# White Rice - How do the Chinese do it??



## chave982 (Nov 1, 2007)

How can I make my white rice come out just like the rice you get at chinese take-out places?  Theirs is always so starchy and sticky, which is how I like it.


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## GB (Nov 1, 2007)

Try a medium or short grain rice.


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## pacanis (Nov 1, 2007)

I thought it comes out that way because they cram it into one of those containers while it's still steaming.....


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## bowlingshirt (Nov 1, 2007)

You aren't using instant rice, are you ?


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## jerseyjay14 (Nov 1, 2007)

short grain rice is the way to go like the above poster stated.  id suggest a cheap 2 or 3 cup rice cooker/steamer.  you can pick one up cheap for like 15-20 bucks and it really helps make it more fluffly/sticky.  once its done leave it in the seamer, half covered for another 10 minutes and it will come out in one big block stck together.  perfect for molding sushami or molding for garnish


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## JenMN (Nov 1, 2007)

My rice comes out so much better now that I have a rice cooker even though I thought I made great rice on the stove top.  Personally, I use jasmine rice that I buy at the oriental market.


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## wysiwyg (Nov 1, 2007)

Hello chave982,
I sincerely think sticky and starchy rice is disgusting (this is the way my Mom prepares it LOL) but here are some tips from her cooking style:

1) Use risotto rice (short-grain) which starch content is perfect for creamy rice.
    Italian Arborio, Vialone Nano or Carnaroli are the most popular.
    Argentinian Carnaroli is also a good option. 
I doubt a Chinese restaurant will use any of these rices, I'd ask them what they use and how they cook it. 

2) Use fresher rice, the longer is stored, the dryer it becomes.
3) When cooking, use high temp. (near boiling temp. water), same when sateeing.
    Starch is like glue and will react (stick) better on a higher temp. environment.
4) My Mom tends to let her rice cook longer, so I recommend doing this too.

I hope this helps.


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## Fisher's Mom (Nov 1, 2007)

wysiwyg said:


> Hello chave982,
> I sincerely think sticky and starchy rice is disgusting (this is the way my Mom prepares it LOL) but here are some tips from her cooking style:
> 
> 1) Use risotto rice (short-grain) which starch content is perfect for creamy rice.
> ...


So funny, wysiwyg. My mom makes sticky, gummy rice, too and I tend to not care for it. But, there are times when I prefer it for certain meals. My kids like it best when I'm serving rice and gravy. You can shape it into a little volcano like mashed potatoes and then put a dent in the top to hold the gravy. Also, they like sticky rice when serving beef stew over the top. It seems easier for them to get the stew/rice per bite ratio perfect, or so they tell me.


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## jerseyjay14 (Nov 1, 2007)

another option... just buy a large box of white rice from your nearest chinese takeout place.  when im pressed for time this is what i do.  and its only like 79 cents!


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## CharlieD (Nov 1, 2007)

Looks like i am going to bein a complete minority here, but i think they use long grain rice in Chineese restaurants. The only thing is to use the rice maker. Go to any Asian market and check what kind of rice they sell there. also ask them what to do. I'm sure they will tell you the same thing I did. All you have to do is to figure out water-rice proportion.


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## JenMN (Nov 1, 2007)

CharlieD said:


> Looks like i am going to bein a complete minority here, but i think they use long grain rice in Chineese restaurants. The only thing is to use the rice maker. Go to any Asian market and check what kind of rice they sell there. also ask them what to do. I'm sure they will tell you the same thing I did. All you have to do is to figure out water-rice proportion.


 
Not a complete minority.  I believe that jasmine rice (which I suggested) is a long grain rice.

Charlie - have you been to United Noodle?  That is my favorite asian market.  I can spend a lot of time and money there


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## Bilby (Nov 2, 2007)

Perfect Steamed Rice + Update from China | Jaden's Steamy Kitchen

This link may be of use to you.  We use Jasmine rice in Australia but I don't know if it is the same in the US. Now I have only looked around a bit in this website but I do know that there is a bit of swearing on other pages so be warned if sensitive to such things, but she sounds interesting.


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## Mel! (Nov 2, 2007)

Hello Chave

The type of rice u use is important.
The American par boiled rice is not the one to choose. The texture is not right for Chinese style rice. Dont choose Basmati rice either.
Just choose a regular type of rice. Put 2 cups of water for every 1 cup of rice. Cover and cook until it starts bubbling. Then turn off the heat and let it finish cooking on the after heat. When I am cooking rice, I usually heat the rice, then remove water and add new water in order to avoid the Chinese type of clumpiness. If u dont wash the starch out like this, the rice should turn out Chinese style.

Mel


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## jerseyjay14 (Nov 2, 2007)

well i made Chinese last night... Here is one of the dishes, i used some short grain rice from the asisan section of my supermarket and cooked it in my rice cooker.  1 cup of water for every cup of rice.  It was very sticky and very easy to mold.  i put it in the top of a butter dish to mold this shape and it held without issue.


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## Caine (Nov 2, 2007)

chave982 said:


> *White Rice - How do the Chinese do it??*


5,000 years of practice might have something to do with it.


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## wysiwyg (Nov 3, 2007)

CharlieD,  
I don't know about short vs. long rice, but based on the requirement (gooey) it should be the type of rice that has higher content of starch.
Fisher's Mom LOL,
I used to love my Mom's rice until I lived in Brazil.  There, everybody eats rice EVERY day and is prepared very dry and white as snow...I guess I picked up the habit there and since then, my Mom hates when I make jokes about her way to cook rice.


