You can buy Italian risotto rice in supermarkets but it's a little pricey. What would be a good local rice to make risotto? According to Wikipedia, "A high-starch (amylopectin), low-amylose round medium- or short- grain rice is usually used to make risotto". What local rice matches that description?

Edited July 3, 201016 yr by edwardandtubs

Nothing really close to arborio rice that I know of.

perhaps...khao niaow (sticky rice)??

Not that close, I think, but....I have never tried cooking it al-dente...

Edited July 3, 201016 yr by ChefHeat

Thai rice wouldn't work at all. It's very different. Same for the sticky rice idea. You need a starchy short grain rice.

I always use the Japanese shortgrain rice (sushi rice) over here for risottos and Paella's. It's a fraction of the price of Aborio or Caranoli and it's very close. I doubt many people could tell the difference once cooked!

Actually....California produces a lot if not most of the Jap sushi rice......called 'calrose' i think, but I don't know if they are growing it here in LOS because the price in the market for Jap rice is 2 or 3x local rice. too bad khao niaow wouldn't work.....anyone tried it??

Actually....California produces a lot if not most of the Jap sushi rice......called 'calrose' i think, but I don't know if they are growing it here in LOS because the price in the market for Jap rice is 2 or 3x local rice. too bad khao niaow wouldn't work.....anyone tried it??

California produce most of the sushi rice thats used in the States, but not what we get here in Asia. I know that 'Calrose' rice is exported, but in Asia especially Japan and Korea locally produced sushi rice is favoured. I've never know any Japanese Chef who would use anything else apart from Japanese rice. I've always found the Japanese are more particular about using their own produce than the French.

The rice I'm suggesting I get from Tops and I use it for Rissotos and Paellas as well as Sushi and it is grown here in Thailand. It's a Japanese variety called 'Sasanishiki' and is produced by a company called King Elephant and costs about the same price as a standard good quality local rice such as Hom Mali, about 60 baht/kg. When you compare this to a 250g packet of Riso Gallo rissoto rice at 200 baht it's quite a saving.

Yes, you can get local rice a lot cheaper than 60baht/kg but as any chef or foodie knows, rule number one when cooking Thai food is to buy the best quality rice you can!

The rice I'm suggesting I get from Tops and I use it for Rissotos and Paellas as well as Sushi and it is grown here in Thailand. It's a Japanese variety called 'Sasanishiki' and is produced by a company called King Elephant and costs about the same price as a standard good quality local rice such as Hom Mali, about 60 baht/kg. When you compare this to a 250g packet of Riso Gallo rissoto rice at 200 baht it's quite a saving.

Yes, you can get local rice a lot cheaper than 60baht/kg but as any chef or foodie knows, rule number one when cooking Thai food is to buy the best quality rice you can!

Thanks for the suggestion. I tried it and it's definitely the best locally-grown rice for making risotto. Taste and texture is close enough but it looks a little bit like rice pudding instead of risotto. I also picked up 500g of Waitrose risotto rice for 109 baht at Tops which I think is the best value available if you really want to make a good risotto.

Edited July 17, 201015 yr by edwardandtubs

cibus italian market, near chitlom bts...best aborio and other risotto rices available in thailand.. not cheap,but life is to short to eat cheap food

cibus italian market, near chitlom bts...best aborio and other risotto rices available in thailand.. not cheap,but life is to short to eat cheap food

Great tip, I'll definitely check that place out. It seems their Arborio rice isn't too expensive. I agree with what you say about cheap food - you can't cook a decent risotto with sushi rice. I'm doing fine with the Waitrose Arborio rice from Tops though, so I'm not sure whether a more expensive Arborio would make a big difference but I'll definitely check it out.

cibus italian market, near chitlom bts...best aborio and other risotto rices available in thailand.. not cheap,but life is to short to eat cheap food

Great tip, I'll definitely check that place out. It seems their Arborio rice isn't too expensive. I agree with what you say about cheap food - you can't cook a decent risotto with sushi rice. I'm doing fine with the Waitrose Arborio rice from Tops though, so I'm not sure whether a more expensive Arborio would make a big difference but I'll definitely check it out.

