How to add interest to your rice

Red Cargo Rice

I find it hard to eat plain rice any more. I’m not a rice snob; I can still eat rice at every meal! I have just gotten used to variety.

But if you think rice is boring and want to know how to make rice more interesting or flavorful, here are some ideas.

Try these tips for a change of pace with rice:

Hapa
My favorite: mix half brown and half white rice, or two thirds brown and one third white. This way you get whole grains from the brown, stickiness from the white. I HATE rice that falls apart, white, brown, or otherwise!

Red Cargo Rice
Found in Asian groceries or anywhere you can find imports from Thailand. Here in Honolulu, I can find this at Marukai, the local Asian Grocery, and in Chinatown. It looks like brown rice that has a red-dirt kind of tinge to it. Sold in vacuum-packed, rectangular plastic bags.

Barley
Barley looks like brown rice but adds a fabulous chew. I like to do 1 part white, 1 part brown, 1 part barley and cook in the rice cooker as you normally would.

This does tend to fall apart more than white/brown or other rice combinations, but I love the chewiness.

Fragrant rice
Try adding one part jasmine, basmati, or other aromatic rice to any other combination. The fragrance while the rice cooks is reminiscent of popcorn, nutty and mouth-watering.

I can find brown jasmine rice at Marukai, the Asian Grocery, and in Chinatown, also sold in vacuum-packed, rectangular plastic bags.

Are you confused about the different types of rice?
What’s the difference between long and short grain? Which rice to use for fried rice? Find out more about thedifference between rices at this post here.