Japanese rice
 

When I go into a store here in the US.. what kind of rice am i to look for when i need Japanese rice?

Long grain rice, its hard to and its not usually sold in regular stores so if theres an oriental store somewhere near u im sure they have it

But what name am I looking for. I know that there is a specific brand or two.. but I do not know what to get. I always thought Jasmine was the type to get, but i found that is not the correct type.

LOL It's short grain all the way!! :)

oh O.O my bad....that guy on Good Eats lied to me =.=

The only time I eat long grain rice is when we're at a Chinese restaurant lol.

haha....long grain rice isn't...really...what would be considered 'oriental'....
i feel long grain usually belongs too american and middle eastern cultures >.>''
for chinese and japanese cuisine though~ med and short grains are preferred (though...wonder about jasmine rice... ._.')

as for what kinda brand too look fer
if you wanna do sushi~ buy 'sushi' rice from 'california'
>.>''

everything else....
i believe my family uses jasmine rice typically for meals >.>''

Yes, SHORT grain rice. If you can find the Japanese brand name Koshihikari or Hitomebore you're very lucky (I think they don't permit export?).

Enjoy your American rice. Most Japanese would love to get it if they could, but importing rice into Japan is illegal. The rice here is no better than what you get in America (some would argue that it isn't as good), and rice here costs between 5 and 10 times as much.

I don`t know what kind of rice you`re eating in Japan, but I`ve never had any American "Japanese" rice that didn`t taste like complete and total crap. (What is that weird soapy flavor all of it has? No matter how much I wash it, it tastes like someone squeezed detergent into it.) I`ve tried quite a few different brands, all while in the US - even the expensive ones - and they all seem to have a nasty after taste or be either gushy or hardened starchy. The only time I`ve had something like that in Japan was when we ran out of rice and picked up the absolute cheapest little bag of last year`s rice that had been imported from Vietnam.

I do agree that the price of rice in Japan is artificially inflated, but there is no way I can believe the rice in the US is near the quality of the average rice here - or at least the type we eat. It may be the rice itself, or more likely a difference in processing... But that is in fact my experience.

As for the legality of rice imports - It was legal for a while, until the US violated international laws by including illegal GM rice in supposedly non-GM shipments. Now it`s not actually illegal, and you can find California rice fairly easily - but being as Japan insists on testing it very thoroughly for GM (which they seem to find at a rate high enough to make the process necessary) by the time it hits the market it is old and tastes like crap... Which isn`t convincing anyone to switch over.

The beauty of Japanese rice is that you can eat it with chopsticks without fear of it falling off. Other rice requires a spoon.

Good point. I actually don't even think sushi would have been invented if Japanese rice had not been short-grained and therefore sticky.

Yeah, even with all that vinegar in it!

Niigata no Koshihikari, the best rice in the world. Mmmmm.... if I was in Japan now I'd run out and buy a bag of it.

Yes, sushi with other rice would be a joke.

Pfft. Try Koshihikari from the place that actually developed the strain - Fukui. :P
Niigata has basically become a "brand name", with anyone in the area trying to cash in.
Fukui Koshihikari is from the original strains, and is *excellent*. I would choose it over Niigata any day. (And have, as we`ve tried the supposedly great Niigata grown and found it either the same or not as good as the rice we regularly eat. Costing more on top of that.)

Here in some stores we can find Shinode brand, sold as sushi rice. I sometimes use it, added with rice vinegar (once I made myself maki sushis with it, but it took me a so long time!)

Hey, well if you can't afford the best, I understand... :mtongue:

Just kidding, I'll see if I can find some of the Fukui stuff and make up my own mind.

I know I decide what is best based on quality rather than price... :P

Anyway, enough with the joking. Fukui is actually the location where Koshihikari was developed, but wasn`t the first place to push it into the national market. Niigata was, so they became forever associated with good rice. I have nothing against Niigata Koshihikari - it`s not bad at all. The thing is, it`s price is inflated by the "brand" name. As production isn`t centralized, there are some really crappy crops that are passed off at unbelievable prices just because of where they were raised.

