Rice is loved and used all over the world. I was born in the Philippines and rice is a staple in every meal. It is a staple food in Japan, China, India, and virtually throughout Asia and the Pacific Islands (Hawaii, Indonesia, etc.). Many meals in Spain, Central and South America use rice as the main meal or as an accompaniment to the main course. It is also widely used on the African continent. I have even discovered its use in Germany and France.
It can be created as a main dish or as a side dish that complements the main dish. You can also prepare it as a dessert, cold or hot, with rice as the main ingredient. It could be a great snack that kids will eat without realizing that what they are enjoying is boring rice. When you consider the possibilities of rice, it suddenly becomes easier to make a decision.
I love rice and have been eating it most of my life. I even created a blog a while back that allows me to share recipes I created using this wonderful food source. For me it is a natural product with which I can assemble the whole meal without exaggerating the idea of rice.
Rice is a versatile staple food, which comes in a variety of shapes and colors, and is very easy to prepare. There are many ways to prepare it using different kitchen implements. I found the most convenient and easy to use is an electric rice cooker.
There are more than 120,000 varieties of rice. This leads to endless possibilities. Everyone is familiar with long-grain white rice, which is often served steamed and unadorned as a side dish, but there is also short-grain rice, used in puddings, sushi, and savory sticky rice dishes; Basmati rice from India, with its characteristic aroma and flavor, ideal to accompany curry; Thai fragrant rice, lightly scented and ideal with spicy dishes; and arborio, an Italian rice that is cooked into a creamy, luxurious risotto. There is the black wild rice, attractive mixed with white rice and spectacular used alone; and brown or unpolished rice, which has a nutty flavor and chewy texture, and serves as the base for a salad. When ground into a flour, it is even used in baking and in the creation of noodles.
Rice is an ideal pantry item: if kept in a cool, dry place, it has a long shelf life. It can be a quick mid-week dinner, a colorful salad for a picnic, or a fancy dinner. Try basing an entire meal on different types of rice. There are rice-specific cookbooks, as well as websites and blogs. Check out hundreds of possible uses and recipes and you too will be hooked on rice, like I am, forever!
I enjoy entertaining and sharing my recipes with close friends and acquaintances. I always wanted to write a cookbook and found that sharing my recipes and experiences through my blog provides that opportunity.