Favorite Rice?

[christinew]

Another poll indeed. What is your favorite rice? And why?

I love brown rice because I think it fills me up better and there is more nutrient quality to it.

Look forward to seeing your choices.

Christine

[BosunsWife]

Brown! It just tastes better to me. Unfortunately DH doesn't like it but oh well, too bad. I make brown for DD and myself and boil noodles for DH (he likes pasta better).

[AD]

I guess I'm spoiled. The only rice I ever use is Texmati (made by Rice Select); it is a unique type of Basmati Rice. I only use the white variety. I eat it every single day and have for years.

I cannot digest brown rice. (It goes straight through me if you know what I mean.) I don't like the taste either; although it does taste better alone than with seasonings. My tastes change often though, and I haven't tasted it in 2 or 3 years; maybe it's time to try it again.

Wild isn't technically a "rice." I personally don't think it has a taste at all.

[katie]

White - I can't help it!!
It's one of the foods I crave sometimes!
I truly like brown rice and others too and I use them often. But white rice that is sticky and starchy and cooked just right.... there's something about it! I know too much is useless and bad so I try to be careful.
My favorite breakfast is sticky rice with sweet coconut milk, mangos and cinnamon. mmm :)

[christinew]

Thanks AD....I have a lot to learn about rice :D

Bosunswife....My DH doesn't like it either...he wants the instant Uncle Ben's rice....that seems to "Velveetaish" to me. How can it be good for you?

[christinew]

YUMMMIE...that sounds decadent. What a way to start the day....better than cheerios or Kashi

[lindrusso]

I guess my favorite is basmati and now that I have found BROWN basmati, I can have the best of both worlds (fiber and taste!).

Another great rice is from Lundberg Family Farms. They have a brown rice that is very unusual and much darker than most brown rices.

But, all that fiber aside, I must say that I also love, love, love the sticky white rice at an Asian restaurant with a little soy sauce - yum!!!!!!

[christinew]

Basmati that is brown....!! What brand? I will try it.

[mb]

i like jasmine rice...does that count as 'white' or 'other'? :confused:

[AZLorena]

JASMINE all the way. I would eat it every night if DH would let me.

[Beth]

I like Basmati and Jasmine for white rice and the Lundberg type brown and wild rice mixes. The same folks that do Texmati also have Royal Rice blend, but I haven't been able to buy it in the stores for a while even after asking for it.

[beckms]

I love Nishiki sticky rice. It's almost creamy...it's my favorite for stews and things that I can pour over rice to soak up the sauce.

[Little Bit]

I like rice that's usually labeled as sushi rice. Currently I have a bag of Kokuho Rose that I got at an Asian market. It really does seem to be a better quality of white rice.
Some of the brands I've found at the regular grocery seem to have lots of grains that have been damaged or burned in some way. Wash the rice and you can see little black specks on the ends of the grains.

I got some sushi rice at the whole foods market that tasted great, but had those same black marks on the rice. Wonder what that is, anyhow?

I'm also a fan of the Lundberg brown rice blend. It's got such a wonderful flavor! :)

[Varaile]

Mmmm...rice!

I like all kinds! I like white rice when I have a saucy dish to soak up the flavors of the sauce but not contrast. I enjoy brown rice because it has more texture than white but not the blandness. I love basmati rice for the aroma and flavor and the way it blends with Indian foods. And I love wild rice for it's nutty taste and 'popcorn' type effect! Plus wild rice and brown rice go great together with some toasted almonds.

They are all yummy in my recipe book!:D

[KValley]

Originally posted by lindrusso
I guess my favorite is basmati and now that I have found BROWN basmati, I can have the best of both worlds (fiber and taste!).

Another great rice is from Lundberg Family Farms. They have a brown rice that is very unusual and much darker than most brown rices.

But, all that fiber aside, I must say that I also love, love, love the sticky white rice at an Asian restaurant with a little soy sauce - yum!!!!!!

Alysha has said exactly what I was thinking. Exactly. Brown basmati; Lundberg Family Farms; sticky white rice with soy sauce (and a little wasabi!). My rice twin :)

[Kjente2]

can i have three, just this once? I can' never answer these..I'm too schizy..But rice, basmati, jasmine or wild...any time, anyway. with the aromatics..the whole house smells great while it cooks for starters..then we get to texture..
tammy, if you read this, you are the only person I know besides myself that prefers that websters wild rice soup to byerly's...I LOVE IT!

[ZinZin]

Arborio! I'm a sucker for a good creamy risotto. Kokuho Rose is also good, for everyday rice.

[donleyk]

I have really come around to brown rice. I just love the flavor.

[lhall]

We eat lots of different types, so I voted other.

