Explain "rice" to me please

[bethzaring]

health nut here, I only fool with brown rice.....made gummy rice for years

until...

I learned to cook my basmati rice in my pressure cooker. For 1 cup of basmati rice, use 1 1/2 cup water, bring to pressure, cook 15 minutes, let pressure drop naturally..perfect rice every time..

 

[jennyema]

health nut here, I only fool with brown rice.....made gummy rice for years

until...

I learned to cook my basmati rice in my pressure cooker. For 1 cup of basmati rice, use 1 1/2 cup water, bring to pressure, cook 15 minutes, let pressure drop naturally..perfect rice every time..

INTERESTING ...

Have you cooked brown rice in a pressure cooker?

 

[pacanis]

Basmati, jasmine...... the rice you folks mention sound so good.
The rice I picked up for that recipe I think was called river rat rice

 

[jabbur]

I used to use Minute rice. like you pacanis, I found it did not have bad flavor. It just did not taste like anything. It was fine for when I was using it as something to put chili on or other things that had tons of flavor. Eating it on its own us unsatisfying though.

Once I started using basmati and jasmine and other rices i could really taste the flavor of the rice. Now that I know the good stuff that is what I will stick with. If you are enjoying the minute rice and see no reason to switch then go for it. It is quick and easy to make and fills your belly. Nothing wrong with that at all.

This is my experience as well. When I first started cooking meals for my hubby and me it was always Minute Rice. Then one day I decided I wanted to see what "real" rice was like. I bought a small bag of basmati rice not knowing anything. I got it because it was cheapest and smallest! Wow, what a difference. Stayed with "real" rice for a long time. Several years later got a box of Minute Rice for a specific recipe that called for it. Used the rest of the box for a side dish later and neither hubby nor I cared for it anymore. Now I get either jasmine or basmati, which ever is on sale and am not looking back. Still haven't gotten the brown rice down but DH doesn't really care for it so may never really get there.

 

[pacanis]

Well if it's any consolation, I do make sure my dogs' dog food contains whole brown rice

 

[Fisher's Mom]

Pacanis, if you like Minute Rice and you don't see any appreciable difference in taste, then I think Minute Rice is a good choice for you. It's true that most plain white rice has little taste, but that's why it's a good choice as a side dish for lots of different foods.

You can flavor regular rice by subbing chicken stock for the water, as well as seasoning with lots of different things. You can also brown the raw rice in oil or butter before cooking to get a different flavor. You can probably do that with Minute Rice, too.

I like the taste and mouth feel of regular rice better, but it takes 20 minutes at least so Minute Rice has the advantage there.

 

[Uncle Bob]

No nutrition...No taste...All so true!!! However if due to time constraints, convenience, and the need to cook small portions for one, then I assure you the Great Pumpkin will indeed rise up out of the pumpkin patch on Halloween if you eat a little "Minute Rice" Pacanis....I do encourage you to try the other types of rice to expand your culinary horizons and to...

Have Fun!!!

 

[ChefJune]

Once in a while I will brown some pork chops, add some onions, chicken broth, cream of mushroom soup, milk and minute rice. The minute rice always absorbs some of the liquids out, which is what I want, and is always done perfect.
Could I do the same thing with white rice? Would I need to par-boil it to get it started, like that lazy golumpki recipe called for?

The only advantage I am seeing so far is it has more nutrients. And I don't really eat rice as a nutrient, I eat it along with other stuff. I don't pay attention to what I eat anyway, if it tastes good, I eat it. Regardless of nutrient content or lack of.
And I don't think minute rice tastes like dirt. I don't think it has much of a taste at all, which is why I only rarely eat it as a side and if I do, I load it up with butter.

I'm just not seeing anything that would sway me away from my big red box with the fluffy rice on the front of it...

Regular white rice takes a few minutes longer, but it too absorbs all the liquid you don't want your food floating in. So does brown rice (which is what I use) but that takes about 45 minutes.

Minute Rice may not taste like dirt, but real rice has a definite (and pleasant) flavor.

What I don't understand, is why you would mind taking a few minutes longer to prepare something that actually has food value?

 

[pacanis]

Regular white rice takes a few minutes longer, but it too absorbs all the liquid you don't want your food floating in. So does brown rice (which is what I use) but that takes about 45 minutes.

Minute Rice may not taste like dirt, but real rice has a definite (and pleasant) flavor.

