(Photo credit: naver.com)
(This is part I of How to Make Perfect Korean Steamed Rice. Click here for part II and part III.)
If you understand Korean food culture or Asian food culture, you know how important rice is to our daily life. Ask yourself. How often do you cook rice? I cook it everyday. Yeah, it is a very critical part of my daily life. But more importantly how often do you make a success with it?
Obviously “putting rinsed rice into a pot or a rice cooker, add some water, and boil it” isn’t as simple as it sounds, or at least not to everyone. To tell you the truth, I am not a rice expert. I don’t make perfect steamed rice all the time either. However, I wouldn’t mind eating perfectly cooked rice all the time, wouldn’t you? So I decided to start a discussion about this topic, so we can experience a better eating life.
Successfully cooked Korean rice (in other words delicious Korean rice) is sticky rice that shines and has a tasty fragrance. Can you image it? (If you can’t, sorry, my English isn’t as good as I want it to be). But you can’t really taste the rice before you buy it, can you? So here is a check list, recommended by the Rural Development Administration (part of the Korean Government), which might help us to choose some good rice.
-Good rice check list –
- Good rice grain has a white, clean, clear and shining look.
- The grain shouldn’t have partial black (brown) or white parts in the middle.
- The grain should be even in shape and shouldn’t have chips or half crushed parts.
- The Rice package should have milled date on it (Most recently milled rice is the best. Because 2 weeks after milling, the grain starts to lose its moisture).
If the rice basically meets these requirements, it is more likely “head rice” (which means good quality rice). Apparently Japan has one of the highest standards and yields on “head rice” whereas Australia and Korea don’t have as high standards or yield than Japan (but this depends on the brand). Have you checked your rice yet? Are you eating good quality rice?
FYI, I’m currently using sushi rice (short grain) from Sunrice and I’m happy with it. I buy 10kg of this rice from a Korean grocery store as this size isn’t always available at a regular grocery store (e.g. Woolworth or Coles). It’s around AUD $18 so it’s about 50% cheaper than Korean rice. 🙂