I`ll check for you what the type we eat is sold as when packaged. We buy it directly from the producer, in 30kg bags (genmai) that are only labeled with basic information. We`re pretty picky with our rice, so tried a bunch of different types before settling on this one. It isn`t cheap, but also isn`t frighteningly expensive. It`s also the best tasting out of the bunch.

Okay, thanks. Up in Saitama, I've seen Niigata no Koshihikari and Akita no Koshihikari but I don't recall any Fukui stuff.

Then again, they say the Irish invented whisky but the Scots perfected it...:vsign:

I use Nishiki rice, usualy buy the 10kg or 20kg bags. You also have to make sure you have a proper "Japanese" rice cooker, not a Korean or American one, something like a zojirushi model.

Here we go; 田んぼの天使

That doesn`t mean that there isn`t any great whiskey from Ireland. :vsign:

I just really dislike brand name power - and the common assumption that just because something has a famous name on it, it has to be good. I`ll make that choice myself - which is probably why we fill our cabinets with things from small producers. But they all *taste* best.

additional info on rice in japan from a trade policy perspective

http://www.customs.go.jp/english/tar..._4/data/10.htm

i saw in an article concerning the WTO DDA negotiations that they said 402 yen/Kg equals 780 % in ad-valorem duty even though i reckon the most common figure is approx 800 %.

I know this is heresy, but my long grain Texan basmati works fine for onigiri and sushi when its cooked with that use in mind. Its a softer long grain than others and just takes a bit more water. However you can't leave it sit for long once its cooked. As it dries the grains will begin to separate and give you traditional Indian/Middle Eastern fluffiness, unless you have already added vinegar.

Its flavor is different, but not less appealing, and the aroma while it cooks is wonderful ... slightly like popcorn. Since I buy it bulk and then transfer it to an old crock of my grandmother's I have no idea what brand it is, but it was one that is less polished and processed that the usual stuff in American grocery stores which helps with having enough gluten for stickiness.

oh really? but i think japanese rice is great,they taste really good and you can even lift it with chopsticks...

"Angel of the rice paddy," eh? I'll take a look...


Don't put down brands so fast. A reliable brand saves you time and trouble by directing you to a product whose good and bad points you understand. Whatever you may think about McDonald's or Starbucks, you know what you're getting. How many times have you stopped at an udon shop and found the food is crap, and the only reason lots of people stop there is because they have a big parking lot?

Niigata no Koshihikari is absolutely top notch, and I haven't met the Japanese who disagrees. But I'll certainly give the Fukui variety a try.

I am talking specifically about the assumption that because it has a certain name slapped on it, that it has to be good. Brands serve a purpose. If I want something "safe", a brand is the way to go. I know full well that when I try things that are unfamiliar that it`s a risk. It is easiest to stick with the tried and true, middle of the road, acceptable to the majority brand names. But that doesn`t mean they`re what *I* will find the best tasting. Therefore I am more than willing to take those risks so that I can find the things I personally like the best. Yes, I`ve had some real crap - but it isn`t as if I didn`t realize that risk was there. I`ve also found some absolutely wonderful products that the "safe" brands can`t even hold a candle to.

In other words - it`s not the brands themselves I dislike. It`s the cultural attitude toward those brands, and the frequent unwillingness to try something because it doesn`t have a brand name on it.

I never said Niigata Koshihikari was bad at all. It`s very good.

I just prefer Fukui, and consider it to be better. :D But if we run out of rice, and I pick up a small bag - it`s more than likely going to be Niigata... As, well, it`s safe - and I don`t want to be stuck eating through something awful. But I`ll still switch back over to our preferred rice ASAP.

I'm resurrecting an old thread here! What is the difference between Japanese and other rice cookers? I might buy one at some point, and I need to know what to look for. The prices vary tremendously. Some of them claim to have 'fuzzy logic'. What is that? Does it actually mean anything? :confused:

I may not be answering your question in a direct manner by saying this, but just think about who knows the best about rice and cooking rice. Think about who demands the most in how rice is cooked.

