Job Discussion Forums

[JimDunlop2]

It needs to be said. Even though I can give advice regarding many topics here on Dave's, I must admit -- I know precious little about RICE. Strange as it may seem, years of living here have not made much impact on me when it comes to buying the one thing that the Japanese seem to eat the most of. I remember asking a few people how much rice they go through in a year and I was shocked. They were equally shocked when they found out how little our family ate.

Anyway, every rice shopping experience I have is awful. I spend forever just staring at the rice section, not knowing what to buy. As I haven't made my way through "Remembering the Kanji by James Heisig" yet, I am pretty much illiterate when it comes to reading the packages. I'm not even sure that would make much difference if I could.

Would anyone be so kind as to provide a "Rice for Dummies" primer for people like me?

Eg...
What's the difference between different kinds of rice? Are they visible differences? What's the difference between a CHEAP bag and an expensive bag? Why isn't brown rice popular? (I really like it!) I know there's rice for making and mochi and other things too. How can I identify those? What kanji am I looking for? What's the difference between rice from region A and rice from region B? What's the best way to cook rice? (I have a rice cooker, but I'm not sure it works so well. It came with no instructions and it's all in Japanese). How can I stop maggots from infesting my rice? (I lose more rice that way each year than I can eat!) Why do people wash their rice? Does it matter?

Yes, I know. Lotsa questions. But I figure this would be the place to ask... Maybe some of you have become rice connoiseurs. Maybe your Japanese spouses have helped you become educated in the way of rice. If so, I would love to hear from you.

Please and thank you!!!

[bornslippy1981]

After somebody answers Jim's questions about rice, please change "rice" from his post, and insert "eggs" so you can answer my questions which are the same.

[Glenski]

Jim,
I don't claim to know it all about rice, and I have not yet talked to my wife (who will probably stare at me quizzically and mutter, "Why do you want to know that?"). Here are a few things I know.

Brown rice.

[kdynamic]

I am no rice expert, but here is what I know.

White rice is prized because of historical and cultural reasons. In the past, only the rich could afford white rice, and it became a status symbol. It was especially prized during the harsh war years. Japanese people think brown rice is lower class and dirty. (personally, i prefer it).

Most of the rice you see in the rice section is normal rice (ie, not mochi rice etc). Two major distinctions are the kinds you have to wash before cooking, and the kind you don't need to (無洗 IRCC). I have bought a few different types and they all taste the same to me. The flavor, I think, comes more from the quality of the water you use to cook it than anything, as long as you're not talking about dirt-cheap crap rice. I usually buy the second cheapest one when I buy rice.

I personally like to buy rice that comes from as close as possible to where I live, just because I have the idea that buying locally is better. But I rarely buy rice. I eat it once a day at the cafeteria at work, and often when I go out, and for me that's enough.

[luckyloser700]

Hey, Jim. Japan white rice, for the most part, is all the same to me. But Glenski hit the nail on the head about Tohoku rice. "Hitomebore" and "Akita Komachi" will make you a believer that growing location does make a difference. You can find them in most decent supermarkets. The names are written in hiragana. You'll pay a bit more for these brands, but keep a small bag around for when you have Japanese guests; they'll recognize the taste and you'll come out a big winner.

[Aesthete]

Well... as for differnt kinds of rice, you have long grain and short grain rice.... Thai Jasmine rice is a long-grain rice, and therefore less sticky because long-grain rice contains less amylopectin than short-grain rice for example... it also smells nice. Japanese mochi rice is a short-grain variety (other then that, i'm not sure how to identify it there.... sorry). Brown rice tends to go bad faster then white rice, but is healthier for you as well. But to cook brown rice you need 1.5 cups of water for it, instead of the usually 1 cup ratio...

I can't say the differnce between a cheap bag of rice and an expensive bag over there... i typically use Basmati rice though... but i'm sure it's expensive in Japan as they taffif foriegn rice a lot.

Why isn't brown rice popular? Well, i know it's associated with poverty because the poor ate it a lot in war times, but besides that i'm not quite so sure. I know it's generally more expensive, but it's better for you too like i said. It's also more difficult to store and keep good like i mentioned. I'm sure these factors are all why it's not so popular.

As for identifying each one, i don't know Kanji so i can't help you i'm afraid, my best guess would ask someone who knows to point it out for you.