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## letscook (Nov 4, 2007)

jersey that looks great.  Is that Chicken or pork it . All I need is a fork or chop sticks.


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## candelbc (Nov 4, 2007)

One important step that I learned while working at the Korean Restaurant is that it is VERY important to wash your rice before cooking. I tend to recommend that it gets washed until the water is no longer white and hazy. You'll notice lots of starch at first, but once you wash that away, your water will stay clear..

I also recommend the rice cooker. Walmart has several models that are more than adequate. Sarah and I have a 10 cup rice maker. 

As for the long grain versus short grain. No one Asian food restaurant serves the same. At our restaurant, we drove 5 hours to Chicago to get a special blend.. So, it really just matters to the restaurant owners.

-Brad


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## jerseyjay14 (Nov 4, 2007)

letscook said:


> jersey that looks great.  Is that Chicken or pork it . All I need is a fork or chop sticks.



its Sesame chicken.... boneless chicken breast, cubed, and fried in a thick batter w/ the sesame glaze over it.  recipe is in the other thread


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## CharlieD (Nov 4, 2007)

JenMN said:


> Not a complete minority. I believe that jasmine rice (which I suggested) is a long grain rice.
> 
> Charlie - have you been to United Noodle? That is my favorite asian market. I can spend a lot of time and money there


 
No, I haven't, where is it?


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## CharlieD (Nov 4, 2007)

I am not cuite sure that gooey is exactly the way Cnineese rice should be describe. I do not think it is. It stiky, but not gooey, in my opinion.


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## wysiwyg (Nov 6, 2007)

*Gooey rice vs. washed rice*



candelbc said:


> One important step that I learned while working at the Korean Restaurant is that it is VERY important to wash your rice before cooking. I tend to recommend that it gets washed until the water is no longer white and hazy. You'll notice lots of starch at first, but once you wash that away, your water will stay clear...


 
candelbc,
I don't believe washing the rice before cooking is a good suggestion to the intention of the original post. If you want gooey, sticky rice, you want to keep the starch on the rice. Nothing wrong with your suggestion, I actually love the rice this way, but if you want it gooey I don't think is a good idea.


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## GotGarlic (Nov 6, 2007)

wysiwyg said:


> candelbc,
> I don't believe washing the rice before cooking is a good suggestion to the intention of the original post. If you want gooey, sticky rice, you want to keep the starch on the rice. Nothing wrong with your suggestion, I actually love the rice this way, but if you want it gooey I don't think is a good idea.



Interestingly, though, if you read the recipe posted by Bilby above, the Chinese-American women who writes the blog suggests washing the rice till the water runs clear. Maybe the starch is *in* the rice, rather than *on* the rice, so the washing accomplishes something else, I don't know. But her rice looks pretty sticky in the photo


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## GotGarlic (Nov 6, 2007)

wysiwyg said:


> candelbc,
> I don't believe washing the rice before cooking is a good suggestion to the intention of the original post. If you want gooey, sticky rice, you want to keep the starch on the rice. Nothing wrong with your suggestion, I actually love the rice this way, but if you want it gooey I don't think is a good idea.



Interestingly, though, if you read the recipe posted by Bilby above, the Chinese-American woman who writes the blog suggests washing the rice till the water runs clear. I don't know why this would work, but her rice looks pretty sticky in the photo


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## woodman (Jan 6, 2008)

chave982 said:


> How can I make my white rice come out just like the rice you get at chinese take-out places?  Theirs is always so starchy and sticky, which is how I like it.



You're looking for "Jasmin" brand rice.

Try  also Thai rice if you can't find Jasmin brand.

The proper ratio for water to rice is 1.5 parts water for 1 part of rice.


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## simpleisgood (Jan 9, 2008)

I'm with CharlieD and company.  Every chinese restaurant that I have been to serves long grain white rice as their standard; and they use rice cookers, which while great for white rice, imo is not so hot for brown.  

One thing that should be mentioned.  While rinsing is a common practice,  since  white rice has the outer layers removed, they add vitamins that stick to outside of the kernel.  By washing you are washing the vitamins down the drain.  That may or may not be of concern to you.


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## ChefRuby (Jan 17, 2008)

jerseyjay14 's  plate makes me mouth watering. 

Calrose rice is a good choice. Before cooking, the rice needs to be soaked for at least 30 minutes. Generally, water:rice=5:3. Any rice cooker can do that. I don't think Chinese restaurants use expensive and special rice cooker.

When calrose rice is used to make suchi, Japanese wash rice fully by rubbing, so that rice is shiny and not sticking together.


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## jerseyjay14 (Jan 17, 2008)

ChefRuby said:


> jerseyjay14 's  plate makes me mouth watering.
> 
> .



thanks chinese always goes over well at home... and i find it easy to garnish and always looks very appetizing


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## CharlieD (Jan 18, 2008)

Spaeking of Chinese, could you post the recipe for whatever is on the picture.


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## jerseyjay14 (Jan 18, 2008)

CharlieD said:


> Spaeking of Chinese, could you post the recipe for whatever is on the picture.



it is sesame chicken.  I posted the recipe here a while back:
http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f104/wednesday-dinner-chinese-w-slideshow-39629.html

(the recipe is post #7 in that thread)


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## CharlieD (Jan 18, 2008)

Thank you.


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## PJP (Apr 10, 2008)

Go to Costco and get a bag of Homai.  You need the right kind of rice as there are many different kinds.


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