Washing rice?

[pua.melia409]

Wash it!!! Generally rice is not washed when it is produced so when you buy it and bring it home there is still an abundant amount of dirt, dust, chemicals, etc on it. My Japanese grandmother always taught me to rinse the rice until the water is clear before cooking.

 

[larry_stewart]

Is there a specific type, or brand of white rice that is found in the typical Chinese take out place ?? For Indian, I buy Basmati rice, and it is exactly as I get it in an Indian restaurant. But, Im having trouble finding the same type, brand .... of white rice as i can find in the Chinese restaurants. Ive eaten Chinese food all along the east coast of Usa/ Canada, and the rice is similar, so I assume they use something other than the crap I get at the supermarket. And back to the topic of this thread, once I have the right brand/ type, is it typical for them to rinse it before steaming it ?

 

[Andy M.]

I'd bet if you asked them they would be glad to share that information.

 

[Jikoni]

My mum always told me to wash rice to get the dirt out of it, but I learned also that if you wash it, you get some unnecessary starch out of it and keeps you a little bit trimmer.

 

[Selkie]

As an older Calrose user... wash it! I remember the talc and other stuff... wash it! I don't ever get so complacent as to trust fruits, vegetables, beans or rice without washing them first, particularly because I spent much of my youth on my grandparent's farm. I've seen under what conditions much of our food comes from... wash it!

 

[Michael in FtW]

I learned to wash my rice back when I was in college and dated a girl whose mom was Chinese. She washed it until the water ran clear.

Larry - check out your local Chinese market - I don't know what the brands are that I get at my Asian market (I can't read the labels) but it sure ain't Uncle Ben's!

 

[Randy_]

Years ago I did some experimentation with cooking rice and varying the amount of water as I wasn't happy with the outcome just using the instructions on the package. I finally figured out the proportion of water to rice that I liked best after a number of trials.

At a later time I started washing my rice and things changed. Finally, I figured out that washing rice added considerable moisture to the rice and I had to cut back a little on the water I used to cook the rice.



The rice does not actually absorb any water during the short time it is being rinsed; but the grains are so close together that they hold some water between the grains by capillary action. A cup of dry rice weighs about 180 grams; but if you rinse rice in a strainer and then place it in a pot without any special effort to remove water, the rice weighs approximately 210 grams. The difference in weight is the equivalent of 1/8 cup of water.....the amount that your called water must be reduced by to get the texture that you desire.

I know the amount of water held by the rinsed rice does not seem like a lot; but, I can tell you from first-hand experience that it does make a difference!

 

[mexican mama]

We wash our rice 2x or 3x depending on how the rice looks...there some little pebbles that get stuck and it really needs to be clean before cooking it. It also makes the rice tender and easy to cook when you wash it.

 

[Joshatdot]

I've been taught to rinse/wash the rice till its clear, and typically a 1:2 ratio of rice & water. For the past 8+ years, I've been getting Jasmin rice, for the aroma & taste .. but it doesn't seem to separate much. It's kinda like a long grain sticky rice, unless I am cooking it wrong.

 

[masteraznchefjr]

I heard in an article and study they did in Japan and realized that washing the rice started polluting the rivers from the drain runoff and causes algae bloom. I started to not wash my rice as often and still feel like the results are still the same using long grain or sticky rice.

 

[Linika]

I always give my rice a light rinse more for clensing purposes than anything. (Even the rice from the US haha!) And as someone also mentioned previously in this post ...sauteing lightly before adding the liquid makes for great rice....and you can add minced garlic, onions etc just adjusting liquid if needed. In the Great White North here we produce rice in natural bodies of water...mainly in Saskatchewan...."northern wild rice" it is exceptional in Indian recipes!

 

[CharlieD]

The recommendations on the box of the rice I usually use, says not to wash it.

 

[MoodyBlueFoodie]

Sorry to go off the food topic, but does this mean that all talc products are bad? I mean like say, body powders, for example?

 

[sparrowgrass]

They are if you eat them, or breathe them! I remember when my kids were little (they are 30 and 27 now) the recommendation was to use cornstarch based powder on babies.

 

[GB]

When we had our kids (now 5 and 2) we were told not to use any sort of powder on them as it inevitably gets breathed in and is not that great for lungs, especially on young kids.

 

[expatgirl]

well, guys, i wouldn't worry too much at this point.......just don' tcreate an atomic cloud when powdering them and we know you dad's .......if a little bit works then let's just be on the safe side and really have a go at it.......and if we're off topic so be it.......

Charlie, I just find that washing rice whether they say so or not.......makes my rice less glutinous.....certainly all that white starch that comes off in the washings has to be acting like glue otherwise when it cooks.......and I sure have found some interesting rice in KZ, however...... probably irradated.......jest kidding.....

 

[CharlieD]

Expat, You should really post their recipe for rice pilaf

 

[expatgirl]

Expat, You should really post their recipe for rice pilaf

Charlie, you are too funny and trying to get me into trouble if I spoke the truth....

 

[CharlieD]

I'm not, really, I did not mean anything but to ask for the recipe. Kazakhs' make really good rice pilaf.

 

[expatgirl]

I'm not, really, I did not mean anything but to ask for the recipe. Kazakhs' make really good rice pilaf.

sorry that I misunderstood---(my mind went to all the nuclear testing that'd been done in the area so I'm sorry if my brain synapsed to the "joke" mode........ seriously, you're right, the Kazakhs' plovs are so good and full of great things but I feel quite guilty in not having any of the plov recipes on hand........I have a Kazakh friend who is a very good cook and I'll ask her and let you know.....