In Japan, rice isn't a side dish. It is the main dish. We actually call it 主食, meaning 'the main dish'. This is why many of us buy very expensive rice even though there are always cheaper brands. We want to cook rice in good rice cookers as well. In restaurants, we often comment on the rice served. Serve mediocre rice and you will lose customers. Gorgeous fish and meat dishes won't quite compensate　for poorly cooked rice over here.

So, it will depend on what you expect your rice cooker to do. If you mostly eat long-grain rice, why not buy a Chinese-made rice cooker? They sure know how to cook long-grain rice. But if you eat mostly short-grain, why not buy a rice-cooker made by people who actually eat and know well about short-grain like the Japanese?

The 'fuzzy' rice cooker means, at least here in Japan, that it will read with sensors how much rice and water you put in and will decide for you how it should be cooked for the best result. It will automatically adjust the temperatures and the time periods for each temperature used inside during the course of the cooking. The result is often impressive with all the grains standing vertically when it's done. 'Grains standing' is the synonym for 'rice finely prepared' to the Japanese.

The cheapest kind, like mine, cannot 'read' anything. They just basically keep heating in the same temperature till the end. Moreover, they usually cook using the same amount of time regardless of how much rice you'e cooking.

short-grain rice... but you probably won't find it in U.S. supermarkets... you should go to an Oriental Store (which aren't mainstream) I hope this helps =)
I

Thanks, Nagoyankee. In the end, I actually bought a very cheap rice cooker, which I used for the first time today, with some Japanese rice. The results were rather impressive, for a machine that cost less than a decent size bag of rice! The machine seemed to know when the rice was cooked and the water had evaporated, and it went on to keep the rice warm until I used it. Perhaps I'll get myself a good Japanese rice cooker in due course, but I'm happy with the cheap one for now. :)

Thanks again.

Simon.

i guess i am odd when it comes to cooking rice ... i learned to cook it in a normal pot with a bamboo steamer ...

though i do not fix it like that now that i am older (that is how my aunt fixed it when she was helping take care of me as a child) ... i just use a normal post on the stove and monitor its progress ...

i guess a good ricer cooker would be a decent investment though ...

most of the rice i use now is long grain style that is grown in Louisiana where i am from ... but what i was always taught .. is how it turns out, depends more on how you prepare and cook it .. then what rice you use.

Short or medium grain of course.
I usually eat short or medium grain rice at home. My mom likes to make brown rice too. It's tasty, but you can get sick of it fast. Also, steamed rice tastes way better than cooked unless you're making hong dou (red bean) desert rice...OH MY GAWD AAAUUGGHH SO GOOD!

My dad likes sushi rice, and I agree, it is tasty stuff, but when I need some rice, I don't care so long as I don't have to pick little pebbles out it when I'm washing it...

I had a Panasonic rice cooker for years, but when it gave out my dad got me one of those smart cookers, and I love it.

But, I want to learn how to cook rice from my gramma, who says the best thing about cooking rice in a regular pot is the kachi kachi crispy brown part...

The more expensive rice-cookers from Japan now have a kachikachi mode, too.

Wow! Thank you, Nagoyankee-san!!! I'm going to check next time I go to the Marukai Warehouse Store!!!

:pinksong:

[I think Gramma would prefer kachikachi made for her for a change anyway...]

california rice
 

when i watch japanese tv shows i try to buy the brans they advertise.

I like sticky rice <3 great on sushi!

The only "oriental" rice I've ever tried was Vietnamese.
We get the huge you-need-a-man-to-carry-this sack.

Yeah its short grain rice. And in America it is hard to find actual rice from japan. Even the ones you find at oriental stores are usually a Japanese company, but they use rice made in the U.S. The closest kind to Japanese rice is the California short grain rice. Always wash it in a cold bath of water before putting in to a rice cooker.

hmm, so how exactly is the japanese rice cooker different from the standard (western) ones i find here?

are they really that much different without the fuzzy logic thing?

here's what my rice cooker is; its uuber cheap and seeps to work on simply a spring and a hotplate :p linky

im thinking of buying a large sack of shprt grain from the chinese market here (now i know where it is :rheart: ) next time we run out; will be interesting to see how the cheapo-cooker deals with it :p


incidently, what is kachikachi, exactly? :confused: