Rice!!!!!

Why does rice have to be so controversial?  It’s the foundation of so many international cuisines, and definitely a staple in the food pyramid.  But it is a grain, and a “starch” and therefore is not part of a low-carb or a no-carb lifestyle.  On the other hand, it does not contain gluten, and it is a natural whole food.  Ay, ay, ay….

Since my mom is Japanese, we had rice every day growing up.  We alternated between steamed rice and fried rice; Muzz used to take the leftover steamed rice from the day before to make fried rice.  Muzz’s fried rice was pretty basic, just onions, salt, and pepper sautéed s fried rice was pretty basic, just onions, salt, and pepper sauteed  rice.how to make rice when I was about 10, the old-fashionin a frying pan with the leftover rice.

Muzz taught me how to make rice when I was about 10, the old-fashioned way, on the stove.  There are only 2 ingredients in her recipe; rice and water, and you measure your ingredients according to your knuckles: rice up to your first knuckle, and water up to your second knuckle, or something like that.  I used to have a rice cooker that cooked the rice perfectly, of course.  It broke a couple years ago and I haven't bought another one, so I'm back to cooking rice the old-fashioned way, in a pan.  It's just as easy, you just have to pay attention to it.

Japanese rice is short or medium grain, sticky rice.  It’s easy to eat with chopsticks because it sticks together, so it won’t fall off your chopsticks.  This quality also makes Japanese rice perfect for “onigiri” or rice balls, which are very yummy!  To make rice balls, wet your hands so the rice won’t stick to them.  Then sprinkle salt on both hands.  Scoop warm steamed rice into your hands and squish it together to form a ball.  That’s it!  Eat it!  You can also hide surprises in the middle like pickled plum (“umeboshi”) and wrap the rice ball with seaweed or sesame seeds… yummy!!!

I don’t eat that much rice now, but when I do, I have to admit I love the taste of Cuban style or Middle Eastern style rice – it’s just so fragrant and good!  So when I cook rice, don’t tell Muzz, but I’ve been using long grain or basmati rice, and cooking it with salt, olive oil, and butter.  It doesn’t stick together like Japanese rice, but the flavor is so good!  I also don’t measure the rice with my knuckles anymore…

So here are some recipes for steamed rice and fried rice.  These two recipes go hand in hand because you need steamed rice to make fried rice.  I’ve heard that it’s actually better to use cold leftover rice to make fried rice, but I’ve never tested that theory.  I’ve only made fried rice from leftover rice – I don’t think I’ve ever cooked steamed rice and fried rice in the same day.

STEAMED RICE:

Long Grain Rice

Water

Salt, butter, olive oil

The ratio for rice and water is 2 parts rice to 3 parts water.  So if you use 1 cup of rice, use 1 and ½ cups of water.  Or 2 cups rice to 3 cups water.  That’s probably the perfect amount!  Rinse your rice a couple times before cooking it.  Then get the right amount of water into the pan with the rice and put it on the stove.  Add maybe a teaspoon of salt, and a couple tablespoon of butter and olive oil.  Bring it up to a boil, reduce the heat to simmer, and cover the pan.  Leave it alone for about 20 minutes and you should have perfect (Cuban-style) rice.

FRIED RICE:

Cooked rice

Green onions – chopped small

Any other vegetable or meat, such as green pepper, carrots, cabbage, peas, ham – chopped small

5 or 6 eggs, beaten in a bowl

Olive oil or vegetable oil

Salt, pepper, soy sauce

Heat up a large frying pan or wok, and put some oil in it, like 3 or 4 tablespoon.  Add the chopped vegetables and/or meat to the hot oil, season them with salt and pepper, and sauté them for a couple minutes till they get soft.  Add the cooked rice and break it up with a spatula so the rice is mixed in with the veggies.

In a separate egg pan, heat up some oil or butter and scramble the eggs.  When the eggs are cooked, gently add them to the rice and vegetables.  Add the green onions too.  Season the whole mixture with salt, pepper, and a little soy sauce.  There you have it!  Serve it straight out of the pan or put the fried rice in a pretty serving bowl or platter, and eat it!  Fried rice is great with hot sauce, sweet and sour sauce, sirachi, or sweet chili sauce.  Mmmmm!  Yummy!!