Rice at the Center

As a child, for me, rice was an exotic ingredient. My family lived in New England and was of French-Canadian heritage. The food that I ate at home, at my friends’ tables or at school was very “American,” mostly derived from the culinary traditions of Western Europe — more specifically, Northern Europe. Using rice as a side dish or as a main dish was very rare. In my grandmother’s home, I can never remember having rice once in 40 years; it was a foreign food. In my own family, my mother made rice dishes to be “modern” and experimental with cooking. If we ate any dishes where rice was used, it was usually drowned in some strong flavor or sauce, so that it acted as some sort of starchy sponge. Rice was used as a poor substitute for bread, potatoes or pasta. And any rice would do; it really did not make any difference which rice the cook used. Or so I thought.

My education in rice started later, at Berkeley, where I first began to cook, and had both Japanese and Chinese roommates. I learned that what type of rice we bought and ate was a very serious subject. All rice is not alike — they did not taste the same, they did not have the same aroma and they did not cook to the same texture. Now, after more than 30 years of cooking and eating rice, I have to say that rice is one of the most important, complex and subtle ingredients. It has always been so in the rest of the world, but only just recently in the United States have we begun to appreciate and learn the subtleties of this amazing grain.

Cooking categoriesToday, more than 50 varieties of rice are available in the average upscale grocery market. All in all, there may be thousands of different types — from the very exotic “Emperor’s rice” that tastes and looks like a tiny basmati, to the superfino varieties from Italy, to the imported Japanese regional varieties. The type of rice chosen will be a deciding factor in the final dish. So, how do you know which one to use? We can categorize most rice by some simple cooking qualities.

After cooking, some rice will remain firm throughout the grain. The texture of the interior is usually the same as the exterior, and the rice usually has the same texture after cooking whether served warm or cold. This is the indica type, also known as long-grain rice because the grains are elongated and proportionally thin in width to the overall length. These types are structurally and chemically different than short-grain, or japonica, varieties.

All rice contains starch; the specific starches are amylose and amylopectin. Long-grain varieties contain a higher proportion of amylose, and short grain, or “sticky,” varieties contain a higher proportion of amylopectin. However, all rice — even nonsticky versions — contains a higher amount of amylopectin than amylose. When rice is cooked, amylose molecules make a gel, enclosing the water in their long, thin strands. The higher the amylose content in rice, the firmer and more separated the cooked grains will be.

Just japonicaAmylopectin molecules tend to remain separate rather than form a gel network, producing the soft, rather creamy consistency of cooked japonica rice. It is this creamy rice — which represents a very small, but important, portion of the world’s crop — that I want to discuss first, as I feel that this rice is the most subtle to understand. It is, however, at the very center of many of the world’s finest rice dishes and culinary traditions, from Japanese sushi, to the rich seafood risottos of Venice, to the smoky, crusty paella of Spain’s Valencia.

When cooked, japonica rice will absorb water differently than indica, resulting in a different sensory experience, both in the layering of tastes and the textual richness. These are important differences to a chef. And each variety of japonica rice will act slightly different than another; these subtle, but definite differences have made certain types of rice more highly prized than others. For instance regular arborio, a form of japonica, will cook rather quickly and become more cooked or mushy, and also will continue to cook even after it is taken off the heat. This results in a cooked rice that has less mouthfeel differentiation because it does not have the firm center or al dente texture that is prized.

The counterpoint between a creamy risotto and its firm center makes it more delectable. Also, because a superfino variety, such as Vialone or Carnaroli (both from northern Italy), will absorb more cooking liquid and take longer to cook, the flavor is inevitably more dense or richer.

A good risotto has roundness, yet it has a subtle differential in texture that creates a level of discernibility and interest for our sensory systems. The difference lies in the chemistry of the rice plant, in the starch makeup and in the physical size of the grains. Those dishes that require a more subtle seasoning need to have softer rice as a basis, rather than a longer-grain one, because the brain has more difficulty “reading” a flavor when the food has more texture. The mind reads temperature first, then texture and, finally, flavor. So, in French cuisine, a puree with no textual differentiation is more complex and sensed as richer or more sensual than a ragout of separate vegetables. The texture of creamy rice is satisfying, like an ice cream that almost blends seamlessly and melts in the mouth.

