Growing up in the middle of rice and beans culture it was a bit weird that for most of my life I didn’t love rice. I believed it was flavorless and boring. Loved to eat my beans and left always my rice in the corner of the plate… Well, that changed!
Everything changed when I first tried Japanese food and fell in love with sushi rice. After that I was also introduced to basmati and Thai Jasmin rice. My conclusion was that I love rice but not the type that we use the most in Brazilian cooking. Sorry for that, friends!
I now love (almost) every kind and believe that each one has a different use and combination in recipes.
Sushi, Carnarolli, Arborio, Agulhinha, Basmati, Sticky rice, Black rice, Red Rice, Short grain, Long grain, Jasmin… There are so many… 40.000 varieties to be precise. I could not list all of them and I’m pretty sure I will die without knowing them all. 🙁
For the moment I will only talk about the 2 kinds I chose for this post and why they are my favorites.
Basmati Rice is long and thin. I believed it was kind of dry until I learned how to cook it properly, with the exact ratio of water and grain, soaking in advance and adding aromas to my pan! Yes, this is a rice to be seasoned with herbs, spices and salt. Basmati absorbs flavor like no other rice without getting too humid so it’s a perfect choice for Byrianis, Persian rices or just the side to a aromatic Indian curry.
Black rice is dense, full of flavor and moist. Mouthfull with sweet notes, I call nutty flavors, hubby says vanilla.
Because of the moist, it will not be a loose grain kind of rice but a rich, almost sticky type. It was love at first bite and I love to make so many different recipes with it. As a side to rich Brazilian Curries(Moqueca, Bobo) or Thai Curries. It absorbs the sauce without loosing the shape so it taste just better and better. I also like to use it as a replacement for sushi rice since it has almost the same texture with a more rich flavor and fibers that makes our bellies happy! 🙂 Last but not least it’s also great in risottos.
That was all about my favorite kinds of rice. Do you have a favorite? Let me know in the comments and If you want follow me on IG and check the video I made about the subject!