Rice Is Nice

About author / Christine Gable

Culinary enthusiast; kids cuisine and slow cooking; magazine recipe developer; professional writer. Her simple recipes are great for family dinners.

… “In January
it’s so nice
while slipping
on the sliding ice
to sip hot chicken soup
with rice.
Sipping once
sipping twice
sipping chicken soup
with rice” …

Not only does it have just the right iambic pentameter, Maurice Sendak’s opening for his book, Chicken Soup with Rice: A Book of Months, is another super way to eat rice.

Rice. Even if you don’t cook it in chicken soup, it’s an easy food. Easy to prepare, versatile and adaptable. Easy to eat. Rice goes with just about any dish—and it’s a rare person who doesn’t like it. Indeed, rice pairs beautifully with just about any protein, from fish and seafood to chicken, pork, tofu, tempeh or beans. It even makes a fabulous dessert when simmered gently with milk and spices.

While rice isn’t a grain that’s probably growing in your neighborhood, it can be found in just about any market, grocery store—even dollar stores. For only a dollar or two, one bag of rice provides numerous opportunities to make a nutritious meal. And best of all, whether boiled or baked, rice is easy to make. And that’s good news for kids in the kitchen. The trick to making it any time and anywhere is to remember the ratio of 2:1. Twice as much water as rice.

Rice is a grain that grows like a grass and usually in paddies—which are shallow pools surrounded by dikes. When the rice is harvested, the grains of rice are separated from the stalks. If only the outer shell is removed at the mill, brown rice remains. Brown rice still contains the layer around the kernel called the bran. If the bran layer is removed, white rice is the result. White rice contains less fiber and nutrients than brown rice.

Did you know that more people around the world eat rice than any other food? Yes, it is a vital part of 60 percent of the world’s daily diet—so much so that it’s considered polite, good manners to greet each other with “Have you eaten rice today?” in many eastern countries. And in both Chinese and Japanese languages the word rice is synonymous with the word meal. Rice is a staple food for much of the world—yet Americans eat only 25 pounds of rice per person per year compared to over 100 pounds per person in the Far East.

I often pick up Uncle Ben’s Converted Brown Rice at the store—it requires only half a cup more water and 15 more minutes cooking time. But it provides a lot more in the way of nutrition for that little bit more preplanning. According to Rebecca Wood’s The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia, brown rice contains more B vitamins than any other grain. It also contains iron, vitamin E, amino acids and linoleic acid.

So go ahead—just remember that 2:1 ratio and that one cup of dry rice equals 3 cups cooked, and you’re on your way to some easy, delicious eating. The next time your kids feel like cooking (or you’re encouraging them to try cooking), remember rice. Once they’ve tried their hand at cooking up a pot of white or brown rice, the sky’s the limit. From stir-fries and sides to rice pudding, search out some recipes here on CDKitchen with rice and have fun.

Serves/Makes: 6 cups

• 2 cups long-grain white rice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups boiling water

Serves/Makes: 3 cups

• 2 cups water
• 1 cup white rice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt