Rice is twice as nice in Houston cuisines
National Rice Month a chance to learn about its impact in the Lone Star State
Rice sustains us.
The grain that is a food staple for more than half the world’s population also figures prominently in the Houston diet. You can find rice in the cuisines of nearly every population of the immigrant-rich city: the all-in-one hotpot from Korea known as bibimbap; West African jollof rice enjoyed by the city’s growing Nigerian and emerging Ghanese populations; the dizzying array of Indian biryani with its deeply layered flavors; and as the fragrant foundation for Vietnamese broken rice dishes. Whether it’s Moroccan-style pilaf, Caribbean rice and peas, Chinese fried rice, Malaysian nasi goreng, Mexican arroz rojo, Spanish paella or Louisianaproud jambalaya, it can be found in this rice-hungry metropolis.
“It’s all over in so many iconic dishes,” said chef Sylvia Casares, owner of Sylvia’s Enchilada Kitchen. “We’re eating a lot of rice in Houston.”
Before she switched careers, Casares was a home economist in the test kitchens of Uncle Ben’s, followed by seven years as a food scientist for the national rice brand. “For 10 years, I ate rice every day. There was always a project; we were always sampling. If it wasn’t my
rice, it was someone else’s rice. All kinds of rice.”
And after such intense rice immersion, Casares still enjoys it. “Yes, I love rice.”
So does Texas. National Rice Month (September), is an opportunity to look at the facets of rice that touch our everyday lives.
TYPES OF RICE
You go to the supermarket, and there are maybe 10 types of white rice on the shelves and at least four hues of darkercolored rice. That’s not even a drop in the bucket. There are more than 40,000 varieties of cultivated rice said to exist. Regular long-grain rice is the most popular, prized for its slim kernels and subtle flavor.
Rice is divided into two broad categories: brown (whole grain) and white (milled). Rice is classified as long grain (roughly four times as long as it is wide), medium grain (about twice as long as it is wide) and short grain (short, plump rice with grains that stick together when cooked).
The most widely used and available types include arborio (Italian short grain), basmati (fragrant long grain popular in India and Pakistan), black rice (also known as Asian “forbidden rice” that draws its color from the high level of an antioxidant), jasmine (floral long grain originally from Thailand), brown rice (short and long grain with bran layer retained), red rice (nutrient-rich Thai long grain), sticky rice (Asian glutinous rice), sushi rice ( Japanese short grain), Valencia rice (Spanish short grain used for paella) and long-grain white rice. Wild rice is often considered part of the rice family, even though it is grass.
RICE MILLING
After rice is harvested, it is milled, a process by which the inedible hull that covers a rice grain is removed, resulting in brown rice. Brown rice has the bran layer surrounding the kernel intact. Further milling to remove the bran results in white or “polished” rice. Enriched rice is rice that has been thinly coated with vitamins to replace nutrients lost during milling. Parboiled rice (sometimes called converted rice) is rough rice that has been soaked, steamed and dried before milling. This process hardens the grain, resulting in cooked rice that is firmer and has a less sticky consistency.
TEXAS RICE HISTORY
In Texas, rice was first cultivated using pioneer methods such as oxen and plow, and the crop depended on rainfall. Commercial production began in the 1880s and thrived thanks to affordable land, railroad transportation and modern rice milling.
Historically, the quality of rice in Texas “was bar none for long grain,” according to Lloyd T. Wilson, director of the AgriLife Rice Research Center for Texas A&M University in Beaumont. It’s a crop well suited to the Gulf Coast region of Texas, Wilson said, adding that Texas, along with Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi and Missouri, produce nearly all the rice grown in the United States. Nearly 85 percent of the rice consumed in America is grown in the U.S.
RICE IN TEXAS
About 1.5 billion pounds of rice was harvested from 194,000 acres in Texas last year, contributing about $188 million to the state’s economy, according to Wilbert Hundl Jr., director of the Southern Plains Region for the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. That same amount is expected to be produced in 2019.
Texas is responsible for 7.5 percent of total U.S. production of rice. Wharton, Colorado and Jefferson countries lead the state in rice production. At its peak in 1981, Texas produced 2.7 billion pounds of rice. Though rice farming has decreased since that high, it remains a vital part of state agriculture.
“It’s not oil by any stretch,” Wilson said, “but it’s certainly a lot of money, particularly when you consider that a large number of communities that grow rice don’t have a large option for other crops.”
COOKING RICE
American-grown rice does not require washing or rinsing before or after cooking. Cooking rice on the stovetop is easy: Simply combine rice, liquid and salt in a 2- to 3-quart saucepan. Heat to boiling, stirring once or twice. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for a specified time.
For 1 cup of regular long-grain rice, cook with 2 cups of liquid for 15 minutes; for 1 cup of medium-grain rice, cook with 1½ cups of liquid for 15 minutes; for 1 cup of short-grain rice, cook with 1¼ cups of liquid for 15 minutes; for 1 cup whole-grain brown rice, cook with 2¼ cups of liquid for 40-45 minutes; for 1 cup of parboiled rice, cook with 2¼ cups of liquid for 20 minutes.
STORING RICE
Milled rice (white and parboiled) can keep almost indefinitely in the pantry. Once opened, rice should be kept in a container with a tight lid and stored in a cool dry place. Whole-grain rice (brown, red or black) has a shelf life of about six months. Store in the refrigerator or freezer for a longer shelf life. Cooked rice can be kept in the refrigerator for three to five days, or frozen for up to six months.