Brown Rice, Japanese Rice, Brasmati Rice or Thai Rice?

I am a Asian, living in Singapore and I am definitely spoilt for choice with a wide variety of rice to choose from! Wow! Rice for a long time to come will still be a staple food in our country. (And I love that!)

In fact, most Asians, regardless of race or religion or where they eat, consumed rice almost everyday! You can easily says that certain groups of European or African regarded rice as a staple food too. Why not?

Rice is not exclusively for meat-eaters. It is also suitable for vegetarians and vegans! It can compliments all sort of foods including spicy, fried, soupy, creamy, vegetarians too! Any food... you named it you can eat it with rice. (I know you are thinking about Ice Cream with Rice... That's one of my party food!)

Almost everyday, I prepared my meals with a variety of rice depending on what dishes I was cooking that day. Some times I would prepare rice in the form of a One-Dish Meal.

I mainly uses rice which are easily available in any grocery store or supermarket. However, I only choose rice which are of a healthier grade, which, not necessary means a more expensive brand.

I usually test the grade of any rice by leaving some leftover cooked rice overnight at room temperature and see if by next day, it still remains consumable. That is, if it did not becomes running, starchy, or with odd smell. If it remains stable after standing for long hour, it is consumable for us.

So here I had listed the major types of rice, their nutrient information, how to best cook them and the special touch I love adding to them for a loving meal.

Preparation of Rice:
1. Store uncooked rice in a cool, dry place, covered.
2. Rinse uncooked rice, twice, prior to cooking, to remove any dust or impurities.
3. Different batches of the same brand of rice may need slightly different amount of water to cook. So try out each time you purchase a new bag of rice.

Brown Rice - Rough coarser whole-grain. For kids or elders, it may not be as easily digestible. It is more filling than other types of rice.
Top the steamed rice with some raisins. It sweeten the rice for a tastier meal.
It is 'Heaty' in the sense that it may cause constipation, so remember to drink more water, soup or juice.

Indian Brasmati Rice - Long grain, chewy, easy to cook, delicious especially to kids!
Good to cook as fried rice with some shallots, onions, spices, shrimps, or streaks of meat.
Eat it with pickles to bring out the fragrance of the fried rice.

Japanese Pearl Rice - Short, fat grain, starchier than other types of white rice.
Not as easily digestible especially for kids and elders.
Add one tablespoon of Japanese vinegar (or white vinegar) to one pot of cooked rice, stir well and let cool. Vinegar not only makes the rice tastier but also more digestible.
Japanese Rice can be easily hand or shape molded for a special touch.
Sprinkle with chopped almond, nuts, seaweed flakes or meat floss for greater taste and presentation. Guests and kids will love it!
(Just remember to keep your hands clean, dab your fingers wet with some water and avoid using your palms when molding.)


White Fragrance Rice -
Most commonly known as Thai Rice, comes in many different grates thus the taste varies widely too.
It is the easiest rice to cook into porridge as well as steamed rice.
Add one tablespoonful of Olive oil into the washed rice, mix well and top up with the necessary amount of water. Cook as usual.
For Porridge, add finely-chopped vegetable &/or dried scallops bits together with the rice before cooking. Porridge contained more amount of water than steamed rice thus it helps in kids' and elders' absorption of food too.
Some people do argued about white rice's nutrition level against Brown Rice. So choose according to your preference. (See above or Indian's and Japanese's preference.)


Five-Grain Rice (is actually 3 Rice + 2 Legumes) includes: Glutinous Rice (also known as Sticky-Rice), Finger Millet (African Millet), Foxtail Millet (Glutinous Millet), Black Beans and Sweet Red Beans (in the Western world named “adzuki beans”).
Five-Grain Rice are commonly consumed in Korea and Taiwan. It can be easily available in major grocery stores worldwide.
Simply rinse twice, add water according to package's instructions, let it sit for half an hour then proceed to steam it in a electric rice-cooker and very soon you will have a well balanced and nutritional meal for your kids and elders!


Additional ingredients (optional): Once the electric rice cooker switched to steaming mode, lay on top of the steaming rice (don't stir the rice at this stage yet) some slices of pepperoni, sausages, ham, luncheon meat or sardines, then cover back to continue warming up the rice till dry. Stir to mix all ingredients well.

Nutrients found in rice:
1. mainly complex Carbohydrate, which contains Starch and Dietary Fiber. It is digested slowly and allows the body to utilize the energy released over a longer period of time.
2. Calories, Fat, Protein, Water
3. Vitamin B1, B2 & B3
4. low Sodium content, low Fat
5. some Potassium, Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Iron & Zinc
6. No Cholesterol
7. Gluten Free

Print out this list and keep it in the kitchen area or bookmark this page for future reference and when you have a chance to browse through a grocery store, pick up one type of rice and try it out!

With Fun and practice, you can cook it well. If I can cook, You can cook!

With touch of Angelic Love,
Monica

Cool! Baby! Dining Fun along K. L. street

'Lucky Noodle' - With Love From Mum

To all mummies with kids, let me starts with a story. A short one.

Years ago, one sunny day, our family was having lunch and my sweet 3-year-old had just started learning how to use a pair of chopsticks.

I was enjoying seeing him fished around a big bowl of rice noodle soup with his tiny fingers gripping around 2 sticks.

Out of nowhere (or right from that bowl of noodle soup, actually) a strand of yellow fat noodle floated up, amidst the bowlful of white rice noodle.

Nicholas stared at it for quite a while and seems not knowing what to do with it.

It pops up and looks totally different from the rest of the noodles in his bowl.

He was frowning, undecided what to do, with a 'to accept and eat it or what?' kinda expression.

I decided that this is a golden opportunity to teach him something (for once, this is something I came up with on the spot, actually) that he can from his mother.

So instead of telling him to pick it out and throw it away or simply swallow it, I said "Oh look! It's a Lucky Noodle!"

"What's a Lucky Noodle, Mummy?"

"It's one that appears odd in your bowl of normal noodles. You are lucky!"

"So I am lucky?"

"Of course! That's because you found a lucky noodle in your bowl!"

Nicholas accepted that that 'lucky' idea I came up with sounds great!

Since then, whenever he chanced upon something odd popping up in his daily routine (or in his bowl of noodles), he took it with a smile and recognised it as his Lucky Noodle!

These days, I would accept and appreciate my 'Lucky Noodle' whenever one pops up too. With a smile.

So have you noticed any Lucky Noodle in your life?

Accept it as a blessing and set your kids one good example that they can follow.

And remember, always with a smile, mums.
Monica.