rice!

Kate at Les Images Petites (who may disown me after this post) led me to Marx Foods, who was giving away samples of rice with the agreement that its usage be documented in a blog. I sent for the rice, received Chinese Black Rice and Himalayan Style Red Rice, and here we are.

The Chinese Black Rice was first. I decided to use it in a rice pudding-like dish my Mom or Grandma used to make--basically rice cooked with a ton of milk in a double-boiler with raisins. The resulting texture is similar to oatmeal and was usually eaten with butter and brown sugar. Great on a cold night.

Since the rice-and-raisins usually takes about 40 minutes to cook I set aside some of the Chinese Black rice to make on its own--1/2 cup rice, 1 cup water, simmered for 20 minutes. The result was a nice fluffy yet steel-cut oats-y neutral rice. That proved to be the most successful portion of the evening.

I put 1 cup rice into the top of a double-boiler that contained 1 cup milk, 3 cups water, a teaspoon vanilla and a few dashes of cinnamon. Out of proportion? Maybe, but usually this recipe calls for much more liquid than usual to get the gloppiness. After simmering for 20 minutes I went in for a look. It appeared that the rice wasn't absorbing any liquid whatsoever so I tried to bump up the heat. In doing so I managed to burn all the water out of the bottom of the double boiler. After properly cooling-down my scorched pan I threw in some water and tried again.  

At least it was smelling good at this point--the vanilla and cinnamon. And the liquid turned a nice crazy purple color, which was fun and alien-like.

But three hours of simmering yielded little progress and this was my only plan for dinner, which I was getting increasingly anxious for. So, I convinced myself the rice looked similar to the plain version I had made two hours and 40 minutes prior and called it close enough. I added the raisins and cooked for about 10 more minutes in order to soften them up. Then...

I was glad I had my mesh strainer.

I took my first bite and the flavor was ok. But the more I ate of it, the more I realized the giant raisins hadn't cooked long enough and were kind of stemmy. Also, the rice hadn't really cooked long enough either and was getting stuck in my teeth. Whatevs, I required nourishment, so I ate all 17 dense pounds.

At this point, if you are squeamish about digestive talk, skip the next paragraph.

The next morning I woke up sounding like a haunted pirate ship and instantly jumped out of bed and gave birth to what seemed like carpenter ants for about 45 minutes. I seriously thought I had an STD or was in some alternate incarnation of Alien. Clearly, the rice hadn't cooked long enough.

So...for that particular recipe I think I'll stick to long-grain. But the merits of a black rice are many--if nothing else, as a plating device used for color and I'm still convinced the liquid from rinsing could find a use--that stuff was PURPLE. 

Maybe this recipe would have done better in a regular saucepan, where the water could have reached a boil before simmering. Whatever the case, I'm glad I know about this type of rice and look forward to another usage. 

That is, any problems in this experience are the result of cook's error. The rice isn't at fault here.

The Himalayan Style Red Rice was next and went much better. Basically, I made it up as went along, knowing ahead of time some ingredients I wanted to try (and procure). 

I started with a cup of rice thrown into a pot of boiling water and milk, 1 cup each. In the end, it probably could have been 2 cups water. I don't know that the milk had much effect. After the rinsed rice, I threw in maybe a tablespoon of Sate Seasoning and 1/2 tablespoon of Sweet Curry (from Penzeys), stirred it all up, covered and simmered for 10 minutes. 

While that was going down, I cut up about 1/2 cup of white onion and minced 2 cloves of garlic and sauteed them in some olive oil. Those got mixed in (God, I hate writing in passive voice) and then I added a pound of cut up chicken breast...okay fine, it was canned, and it was 12.5 ounces...and a drained can of diced tomatoes that turned out a lot more flavorful than I was expecting (Dole's No-Salt-Added, for those who want to know). 

Once everything was mixed together I brought it back up to a slow boil, then covered and backed down the heat to a simmer for another 20 minutes. 

The result: deliciousness. The rice was a great texture--individual, firm grains like the label said--which complemented the mush of the vegetables and meat. The overall taste was a good mix too--nothing overpowering, just overall tasty. If anything I was surprised by the savoriness.

This will be made again, perhaps with fresh chicken breast seasoned with the Sate seasoning instead of putting that in the rice. Pesky time...

I gotta say, I'm grateful to Marx Foods for providing exposure to these types of rice I otherwise may have never worked with. I look forward to using them as a resource.