Amen Bro,,,, rice is rice unless it has rocks in it. Far as I'm concerned--it's an ingredient that is added to
Yep Zep,,,,,,, lol, a poet and I don't know it. Agree with what you say, even in Oz we eat a h*ll of a lot of rice, good thing I'm into rice or a divorce might be in the wind.
Steve, I also prefer Basmati rice and I’m willing to pay the extra pesos to get it. You can’t beat Basmati when it comes to Biryani dishes etc. I tend to purchase mine from Assad Mini Mart in Manila. Last time I was there, a 5kg bag of standard Basmati was about P700/ 800. They also had 5kg bags of Special Basmati, aged for 2 years costing P900 (the brand was Lal Qila – Special Old Malai). I’d never heard of it before but decided to give it a try. I have to say it's the best Basmati rice I have ever tasted and extremely clean. Despite the additional cost, I’ll be buying it again next time. With the fall in the value of the Peso, like most things here I imagine it may have increased in price. I believe P900 works out at about AUS$24.4 so you’re still getting a better deal than Robinsons, even if you choose the more expensive brand. They will also deliver your order by post. The only downside is that their website needs developing; it's been in its current sad state for about 3 years, and their ordering system is very primative. Still, their products and rice are very good and once you get a hang of their system, it's worth the hassle. When I visited the shop, I made a note of the prices/ quantites of the products I was interested in, which simplified the ordering process.
Dog food comes in cans????
Zep, if I were getting through 50kg of rice in two weeks I’d probably buy the cheapest product on the market. But as Steve says, it’s personal choice. My wife loves the local stodgy white rice; I tend to give it a wide berth. As our main staple is bread (which we make at home) and potatoes, we can afford to be choosy with rice. Especially as we’ve adapted to eating the local sweet potatoes, which are not only healthier than the standard white potato we’re used to, but delicious and only a fraction of the cost.You guys and your buying a 5kg sack. Geez, I go thru a 50kg sack every two weeks or less. Maybe that's why I don't like the rice here as it is all locally grown. Short busted grains and rocks can be the norm, I have busted two crowns on the rocks so far. No way I could afford to buy rice in a supermarket in these quantities. That's ok, I like my bread.
Pagbati Basmati rice sounds interesting and I learned something new with the comment on the Biryani dishes and it sort of reminds me of cooking those quick "Rice a Roni" meals but I don't find these boxes here. Regular rice seems to get mushy when cooked but it looks like the Basmati rice holds up as a stew, I also used to get an instant chili mix and it had rice as part of the ingredients but never became mushy.
MCA, we rarely use wild rice but we do buy the local red and black rice. Very tasty and by all accounts, it's more nutritious that than white rice so it’s obviously more healthy; but it’s not to everyone’s taste and the extended cooking time tends to put off a lot of people. We don't use it all the time as it can be 'kind of heavy' and you certainly wouldn't eat much of it in one sitting. Besides, plain white rice goes really well with so many dishes. I tend to soak the red and black overnight first and then it takes approx. 30-40 mins on the stove top. The important thing is to avoid buying old rice, which takes a lot longer to cook. As you say, it also advisable to keep it in the fridge.
If you want the really good wild rice in Grand Forks you have to drive up I-29 until the guy (or gal) in the little booth says "Bienvenue au Canada" ....