Rice is simple to make as long as you have the water ratio right... differnt types of rice all have differnt times, but i generally do a 1 to 1 ratio and let it simmer for 20 minuites... if you add a bit more water, it will be stickier, or a bit less and the rice will stick to individual pieces (Like how you likely saw it back home...) brown rice takes longer as far as i know, i'd guess about 30 minuites....

As for stopping maggots, i have never had that problem, i think your best bet is to buy less rice and keep it in a cool dry place (humidity isn't good for it)... also wash your rice before you eat it.... I find even rice that says it's rinsed still could use a bit more rinsing.... just to get some of the starchyness out of it, and to get rid of any contaminents.... i suppose that's a benifit to expensive rice, generally cleaner! There are things that are like rice maggots, and that is likely what you have, which would mean they came in with the rice, and thus that's why using tight lids and the like is not helpful. I would assume that's why my roomate was so anal about a cool, dry, dark place for her rice, and washing it again, and getting rid of anything that floated to the top, although i never saw anything suspisious in the rice.... or I hope not.... -_-;;

I was never educated by anyone about rice besides my roomate really, I just use it a lot... that and couscous.... but generally not any Japanese brands.... Basmati is Indian as I recall.... I just like it's taste.... but really, any rice will do.... the differnce isn't very substantial...

Um, sorry for the long post... hope it was somewhat helpful. XD

[Aesthete]

[furiousmilksheikali]

[markle]

Since I've pretty much eaten rice virtually every day my entire adult life (often three times a day) I do take care with the rice I buy.
Most of the point above are on the money but I have a couple things to add.
First brown rice. I eat it everyday but I don't buy it from the supermarket. I get it from the local JA cooperative, it is unmilled (unpolished) so I can choose how milled I want it, thus making it more or less brown (the benefit being that I get more of the nutrients than white rice but less of the heavy bran)
The whole brown rice is associated with poverty is a bit of sociology pyschobabble. Asthete was on the money, brown rice spoils more quickly especially, in the tropics, because it still contains the germ which has oils which go rancid if not refrigerated. Also cooked brown rice will spoil very quickly so you could only cook it for every meal. Therefore white rice was prized because it could be kept for longer (pretty handy when you can only harvest once a year).
Rice quality varies in 2 ways it's flavour and it's moistness/softness. A high quality (and more expensive) rice has a high amount of flavour and retains moistness and softness for longer after cooking. These are mainly determined by the variety of rice which I think is in large part determines the region it comes from. Another factor is how old the rice is, newly harvested rice has had less time to dry out so is more moist (better to my mind but I know people that prefer the older rice, maybe it has a more mature flavour??).
Now to cooking. With a rice cooker I find the Japanese ones overly complicated I preferred the simple ones that you just hit the cook button and away you go. I always wash mine but only usually two or three times in the pot and drain the water from the pot (no need for a colander). I measure the water by a finger tip depth of water over the top of the rice I prefer to do this because it gives me the flexiblity to change depending on the type and quality of rice. One thing I usually do is 'fluff' the rice after it is ready but well before eating, it tends not to stick in lumps later when cold. Without a rice cooker is the same, all you need is a lidded pot (preferably with holes to let the steam out) and you have to make sure you turn the heat off when all the water is gone (just mean you can't wander off and forget about it.

Mochi rice is really fat and opaque white.
Couple other rice hints
Got cold, dry rice thats been in the fridge for three days - best kind for fried rice.
Overcooked the rice? Use it for rice soup, just add stock, vegetables and your favourite meat.
Mix white and brown rice 2:1 for more flavour and nutrition but more versatility.

[TokyoLiz]

Jim,

Japan Guide is such an amazing source of info. See http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2043.html

Also, I saw a link to this way to cook rice http://japanesefood.about.com/cs/rice/ht/ht_japaneserice.htm

My rice habits have gone rather slack, I'm afraid. I used to have a rice cooker, but it fell off the fridge in the last quake (it was on a precariously balanced kitchen rack) and broke. For a long while there, I was cooking genmai, or brown rice. The kanji for genmai is 玄米. When I made genmai, I didn't wash it at all, not like white rice or hakumai, 白米 in Japanese.