Another example is that when sushi rice is made perfectly, it’s soft and delicate, but it’s not mushy, it’s not hard and the grains press together to form one smooth unit that perfectly complements the texture of the fish.

This rice also fits into the pantry of today’s modern chefs, who are using more and more complex flavors, techniques and fusion in their cooking. Rice makes the perfect vehicle to blend complex flavors together and deliver a sensual experience. And, of course, as more and more of today’s culinary trends come from Asia, the role of rice becomes more important. Also, the role of rice in vegetarian cuisine is considerable.

Literally hundreds of varieties of rice come from Asia, and each one of them has their own specific traditions tied with it. Laos has a sticky, almost hard, rice that you roll with your fingers. It has an earthy flavor that acts as a new partner for unlikely mates, such as foie gras or chocolate. Even Japan, which seems to use the same type of rice, has its own superfinos, such as Koshi-Hikari, the perfect sushi rice, and its very-different cousin, domanaka, a rice from another region of Japan. The former makes great rice puddings because it has a natural sweetness and cooks up creamier.

Scent and sightIn order to create a great rice dish, you need to think about the aroma of the rice, which depends on where it was grown, the particular variety, the milling, the storage and the age of the rice. For example, Texmati, an American-grown cousin of Indian basmati, has a different taste, aroma and cooked texture than the rice grown in India. American varieties of Japanese strains, when compared side-by-side, taste different and have a different cooked texture. Japanese rice types also have a different color or shiny, quality pearlescence, which that nation’s population prizes. Rice from Japan will usually have a brighter color, a sweeter and creamier aroma, and a different flavor profile — one with more roundness and depth, like a more complex wine.

If you blend spices with a rice, you really need to consider the original aroma of the rice, as that will become an important variable in the final taste. Examples include basmati and Persian varieties that have a woodsy or nutty aroma, or the fragrant rice of Indonesia that works so well with the spice blends of that country. Nutty or mushroom aromas go really well with meat and game dishes. Some of the more exciting varieties in terms of aroma are Thai jasmine or Himalayan red rice or even nutty wild rice, which is not really a rice, but an undomesticated wild grass.

Each area of a country produces rice that has a different aroma, so don’t be fooled into believing that any one basmati from India is like any other. The quality and the specific aroma of a south Indian rice may be very different than that grown in another region, and these attributes may affect the price in the same manner as they would in coffee or spices.

You can choose to use the color of rice as a variable, from the pearly white rice from Japan to the inky, jet-black rice of China or Japan, to the red rice from the Camargue in France. The famous dessert of black sticky rice plays the rice’s earthiness against brilliant orange tropical mango to create a great counterpoint of interest.

Putting it togetherBlends of rice must be done expertly, as each type cooks up differently and, therefore, can result in a textual hodgepodge. The exception may be stews or soups where the rice is an accessory and not the main flavor carrier. The famous chicken and rice soup comes to mind.

Other elements that affect the taste and quality are the milling and storage of the rice. When you look at a particular sample of rice, all the grains should be even: no broken grains; all grains of uniform size; and the milling should leave the heart, or germ, the same in each kernel. If the milling and sizing is not done properly, the rice will not cook uniformly. Also, if the rice has not been sealed after milling it can absorb unwanted odors or get stale. In Japan, for instance, the milling date must appear on each bag sold so that the consumer will be aware of how fresh the rice is. Most rice sold in the United States is very old and stale, and would not be acceptable to a more perceptive consumer. Plus, the natural oils in the rice can go rancid over time if the rice is not stored properly. The best way to avoid this is by placing the product in vacuum-packed bags that carry a milling date.

From its initial use as a hidden starch or flavor sponge, rice has come a long way in the last 50 years — from having almost no representation at the grocery store, to having lots of shelf space and becoming the star ingredient of some of the most-modern chefs. Although, in certain parts of the world, rice has been a culinary star for thousands of years, it is just now taking that place in the U.S. culinary scene. Americans now have a choice of some of the world’s most interesting and best rice varieties, so it should have a great culinary future as a front-and-center ingredient.

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