Japanese rice
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Japanese rice refers to a number of short-grain cultivars of Japonica rice including ordinary rice (uruchimai) and glutinous rice (mochigome).
Ordinary Japanese rice, or uruchimai (粳米), is the staple of the Japanese diet and consists of short translucent grains. When cooked, it has a sticky texture such that it can easily be picked up and eaten with chopsticks. Outside Japan it is sometimes labeled sushi rice, as this is one of its common uses. It is also used to produce sake.
Cultivation
Contemporary cultivation of rice in Japan is characterized by high mechanization, intense cultivation, and a shortage of farmland. Terraced rice fields cover many rural hillsides and are relatively small due to mountainous terrain and government controls on farmland consolidation.
Cultivars
Koshihikari (コシヒカリ) is a particularly esteemed cultivar and one of the most commonly grown in Japan. Akitakomachi is also quite popular. Sasanishiki is a cultivar known for keeping the same taste when cooled down. Yamada Nishiki is the most famous cultivar grown specifically for sake.
In
Processing
Rice begins as brown rice, genmai (玄米), which may then be polished by a machine (精米機 seimaiki), in which case it is sold as ready-polished or white rice, hakumai (白米). Most rice in Japan is processed and consumed as white rice, the staple food of Japan. Brown rice is also consumed in its unpolished state, often for its health benefits, but it is considered a specialty.
Haigamai is rice that has been partially milled to remove most of the bran but leave the germ intact. It takes less time to cook than brown rice but retains more of the vitamins than white rice.
Coin-operated automated rice polishing machines, called seimaijo (精米所), for polishing brown rice, are a common sight in rural Japan. The rice polishing machines typically polish a 10 kg amount for 100
Most supermarkets in Japan sell ready-polished rice in 10 kg, 5 kg, and smaller bags. Brown rice is usually sold in 30 kg bags, which may be generally polished by the consumer in a coin-operated polishing machine, or in smaller bags in supermarkets intended for eating as brown rice.
Musenmai (無洗米), or no-wash rice, is white rice which has been further processed to remove a sticky coating called the hada nuka (肌糠), or skin bran, which is normally removed by rinsing the rice prior to cooking for better taste and aroma. The manufacturing process involves tumbling the rice in a tube for a short duration, causing the bran to stick to the sides of the tube. The process notably does not use water, which is significant because water from rinsing rice is a big contributor of water pollution in Japan.[1]
Uses
Ordinary rice, or uruchimai, is eaten in several ways in
Examples of simple breakfast dishes include plain rice mixed with raw egg and optional soy sauce, known as
) (fried rice).Takikomi gohan is made with ordinary rice which is cooked together with vegetables, meat, or fish seasoned with dashi and soy sauce.
Uruchimai is also used to make alcoholic drinks like
Uncooked brown rice grains are mixed with green tea leaves and used to brew a kind of tea called Genmaicha (玄米茶) (brown rice tea).
).Preparation
Most Japanese use suihanki (rice cookers) to which measured amounts of washed rice and water are added. The rice is first washed to release excess starch. Then, before cooking it is usually soaked in water for between half an hour in summer, and two hours in winter. Soaking times also depend on the quality and freshness of the rice. The rice is then boiled using a ratio of about five parts of water to four parts of rice – though with fresher rice, the ratio can go down to 1-to-1. After this, it is steamed until the centre of the rice becomes soft. Salt is not added to the rice.
Most modern rice cookers include a cooking-delay timer, so that rice placed in the cooker at night will be ready for the morning meal. The rice cooker can also keep rice moist and warm, allowing it to remain edible for several hours after cooking.
Prepared rice is usually served from the rice cooker into a chawan, or rice bowl.
After cooking, rice may also be held in a covered wooden box called an ohitsu.
Trading
The
The Tokyo Grain Exchange was founded in 1952 in the same location as the Kakigaracho Rice Trading Exchange, established in 1874.[4] As of 2005, two varieties of Japanese rice were in consideration for standardization of the contract.
In order to fulfill self-sufficiency goals in Japan and to support domestic rice producers, the Japanese government enforces quotas and high tariffs on foreign rice. As a result, most rice consumed in Japan is domestically produced. However, price increases in recent years have led a small but increasing number of Japanese consumers and restaurants to seek out the small amount of less-expensive rice imported from China, Australia, and the United States that is available in Japan.[5]
See also
References
- ^ Alice, Gordenker (30 May 2021). "Why do Japanese wash rice and what is "no-wash rice"?". Japanese Food Guide.
- ^ "[The Tokyo Grain Exchange]". Archived from the original on 2005-11-20. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
- ^ "Fia | Fia". Futuresindustry.org. Retrieved 2016-12-27.
- ^ "The Tokyo Grain Exchange". Archived from the original on 2005-05-07. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
- ^ Tabuchi, Hiroko. "Japanese Consumers Reconsidering Rice Loyalty". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 October 2012.