Without white rice, I got trimmer. White rice and beer are a terrible combination. I noticed that I lost about 2 kilos over a few months. I atrribute this to eating genmai, which is more filling but also has more nutrition. Oh, and I drink less beer....and more chuhai

Since my rice cooker broke, I've been a bit lazy and hardly ever cook rice on the gas ring. But I found something at the Shop 99, which most Japanese folk I know simply call Kyukyu. They have prepared packages of hakumai and genmai. I make stir fried brown rice and veg from ingredients I get there, and I often put it in my bento box. Seehttp://www.shop99.co.jp/ Brown rice and kimchi are great in stir fries.

Wikipedia has information about the nutritional value of brown rice. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genmai

[azarashi sushi]

I also only ever eat genmai. Refined white rice would have to be one of the most revolting and unhealthy foods on the planet... zero nutrition, fibre or taste, and breaks down in the body too quickly thereby causing a rapid rise in blood sugar.

I buy koshihikari genmai... It costs about 3500 yen for a 5 kg bag, but worth it. I cook it in the rice cooker, but you need to add extra water and steam it for much longer than you would white rice. For two cups of brown rice I fill the water up to the 2 1/2 cup line and leave it to steam for a long time after cooking, usually about 45 minutes... It's a bit annoying if you want it in a hurry, but this way you end up with perfectly cooked brown rice.

[David W]

About eggs. The harder a boiled egg is to peel, the more delicious it is....apparently.

[JimDunlop2]

Wow! Good work, people. Your insight has been phenomenally helpful to-date. I never imagined there was such a thing as pre-washed rice! Or that brown rice was associated with poverty (even though it sorta makes sense)...

Anyway, when I saw the comment about the eggs, I had to laugh.... I can help with that -- as I know my eggs better than my rice... Although if they are the SAME questions... Uhh... Well, let's just answer what we can.

What's the difference between different kinds of EGGS?

Larger eggs are more expensive than smaller ones for starters. In addition, where they come from makes a big difference. Eggs from free-range chickens are more expensive. Also, some eggs are specially "made" to have certain nutritional characteristics, like the quantity of cholesterol, for instance. When you start shopping for "specialty" eggs, it gets complicated very quickly. The taste of the eggs also depends what kind of feed the chickens had received. Free-range eggs tend to have a slightly darker-yellow yolk, for instance. Also, a funny thing about Japanese chickens (meat OR eggs) they seem to be completely devoid of the salmonella bug, making the eggs safer to eat raw.

Are they visible differences?

Size, color, color of yolk, double yolk are all visible differences.

What's the difference between a CHEAP bag and an expensive EGG?

See above.

Why aren't brown EGGS popular?

Some people just can't get over the colour. Maybe because they think too much about which end of the chicken the egg comes out from.

I know there's rice for making and mochi and other things too. How can I identify those?

Can't apply this question to eggs. Sorry.

What's the difference between EGGS from region A and rice from region B?

Generally no difference in eggs from different regions -- unless the chickens have been fed different chicken feed.

What's the best way to cook EGGS?


Lotsa ways. Depends how you like them. My favorites are: pickled eggs (reminds me of the redneck bars down home) and deviled eggs! Yum!


How can I stop maggots from infesting my EGGS?


If ya got maggots infesting your eggs, you probably got some SERIOUS housekeeping issues that transcend the scope of this thread.

Why do people wash their EGGS?

They don't. Although I've heard of people recycling the water they used to boil eggs in to make soup afterwards... UGH! I don't think I'd be eating soup made from broth that was in direct contact with a chicken's ass anytime soon, thank you very much!

[furiousmilksheikali]

[J.]

Brown rice is called Genmai, and far as I'm concerned, is the only one worth eating. I also get it organic from my nearby Anew store. I recommend if you haven't tried it, you find your nearest Anew and get some. There *is* a difference in the taste of *this*. You can cook it in the rice cooker and it will come out nutty and not at all pasty and starchy, like the white stuff. You don't need to wash it so much, because it's not starchy in the first place, since the bran hasn't been removed and it hasn't had all the other nutrients bleached out of it. If you want to try it, you can get the smaller packages for around 900 yen; then if you like it, get the larger more economical size.

Maggots hatch from fly eggs, so keeping the rice well covered and not too long should help. Also, in the late spring and summer you need to keep it cool, even in the refrigerator, to avoid moth infestation; they get into almost everything grainy then.

I think if you try this kind of rice you might start eating a lot more of it. It's a great-tasting staple and full of vitamins and fiber. Makes great cha-han ( fried rice) too.
:)