooking method, which are named by seasons.

• Spring (medium): Turn to medium heat and allow the rice to gradually come to a rolling boil.
• Summer (high): Once water is bubbly, turn the heat to high to a rolling boil, cook for ~1min. Season with a very small touch of salt.
• Autumn (low): Turn the heat to low and cover the pot, cook for ~30min.
• Winter (off): Take the pot off the burner and let it rest ~10min. When you remove the cover, small holes over the surface of the rice means it is cooked.
• The rice should be fluffed and immediately transferred to a wooden bowl and served.

Eric Kim: Korean Mom’s White Rice Cooking in Rice Cooker

Use a rice cooker. Cook short-grain white rice or sticky rice, but this is not for Jasmine or Basmati rice, and, according to Eric, certainly not Uncle Ben’s.

• First, using the interior of the rice cooker, rinse the short-grain white rice. Fill the liner with your rice, then fill with water from the sink and stir with your hands to release all materials. Drain the cloudy water and fill again and wash. Repeat this step 3-4 times until the water remains clear.
• Fill the pot with water at a 1:1 ratio of water to rice. So pour in the appropriate amount of water and let the rice sit in the water ~10 min before turning the rice cooker on.
• Turn it on and wait for the “ding” to indicate it is ready. Fluff and serve.

RÉmy Robert Boil-Steam-Fluff Cooking for Rice

The ratio for this way of cooking is different. 1-1/4C water to 1C regular, long-grain rice or 1-1/2C water to 1C basmati rice.

• Rinse and wash the rice but soaking is not required.
• In a heavy saucepan, bring the rice and water to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat, stir occasionally, until holes appear in the rice, then cover and put the heat to low. Cook ~10min then turn off the heat and let it sit ~10min. Fluff, then sit ~10min again, refluff right before serving.

Chef Lev White Rice (Jasmine or Basmati) Pilaf technique

• First rinse and wash the rice. Let soak ~10-15min.
• Sauté the rice in olive oil on the stove top in a cooking pot until translucent.
• Then add water (2:1 ratio), cover the pot, and set to a slow boil
• After ~20-30min turn off the heat, and remove from the burner so the food can steam
• Uncover and fluff the rice

PattyCooks oven cooking Rice

• Rinse and wash the rice
• Pour the wet rice into a glazed baking dish with a glass lid, and sprinkle with salt
• Cover with cool water ~1/2″ above the rice
• Bake at 400° F for ~45min until all of the water is absorbed
• Remove the lid to let the steam out and let it sit ~10min
• Fluff and serve

PattyCooks cooking like Pasta

• Fill a large pot with water 3/4 full and bring to a boil over high heat
• Season the water with salt so it tastes like sea water
• Stir in the rice, drop the heat to medium, and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally
• Check ~7-8min mark for doneness
• If done, drain the rice through a sieve and return it back to the same pot set over the lowest heat possible
• Cover and let rest for 10 minutes, stirring once after 5 minutes
• Fluff with a fork and season to taste with additional pinch salt

Rice Dishes

I use Arborio rice for Risotto and paella dishes.

Use long grain Thai sticky rice for mango sticky rice recipes. However, you can use almost any type of glutinous rice

Sushi rice for sushi. Japanese rice when I am making a Japanese dish.

Long grained white rice for Pilaf (a dish most likely originating in India).

I use aromatic rice with Thai, Indian, or other South Asian cuisines.

Plain long grain white rice for stuffing.

Brown rice when serving vegetarians or vegans.

Rice Nutrition

Arborio 1C cooked = 205c, 45k, 4.3p, .6f and 1.6mg sodium

Basmati White 1C cooked = 205c, 45k, 4.3p, .6f and 1.6mg sodium

Brown Rice 1C cooked = 218c, 46k, 4.6p, 3.6f and 2mg sodium (I found out brown rice has over 300 sustainably grown rice varietals in Japan alone.)

Forbidden rice 1C cooked = 304c, 64k, 8p, 4f and 32mg sodium (this rice has the most antioxidants 3).

Jasmine White 1C cooked = 205c, 45k, 4.3p .6f and 1.6mg sodium

Red rice 1C cooked = 218c, 46k, 4.6p, 3.6f and 2mg sodium (this rice is higher in protein and fiber than white rice varieties)

Sushi rice 1C cooked = 119c, 25k, 1.8p, 0f and 145mg sodium

Wild rice 1C cooked = 166c, 35k, 6.5p, 3f and 4.9mg sodium (This rice is a good source of vitamins + minerals, including B vitamins, magnesium and manganese; and its antioxidant activity is greater than white rice (4).

Nutrition from Nutrionix

Veggie Alt Rice

Cauliflower: Bags of riced cauliflower have been popular for a while now and are available everywhere. This is a good option to change out for nutrition reasons. It is also the most neutral flavor among all the veggie-rice options. I have cooked with this often and it generally goes over well, but I have also overcooked this sometimes too and it can taste mushy.

Broccoli: Bags of riced broccoli have been showing up recently. I have tried it and the main thing is that it has a very broccoli taste. So this works best with specific recipes in mind. I am thinking a broccoli cheesy casserole or in a broccoli + beef stir fry or other dishes where you want the broccoli flavor.

Miracle Rice: Just like Miracle Pasta this is made from the fiber of the Kannyuko Imo plant; also known as Shiratake. It has 0 calories, gluten free, soy free, and 3g carbs. You do need to learn how to prepare it and to not be put off by its initial smell. The end product tastes okay to me, sort of like rice noodles.

Grain or Cereal as Alt Rice

Banza chickpea rice: A shelf stable package of chickpeas that have been processed into rice-like pieces. This works fine and taste okay with the right dish. I have cooked with it and it is great as an alternative when you want a high protein dish.

Barley: ConsumerReports: Gluten and negligible inorganic arsenic. Barley takes a bit longer to cook, simmering up to 45 minutes. But it is nutrient dense.

Bulgur: ConsumerReports: Gluten and negligible inorganic arsenic. These grains are crushed, unprocessed, parboiled wheat berries. Taste great as the base of a dish.

Farro: ConsumerReports: Gluten and negligible inorganic arsenic. I use this in salads and warm dishes as it tastes neutral and has a great chew.

Freekeh: This super grain contains more protein and fiber than quinoa.

Right Rice: RightRice is a shelf-stable alt rice that is made from chickpeas, lentils, and green peas, It comes in 3 flavors and has 2x the protein, 5x the fiber, and 40% less net carbs than rice. I have cooked with these foods and they taste fine and good texture, in fact my food tasters found the texture very good.

Seeds as Alt Rice

Amaranth: ConsumerReports: Gluten free and negligible inorganic arsenic.

Quinoa: This seed comes in white or red. I cook with it often and the only complaint I have had is that for some people the little seeds can get caught in between teeth. Taste, some say a bit nutty, but I find it fairly neutral for the food I make with it. Great source of nutrition.

Wild rice: While this isn’t a true rice, it is the seed of a native North American grass. you cook it like rice. It has a harder crunch and is a blackish looking seed that tastes good. Generally I do not use this alone but mix it in other rice (red or white).

Pasta as Alt Rice

Couscous: This is a pasta, similar to Orzo, that is used in North Africa cooking.

Orzo: Not gluten-free and not lower in carbs, this pasta is rice-like. It is cooked like pasta but is sized and shaped like rice and is a good alternative.

–Patty