What I don't understand, is why you would mind taking a few minutes longer to prepare something that actually has food value?

Thanks. Liquid absorbtion was a concern, as in would one "work" differently than the other, which is the idea I got because that recipe specifically said NOT to use minute rice So if anything, I might need to cook something longer usiing regular rice. That's no big deal, as I'm usually simmering the dish for twenty minutes or so anyway.

And it's not that I refuse to cook a food with value, but when you have a big box of minute rice sitting on the shelf and I go to the store to fulfill a recipe's requirements to use regular rice..... inquiring minds want to know why

And like I said, with all the talk of rice cookers and always cooking the rice perfectly every time.... why would I want to switch to a finicky rice when minute rice comes out perfect every time? That was also a concern.

If I relied on rice as a main food staple I may think differently.

 

[bethzaring]

INTERESTING ...

Have you cooked brown rice in a pressure cooker?

I don't think so..but I just checked, I am out of basmati rice and have in stock a long grain brown rice that I have not opened yet. I will use the same technique when I do cook it, maybe I'll do that soon..

 

[ChefJune]

I can't give you any advice about rice cookers. My "rice cooker" is a pot with a lid, preferably one I can see through, so I can see when the liquid has all been absorbed.

 

[JohnL]

Hi Pacanis,
I've never really understood the issue with plain jane rice prep. For me, (and many I suppose) 1 part rice, 2 parts liquid, bring to a boil, reduce to simmer for 18 to 20 minutes with lid on. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork. Always makes perfect rice for us. Of course, the variations are endless, such as toasting the rice grains in your pot with a bit of olive oil or butter. Adding seasonings, herbs ect.... Using stock instead of water ect... Heck, rice is easy. No need for special cookers and whatever. As far as using rice as an ingredient in a stew, cassarole, soup, ect., timing and liquid to rice ratio would be very important.

 

[love2"Q"]

i used to reaslly like minute rice .. until i tried jasmine .. oh my ..
that stuff is tasty ..

 

[Adillo303]

Hi pacanis - Hopefully, you have a Goya food section in your grocery store. If it is well stocked, there are small boxes of jasmine, basmati and other rices there that you can try. I do nto remember the strain, but, when I made the Paella, It called for an extra short grain rice. In fact the more I researched the dish, the more it said that the rice was the "Big Show" and not the seafood. I poo pooed the whole idea. I did buythe Goa rice recommended for the Paella. I was way wrong, the rice was the show. It combined all the seafood flavors, the chicken flavor and the sausage flavor. In fact everyone ate the seafood and I had rice for leftovers - Magnificent. Try some different rices, I think you will be happy.

If you want a great Paella recipie, let me knwo.

AC

 

[pacanis]

We don't have a specific Goya section, we have pasta sections and rice sections. I never noticed the rices mentioned here, but they might have them hidden somewhere. Probably next to the panko bread crumbs, which I can never find.

 

[attie]

I just lurnt something.

Me to Jeekinz
--------
I looked at the heading and thought "minute" as in time or "minute" as in small.
That got sorted out quickly
Then I came across your post -- "lurnt"- gosh darn that's Joisey spelling
Thanks for the little chuckle to start my day mate.

BTW, we spell "lurnt" learnt -- because it rhymes with burnt

 

[BreezyCooking]

I keep an assortment of different rices - Minute Rice (white & brown), regular white, regular brown, Jasmine, Basmati, wild (kept in the fridge) - in my pantry & use them for different things.

Life is short, & it's not going to get shorter because you might prefer Minute Rice to other types. Use/eat what you like.

 

[Barbara L]

I can't stand the texture of Minute Rice. It takes so little time to make rice that time was never an issue for me. As for liquid absorption, I often use whatever liquid that will be in the meal I am preparing, such as chicken broth.

For most of my life I knew very little about rice (still don't know a lot). As far as I knew there were long-grained and short-grained white rice. Then I learned about brown rice.

It wasn't until recently that I tried jasmine rice, and I am hooked! I love it! I have also bought some basmati rice but haven't tried it yet.

Barbara

 

[pacanis]

I still need to cook some regular white rice up plain and compare from what I am used to. And I did look for jasmine and basmati in the store last time I was in, so now I know wher eto find them. Right next to the rice (lol). I wish panko was that easy to find....

 

[jpmcgrew]

I like brown rice it's so easy to make just follow the directions on package. I add chicken stock some garlic powder a couple pinches of cumin and salt.