Hey there, folks! I said I’d make a post about rice, so here it is–the short and skinny of it (well, not skinny. Ain’t nothin’ skinny about a rice-based diet.) I’m pretty sure there have been epic arguments about rice resulting in a lot of butt hurt. There’s quite a few types of rice out there, and yes, there are certain dishes which are better with a particular type of rice. For most Cajun and Creole dishes, the preferred rice is plain white rice, either short, medium or long grain. The length of grain is a matter of personal preference, but I find that gravy “sticks” to short or medium grain rice better because of a higher starch content. A lot of restaurants use long grain rice because it’s better for presentation. There’s also a lot of varieties out there, including crossbred types. Some are more fragrant and aromatic than others. Some are more starchy than others. My favorite aromatic blend comes from Hoppe Farms called Jazzman. It’s a jasmine-basmati crossbreed called jasmati.
I cook Indian food as well as sushi, and the rices I use for these two cuisines are vastly different. Basmati is my go-to for Indian dishes, but extra-short grain rice (usually labeled as sushi rice) is a requirement for sushi since the starch content allows for soaking up rice wine vinegar to make it sticky–else your sushi rolls will fall apart. Quel haunt.
No surprise that our diet down here is rice-based. Rice grows really well in our wet climate. Potatoes…..not so much. Unfortunately, diabetes is as rampant as our rice cultivation in this region, and I was not immune to it. Every time I eat regular white rice in rice-and-gravy dishes, I want to take a nap afterwards. I get a “sugar crash” after consuming that much carbohydrates at one time. And I crash hard. I mean I had weekends where I’d go on a “rice bender” and have it at every single meal and just sleep the weekend away. I had a love/hate relationship with white rice until my mom started using parboiled rice. At first, I turned my nose up at it because the texture and the taste are a little different, and I didn’t think it was up to muster for my dishes. Well, folks, I’m here to tell you that after my mom’s constant putting-it-in-my-face (thanks, mom!), I tried parboiled rice. In rice dressing, no less. And I didn’t need a nap afterwards. Color me shocked as hell. When I started looking into it, I found the glycemic index of parboiled rice is 39–which is pretty low compared to the 89 that white rice presents. Bazinga! THAT’s why I didn’t crash. I could eat rice and not suffer the consequences of carbohydrate overload! It does take some getting used to, but it is brutally honest and unforgiving with regards to your gravy. If your gravy isn’t thick enough, there is no way in hell it’s gonna stick to this rice. It’ll sink down to the bottom of your plate, and all your sides are gonna be swimming in it. If you make rice dressing with it, don’t be mixing it with that frozen stuff (even the Harold’s brand), because your family will never let you forget it. Do yourself a favor and get some fresh dressing mix (I highly recommend the dressing mix at Joyce’s in St. Martinville), and make a roux, for God’s sake. Just because you’re skimping a little on the rice doesn’t mean you can skimp on the labor of love that is rice dressing. Give it a try. Every little effort to make dishes “healthier” is worth it in the long run. It’ll keep your family around a little longer.