They’re rather expensive on Amazon, but a few years ago TJ Maxx I snagged about a half-dozen large Bormioli Rocco storage jars (like these) at TJ Maxx for about 1/5th of Amazon’s current prices… The mouths are a little narrow, but since it’s not easy to find large, truly airtight containers, I was/am willing to deal with using small(er) measuring cups to scoop stuff out of them.
1 Like
Yeah, the air tight ones are definitely more expensive and harder to find. I’m just using a five dollar Daiso one that has two little wheels in the back haha.
I try to limit carbs, but husband is closer to his WI roots than I am, so the compromise has been keeping some Uncle Ben’s microwave bags available for everyday, and the converted for special occasions .
Where I shop, including Amazon, these are getting hard to come by. I’m wanting to use some other rices I have stashed.
One is a “bomba” that I think I bought for paella. I have another short grain that I didn’t label, but might be for risotto.
Is there a way to tell?
If it’s really “short-” (almost round) and not medium-grained (ovoid), it’s probably not risotto rice. Any chance it might be a true short-grain Japanese-type rice? Or even sticky/mochi rice? (That would be completely opaque white rather than semi-translucent…)
If it is actually medium-grained, it could be all sorts of varieties, and I think you’d either have to have other known examples to compare them literally side-by-side, or be a real rice expert, to tell one from the other… But as one wild guess, since you mentioned your son was (or is) in Turkey, might you have picked up some baldo rice at some point for a Turkish recipe?
1 Like
I’m pretty sure I’ve only bought short grain rice with plans for paella and risotto. I also buy Uncle Ben’s converted, and very occasionally basmati and jasmine.
It looks like a “medium-grain” to me, and (at a guess), does look like arborio or some other risotto rice, but I’m certainly not any sort of a “rice expert”, so that is very much a guess…
1 Like
To answer the original question, I stock jasmine, basmati and koshihikari (Japanese) rice to cover most bases.
-
For jasmine, I stick by the Kim Hong Golden Phoenix (in the iconic white bag with red letters and green phoenix).
-
For basmati, India Gate Classic or Zafrani Reserve. This is the extra long grain variant.
-
For Japanese, the best I’ve had is imported koshihikari from Uonuma. It’s $16 for a 2kg bag but is hands down the best texture and appearance. It’s what I’d use for sushi. But when I’m unable to source that, a California grown koshihikari such as the Nijiya’s in house brand, Tamaki Gold and the like all are decent and significantly cheaper.
2 Likes
I like 'em all. I had some strong turkey broth that I wanted to make congee with, and I looked up recipes and hints. WELL- there’s no shortage of instructions out there, but the rice advice was all over the map. Short grain, medium, basmati, I realized I was on my own. So I found the shortest grain rice I had and used it. It was medium grain. The congee turned out really well, but not like at the dim sum restaurant. I suspect they use broken rice. Anyway, I have black rice, basmati, jasmine, sushi, and some others. I should cook them all up together and start over, I guess. We like rice here.
3 Likes
If you prefer the congee at dim sum, Chinese cuisine primarily uses a long grain rice. I would suggest washing the rice (I know nutritionists hate this) to remove some of the starch for a ‘cleaner’ tasting congee. Add at least twice as much water/liquid, and then you really just let it come to a boil and simmer, and simmer, and simmer… and simmer. 
Simmer/Reduce it until the rice gets broken down and barely look like grains, and the congee has the right consistency. You can always add more water if the rice hasn’t broken down enough.
The good congee places in Hong Kong will start this process in the wee hours of the morning, and I often let my congee simmer for a minimum of 2 hrs, especially if I"m using roasted bones for extra flavor in the liquid. My mom cheats and will take an egg beater out to stir the congee to achieve the “broken rice” effect, but it really doesn’t taste the same.
4 Likes
I think I’m quite late to this party. Not fashionably late, but “how can I help clean up” late. sigh
My wife very much prefers jasmine rice so that is our regular choice. I alternate between basmati and American long grain rice for my cooking; we don’t stock both - just one or the other. We always have some Arborio for risotto (smaller amounts) and glutinous/sweet/sticky for Thai sticky rice. We usually have a bit of wild rice and my wife has a penchant for picking up a small packet of something unusual.
We eat yellow rice sometimes but don’t buy it. It’s just white rice and turmeric and some odds and ends. Why buy something with extra chemicals and too much salt? It takes less than a minute extra to make your own.
Brown rices are objectively healthier but I quite dislike them. I simply don’t like the mouth feel. We tried. I don’t like it eating out cooked by professionals either so it isn’t my cooking. I’m not worried about beriberi. Plenty of dietary sources of thiamine/B1.
My wife uses a rice cooker. I use a pot.
Storage in quite large Lock-n-Lock airtight rectangular containers. Sometimes I through in a bay leaf but usually I forget.
Try brown rice this way.
Bring 6-7 cups of water to a boil.
Add 1 cup of well-rinsed brown rice.
Let the rice boil, uncovered for 30 minutes. The flame can be lowered, but it should be slowly boiling.
Drain the rice, empty the water, put the rice back in the pot, cover, and leave for 10 minutes.
This gives you brown rice with a completely different texture than what you are used to
2 Likes
I have a list of things I don’t care for. Brown rice is most definitely on that list. About once a year I try most of the things on the list. I will attempt your technique next time brown rice makes it to the “try” category. Sheep eyeballs will never make it back to “try.”
2 Likes
I don’t think I would try balut, either.
1 Like
Just several days ago I did an oven bake of Red Beans and Forbidden Rice. Never tasted black rice before. Quite amazed and grateful at how the dish turned out.
Amazed, because the rice reminded me of a meat protein with its “mouth feel”.
Forbidden Rice would definitely go into our regular rotation if it weren’t so damn expensive!
5 Likes
To get congee with the texture you find in restaurants, “marinate” the raw rice in a mixture of oil and salt for at least half an hour - this chemically will promote the rice grains breaking up during cooking. Mashing up a century egg (which is alkaline) into this marinade promotes further breaking up and is a common accompaniment.
How much salt and oil? 1 tsp of salt and 2 tsp oil for each raw cup of rice used. (This will yield a gallon of congee when all’s said and done.)
Then, use a 1:20 (by weight) raw rice to liquid ratio, bring to a boil, then strongly simmer for an hour or so, stirring every so often. The rice should be “moving”, hitting each other which will promote more breakdown. If you find the need to add more water, make sure that added water is hot, or it may “break” the congee.
There are various shortcuts I’ve seen like freezing the grains to speed up the process or using an immersion blender, but none has worked as well as what I’ve outlined above.
3 Likes
I really like Forbidden black rice. Even when it’s mixed one part Forbidden to three parts white, the color and taste carries over, which should help with the price some!
4 Likes
Inventive. I would have never thought of that. Thank you, Eileen, for the tip.
2 Likes
The black rice dish I’ve made when I can find both ingredients is black rice and black lentils.
I usually also add some dried mushrooms (which end up black enough after cooking) and a bay leaf and some veggie bouillon and maybe other herbs, but it’s the “None More Black” that makes the dish.
(The black rice I can find reliably is the sweet glutinous type, which isn’t what this dish needs at all, but sometimes the Forbidden Rice version is around.)
2 Likes
I am making this Serious Eats Jambalaya recipe , and the comments about rice choices reminded me of this thread.
I am using some of my very limited stash of Uncle Ben’s converted.
4 Likes
