Rice is loved and used all over the world. I was born in the Philippines and rice is a staple at every meal. It is a staple in Japan, China, India, and virtually all of Asia and the Pacific Islands (Hawaii, Indonesia, etc.). Many meals in Spain, Central and South America use rice as the main meal or as a side to the main dish. It is also widely used in the African continent. I have even discovered its use in Germany and France.
It can be created as a main dish or as a side dish that complements the main dish. You can also prepare it as a dessert, cold or hot, with rice as the main ingredient. It could be a great snack that children will eat without realizing that what they are enjoying is boring rice. When you consider the possibilities of rice, it suddenly becomes easier to make a decision.
I love rice and have been eating it for most of my life. I even created a blog a while back that allows me to share recipes I created using this wonderful food source. For me it is a natural product with which I can put together the whole meal without exaggerating the idea of rice.
Rice is a versatile staple, coming in a variety of shapes and colors, and very easy to prepare. There are many ways to prepare it using different kitchen implements. I found the most convenient and easiest is an electric rice cooker.
There are more than 120,000 varieties of rice. This leads to endless possibilities. Everyone is familiar with long-grain white rice, which is often served steamed and unadorned as a side dish, but there’s also short-grain rice, used in puddings, sushi, and savory sticky rice dishes; Basmati rice from India, with its characteristic aroma and flavor, ideal to accompany curry; Thai fragrant rice, lightly scented and ideal with spicy dishes; and arborio, an Italian rice that is cooked into a luxurious, creamy risotto. There’s the black wild rice, attractive mixed with white rice and spectacular used alone; and brown or unpolished rice, which has a nutty flavor and chewy texture, and serves as the base for a salad. When milled into a flour, it is even used in baking and in the creation of noodles.
Rice is an ideal pantry item: if kept in a cool, dry place, it has a long shelf life. It can be a quick midweek dinner, a colorful salad for a picnic, or a fancy dinner. Try basing an entire meal around different types of rice. There are rice-specific cookbooks, as well as websites and blogs. Check out hundreds of possible uses and recipes and you too will be hooked on rice, like I am, forever!
I enjoy entertaining and sharing my recipes with close friends and acquaintances. I have always wanted to write a cookbook and have found that sharing my recipes and experiences through my blog provides that opportunity.