A Few Tips to Help Buying RiceA source:
🔗If you and I knew at least a little about rice, then, firstly, we would know that more than 2/3 of the world's rice harvest is eaten in the immediate vicinity of the place where it was grown, and secondly, we would understand that the choice its for different dishes - a matter no less, and perhaps more responsible than, say, the choice of meat. Actually, the first thought leads to a completely obvious advice - where the recipe comes from - from there and rice.Therefore, when trying to build an Uzbek pilaf, do not be lazy to go to the market and buy rice from the Uzbeks, and if, for example, you are aiming at risotto, do not be greedy and get a pack of Italian Arborio or Admin. Good rice costs decent money, from 3 to 12 dollars. per kg and even more, but - tautology - it's worth it. But saving money and buying it at random can negate all your further efforts. Now in Moscow you can buy rice from all over the world, and in order to avoid disappointment, we will explain a number of commonplace things that do not become less important.
There is a clear connection between the shape of rice and its properties (with rare exceptions). The starch that makes up the main grain of rice is a mixture of two polysaccharides - amylose and amylopectin. The shorter or whiter the grain, the higher the amylopectin content in it, the softer it is, the more the rice takes water, the more it boils down and becomes more sticky. This kind of rice is popular in Southeast Asia, China and Japan. It is convenient to eat it with chopsticks, it is used to make sushi, it is used for desserts. The longer the grain, the more amylose it contains, which makes it hard, transparent, the grain grows in length during cooking. Such rice, if cooked correctly, turns out to be crumbly and light, airy, it is popular in India and neighboring countries: it is convenient to eat it by hand when mixed with gravy.
Pay attention - good recipes write which variety or at least type of rice should be used: long, medium-grain, or round. Long is one whose length is 4-5 times the width, in medium-grain rice it is 2 times, and round - it is indeed almost round, well, at worst, oval.
If in doubt, steamed rice is perfect for side dishes - it does not stick together, but you should not take it for traditional recipes like pilaf: it is cooked in a completely different way and has a different consistency. By the way, it is noticeably more useful than ordinary, polished rice. If you, God forbid, are diabetic - choose basmati, it has a lower glycemic index, or brown rice.
Where rice is the basis of the diet, it is bought by weight, often in bags, and the buyer can always check the quality of the rice. They look at its appearance, and at the powder, and whether rice crunches in handfuls, etc. Then they make a conclusion - to buy or not. We usually do not have such an opportunity, which is what local producers use, often selling packaged rice of very dubious quality. Of course, ordinary Krasnodar is suitable for rice porridge, here you don't need to break your head. But when buying expensive rice, you should pay attention to some things in order not to pay the "extra" price for the 4th grade.
The rice should be nice and the same. If in a bag half of the grains are cloudy and half are transparent, then this is bad rice. It should be almost transparent all over, like most common varieties, or completely opaque, like Thai glutinous, or, like Italian risotto varieties, transparent with a matte center. But it should all be the same. Otherwise, it is either a mixture of different batches, or simply poor quality - underdried, say, rice. And nothing good will come of it. Rice from different batches absorbs different amounts of water or oil and does not cook evenly (generally speaking, mixing different varieties of rice at home is almost guaranteed to give a negative result). If rice often contains grains in which cloudy areas have clear boundaries, this is even worse, this is broken rice, when soaked or cooked, it will fall apart, turning into porridge. Take a closer look and you will see that most of the basmati or indica of domestic packaging in our stores is of the second, and maybe third grade. When buying loose rice on occasion, especially Uzbek, it is worth trying it on the tooth - it should not crack easily, it should be hard - well dried, rub it between your palms to wipe off the powder and see it as it is.Many firms pack rice in bags, the bottom of which is opaque - this does not give us the opportunity to see how much grain or garbage is in the rice. And if the garbage can and should be selected, then it is not possible to choose crushed grains that will spoil our mood. When buying rice, look carefully - you can sometimes read on imported rice not only what sort it is, but also what quality it is - "grade A" or "superfino", on "our" rice you can most often find only the producing country.
And, finally, one original and easy recipe from my friend Stalik, a great specialist in rice, who taught me that rice and rice are different. I hope that you try this unusual and extremely tasty green pilaf of Bukharian Jews - and make sure that rice at a price of 100-120 rubles per kilo is worth buying.
Bakhsh - pilaf of Bukharian JewsVegetable oil (preferably olive oil) 60 ml, meat - lamb or beef (pulp) 300 g, liver (lamb or beef) 300 g, fat tail lamb fat 300 g (or 250 ml vegetable oil), rice 1 kg (Uzbek devzira is best , or another long, non-sticky), 1-2 onions, 2 tsp of ground black pepper, cilantro greens 300 g, half a bunch of parsley, dill and green onions, salt to taste (1-2 tbsp. l.).
Sort the rice and rinse in running water until it is absolutely transparent, fill it with lukewarm water, add salt and leave to swell for 2-3 hours. Lightly freeze the meat and bacon, cut into thin slices, and then into pieces the size of a couple of rice grains (in no case do this in a food processor or meat grinder). Cut the liver into thin slices and blanch them one at a time in boiling water for a few seconds, then cut in the same way as the meat. Cut the onion into very thin rings. Chop the herbs finely.
Heat the cauldron, as it should, pour oil into it - 60 ml - if we cook with a fat tail, or 300 ml - if without a fat tail, and heat it, as for ordinary pilaf.
Dip the meat into the calcined oil, and, stirring quickly, fry until white. It shouldn't brown, but it shouldn't let the juice go either. When all the meat turns white, add the liver, and fry just as quickly in 3-4 minutes, add the fat tail, fry, stirring, for a couple of minutes, put all the greens, without ceasing to interfere. After another 1-2 minutes, pour all 1-1.5 liters of boiling water and let simmer over low heat for 30-40 minutes. Add black pepper, salt, taste: the broth should be slightly salty.
Rinse the rice again and let the water drain, add 1-2 tbsp. l. butter and whole onion, mix. Prepare 1 liter of boiling water. Increase the fire to the maximum, and when the broth begins to boil strongly, lay the rice with a slotted spoon - as for ordinary pilaf - without stirring, pour 750-800 ml of boiling water through a slotted spoon, so as not to disturb the rice layer and cook like an ordinary Uzbek pilaf: let the water boil strongly and over the entire surface, in no case interfere, and when the water goes under the rice, begin to gradually reduce the heat so that the meat does not burn at the bottom. The water must be evaporated quickly and all. When hitting the surface of the rice with a slotted spoon, it is worth making a hole in the rice with something thin to the bottom, and make sure that the water does not boil under the rice. Taste the rice: if it is crunchy, add a little boiling water, if it is half-ready, reduce the heat to a minimum and carefully, but carefully, stir the contents of the cauldron for a few minutes, flatten, cover with a plate, top with a lid and let the rice reach 20 minutes. cauldron, mix thoroughly again and serve.