DH loves saffron rice (:o I usually buy the package stuff). We also like fried rice which I make with plain white rice. I also like basmati or jasmine rice but don't buy it often.

Leigh

[SueK]

It's a close race between brown and basmati, but I voted for brown. It's great to read about a brown basmati, though. I will have to go to the store to try and find it. Thanks for the tip! :)

[lorilei]

My absolute FAVORITE rice is Black Japonica. It's a field blend rice with mahogany-red-medium-grain rice and black short-grain japonica-type rice. The color is absolutely lovely, and it has a delicate, nutty flavor. I usually buy it in bulk from my local health food store, but Lundberg Farms also packages it...

We eat very little white rice at our house. I usually have a number of rices on hand, including brown basmati. I also love Wehani brown rice...

[tracey67]

My absolute favorite type of rice is the Lundberg brand: either the brown rice mixture or the wild rice mixture. These blends are SO SO packed with flavor -- MAN, I'm making myself hungry just thinking about them!

tracey

[Kjente2]

I came from MN where, of course the root vegetable has always been queen bee.."not eating mch rice at home", which is how I read it first reminded me of a family reunion where I met a cousin's girlfried, a CBAR, california born and raised..she had been there almost a week by the time I'd met her....she laughingly told me about leaning over to tell my cousin.."honey, we've been here 4 days and had potatoes 5 times"...heheh, thank goodness for transportation and travel expanding those horizons beyond minute rice.

[Jewel]

We love rice, but I never liked the standard 'brown rice' any way I tried cooking it. I finally found Brown Basmati at Trader Joes, and now I love it! It'll take DH a while to come around, but he will. ;)

I try not to eat much white rice, only because it seems to not have any flavor, and it SO high in useless starch! I used to eat it exclusively, and now I'm trying to re-work the menus to include Brown Basmati.

I tried Jasmine rice once, because I read here that it was so fragrant, but maybe I got an off brand, because I couldn't tell it from white rice! Someone recommend a brand and I'll try it again!

Technically, wild rice is a 'seed' from a grass, not a 'rice', but who cares? I love the nutty flavor of the stuff, but I simply have to learn how to cook it. Every time I cook it in anything, the grains split, the husks curl over the top, and they look like garden slugs floating around in my pilaf or soup...YUM :D

[Star]

Despite the fact I am a huge rice fan (love the sticky type) what exactly is basmati? I fell silly for asking but I get so confused between jasmine, basmati, long grain, medium grain! Ahh the world of rice-who knew it was so complex?:rolleyes:
~Diona

[Wendy w]

My favorite rice is a wild rice/basmati & herb blend from Trader Joe's. The name momentarily escapes me:o . This stuff is great, I have made chicken soup with it. On occasion, I add feta, chopped tomatoes and artichoke hearts. This is really versatile. I'll bet that it would make a tasty stuffing for Thanksgiving too.

[lindrusso]

Originally posted by christinew
Basmati that is brown....!! What brand? I will try it.

Hi Christine! I just checked the package and the package I have is from the Lundberg Family Farms that we have been talking about. I get it at Kroger.

Julie - that's too funny! :)

[emilycat]

Christine, I use Lundberg's brown basmati, too -- and you can get it at HARRY'S!
We'll ogle the rice selection on Sunday. ;)

Oh, BTW, my favorite rice is short-grained brown. You can cook it like sticky rice, and it's awesome under stir-fries and (Thai)curries.

[claire797]

I like Basmati and Jasmine and, in general, funky flavored rices. I NEVER get to eat them unless we go out because the husband only likes plain old white :( which bores me to tears. I will not make a whole batch of fancy, good rice just to throw the rest out and freezing single servings of rice just seems dumb......even though I do it anyway. I love couscous too but never eat it because I can't eat a whole batch.

[emilycat]

Claire, don't let serving sizes stop you from eating those dishes -- especially the couscous! I make single servings of rice and grains all the time because I don't like them after they've been refrigerated. It's so, so easy. Just make some for yourself the next time. :)

[kirkbyky]

I suppose that's better than a pervert. ;)

I LOVE love love brown basmati rice (Lundberg Fam. Farms), they have it at the local grocery & I had heard so many good things about it before (from this board, of course-probably emilycat's review) that I went and got some. Fabulous- nutty and delicious! Before I was a tried and true arborio girl, but that's been moved to a distinct 2nd place.

Kyle

[claire797]

It's hard to make good single servings of fancy rices though, don't you think? I tried to make a 1 cup serving of basmati, and it didn't work out. The only rice I know that works well with single servings is dumb old Minute Rice.

I probably COULD get away with making single servings of couscous though. Couscous if pretty darn simple.

