AlexR said:
Please notice that my question is not "how to prepare".
That's easy enough.
I had a visiting friend from North Carolina who complemented me because I had - unwittingly - mixed wild rice with white rice (my stock of wild rice was almost gone).
He said there was "no way" you should serve wild rice on its own as it is too chewey and strong.
Right or wrong, I'd be interested to hear from anyone on the forum how they serve wild rice, most especially in what context, with what food, and in what way.
Thanks in advance,
Best regards,
Alex R.
If you look at wild rice geograhically it comes from the great lakes region mostly Ontario and Michigan.I'm sure everyone knows that's it's actually not a rice but a grass seed found in marshes.Indiginous Indians would harvest wild rice in their
canoe's.Anyway,if you look at the other plant and animal life common to those regions you'll find all sorts of wild game and fish that will work with wild rice,especially duck
and venison.
As far as taste and texture goes wild rice to me has a very earthy,dusty note to it and chewy,so you really need a protein that will stand up to these caracteristics. Cranberries which are harvested in a similar fasion would
in their dried form be a good addition to wild rice giving that low note I spoke of a counterpoint,and I agree a stock will give wild rice more flavour.
So, your friend is right to a certain extent,wild rice has a very heady aroma once in the mouth and you do have to be careful what you serve with it.I use wild rice with a combo of other ingredients for a stuffing for wild game that's not bad.But on it's own just cooked in water,it's very overpowering and also can have a dry aftertaste,so the fruit dried cranberries,cherries,apple that kind of thing tones it down.Personally I would never mix wild rice with another rice,that's mostly for economical reasons and addresses the powerful taste which when diluted is not as noticable.But that's just me,it's done all the time with great results.
But really why do that,just showcase and prepare it a little differently.Combine wild ramps,mushrooms a few herbs and some dried fruit that you would find growing along side.
But to serve a 6 ounce portion as a side dish like a regular rice portion can be very dominant and one dimenional.