[DmOrtega]

Originally posted by claire797
I like Basmati and Jasmine and, in general, funky flavored rices. I NEVER get to eat them unless we go out because the husband only likes plain old white :( which bores me to tears. I will not make a whole batch of fancy, good rice just to throw the rest out and freezing single servings of rice just seems dumb......even though I do it anyway. I love couscous too but never eat it because I can't eat a whole batch.

Here's a great idea for cooking rice in the microwave. It looks like you should be able to adapt what you need with it.

http://www.cookinglight.com/vbb/showthread.php?threadid=15683&highlight=Rice

As far as the couscous goes, I think the proportions are 1 part couscous and 2 parts liquid. You can make any amount that you want. You should verify my proportions.

[emilycat]

It's hard to make good single servings of fancy rices though, don't you think?

Mm...not really, but I've had a lot of practice having been single my entire life. :)

I do single servings of Brown basmati, regular brown long-grain, risotto and brown short-grain nearly every time I cook rice, and it always turns out great. I think it's just a matter of getting the proportion of water to grain right, since the liquid tends to evaporate more quickly when there's less stuff in the pot.

[AD]

Claire,
There is no need to freeze rice. I always put it in the refrigerator in a large foil-covered dish. I've kept it up to 2 weeks with no change in taste or texture. You can take out however much you want when you want it. Add 1 tsp.-1 tbsp. water per cup of rice and microwave 1 minute.

I would think rice would actually tend to be worse stored in the freezer than in the refrigerator. I've actually never even heard of freezing cooked rice before.

[Lynne1975]

I love brown rice. I make it at least twice a week to go with stir-fry. Such a comfort food! I always special-order brown rice with take-out Chinese to add a little healthfulness.

[AndreaU]

I voted for "other" because of the Arborio/Risotto kick I've been on lately. I can't get enough of the stuff! Almost time for me to break out my Broccoli Risotto Torte recipe- cool weather and rich, creamy foods just go together so nicely.

[SandyM]

Originally posted by AD
I would think rice would actually tend to be worse stored in the freezer than in the refrigerator. I've actually never even heard of freezing cooked rice before.

It is possible to freeze cooked rice, and while it's not as good as freshly cooked, it's really not that bad, all things considered.

My sister-in-law is a personal chef, and we've had her cook for us a few times. Some of her dishes were served with different kinds of rice; they're frozen, thawed, and reheated with pretty good success.

Just an FYI! :cool:

[Curleytop]

I am not a rice enthusiast, but I like brown rice best. It has a chewy feel and more flavor. (I like food to be toothsome not mushy). Basmati is ok too, it has a nice flavor. The plain white rice I only use in caseroles where it is combined with other flavors , otherwise it is too insipid. Of course my dh and sons all LOVE rice:rolleyes:

[Kjente2]

Jewel...sorry, I missed that last part on wild rice the first time through...its supposed to look like that. I wash it, soak it overnight, then cook it.. It shouldn't be the the mush point, but that popping open of the husk is what helps it release its flavor yet remain a good source of fiber.

[Jewel]

Originally posted by Kjente2
Jewel...sorry, I missed that last part on wild rice the first time through...its supposed to look like that. I wash it, soak it overnight, then cook it.. It shouldn't be the the mush point, but that popping open of the husk is what helps it release its flavor yet remain a good source of fiber.

Thanks for the tip, but if it's SUPPOSED to look like that, how come in every photo I see of a dish that has wild rice in it, the little wild rice grains are perfectly formed and whole? :confused: Do they photograph them only partially cooked for photographic appeal or something?? It's starting to give me a complex!

[lindrusso]

Jewel - I have a friend who used to work with a company that photographed food and such for ads. You wouldn't believe what they do to food to make it look appealing! For instance they spray paint turkeys to make them look perfectly browned! I'll be anything those pictures of wild rice you see are not even cooked - to look more appealing! So just like those air-brushed, altered, fake-eyelash-wearing models in magazines who have people spending hours on their hair and make-up - you shouldn't believe everything you see! :)

[KathrynY]

We eat too many different types of rice for me to choose a favorite. I like them with different types of ethnic foods - basmati with spicy Indian dishes, kokohu brand (sticky rice) with japanese or korean dishes, jasmine with thai dishes. The right rice just seems to complement the food sometimes, kind of like the right wine.

I'm eating more brown rice since I discovered the Garlicky Brown Rice recipe on this BB - it's wonderful and foolproof! I almost never make plain 'ol Uncle Ben's any more.

I usually make extra rice on purpose, then freeze the leftover which are perfect for making... FRIED RICE! :D

[aggie94]

I love pretty much any kind of rice, but I'm partial to white. I'm Chinese, so that's what I grew up with and love. I just can't imagine serving stir-fry over brown rice - yuck! Oh, and Kokuho Rose is also my brand of choice.