Arboria or nothing at all - unless you are eating rissotto 3 times a day. Man, I love rissotto ....and the cooking as well.

cibus italian market, near chitlom bts...best aborio and other risotto rices available in thailand.. not cheap,but life is to short to eat cheap food

Great tip, I'll definitely check that place out. It seems their Arborio rice isn't too expensive. I agree with what you say about cheap food - you can't cook a decent risotto with sushi rice. I'm doing fine with the Waitrose Arborio rice from Tops though, so I'm not sure whether a more expensive Arborio would make a big difference but I'll definitely check it out.

Arboria or nothing at all - unless you are eating rissotto 3 times a day. Man, I love rissotto ....and the cooking as well.

oops...excuse me..Arborio

cibus italian market, near chitlom bts...best aborio and other risotto rices available in thailand.. not cheap,but life is to short to eat cheap food

Great tip, I'll definitely check that place out. It seems their Arborio rice isn't too expensive. I agree with what you say about cheap food - you can't cook a decent risotto with sushi rice. I'm doing fine with the Waitrose Arborio rice from Tops though, so I'm not sure whether a more expensive Arborio would make a big difference but I'll definitely check it out.

Arboria or nothing at all - unless you are eating rissotto 3 times a day. Man, I love rissotto ....and the cooking as well.

Me too. I didn't notice a big difference between the Waitrose Arborio rice and the more expensive Arborio rice from Cibus, so at 109 baht for 500g I'll stick with the Waitrose Arborio.

cibus italian market, near chitlom bts...best aborio and other risotto rices available in thailand.. not cheap,but life is to short to eat cheap food

Great tip, I'll definitely check that place out. It seems their Arborio rice isn't too expensive. I agree with what you say about cheap food - you can't cook a decent risotto with sushi rice. I'm doing fine with the Waitrose Arborio rice from Tops though, so I'm not sure whether a more expensive Arborio would make a big difference but I'll definitely check it out.

Arboria or nothing at all - unless you are eating rissotto 3 times a day. Man, I love rissotto ....and the cooking as well.

Me too. I didn't notice a big difference between the Waitrose Arborio rice and the more expensive Arborio rice from Cibus, so at 109 baht for 500g I'll stick with the Waitrose Arborio.

Scrap that recommendation. I just bought 4 bags only to discover they were all infested with insects. Those easy-open bags may be suitable for the UK but definitely not for Thailand. I'll stick with the more expensive stuff in future.

Actually....California produces a lot if not most of the Jap sushi rice......called 'calrose' i think, but I don't know if they are growing it here in LOS because the price in the market for Jap rice is 2 or 3x local rice. too bad khao niaow wouldn't work.....anyone tried it??

California produce most of the sushi rice thats used in the States, but not what we get here in Asia. I know that 'Calrose' rice is exported, but in Asia especially Japan and Korea locally produced sushi rice is favoured. I've never know any Japanese Chef who would use anything else apart from Japanese rice. I've always found the Japanese are more particular about using their own produce than the French.

The rice I'm suggesting I get from Tops and I use it for Rissotos and Paellas as well as Sushi and it is grown here in Thailand. It's a Japanese variety called 'Sasanishiki' and is produced by a company called King Elephant and costs about the same price as a standard good quality local rice such as Hom Mali, about 60 baht/kg. When you compare this to a 250g packet of Riso Gallo rissoto rice at 200 baht it's quite a saving.

Yes, you can get local rice a lot cheaper than 60baht/kg but as any chef or foodie knows, rule number one when cooking Thai food is to buy the best quality rice you can!

I too use Japanese rice as a very good substitiute for arboria/ carnorolli rice for risottos. It is grown locally just north of Chiang Rai here and costs less than 50 bahts/kilo in shops, or 20-40 bahts straight from producer. A couple of Japanese acquaintences say it is better than they can grow in Japan!

Actually....California produces a lot if not most of the Jap sushi rice......called 'calrose' i think, but I don't know if they are growing it here in LOS because the price in the market for Jap rice is 2 or 3x local rice. too bad khao niaow wouldn't work.....anyone tried it??

California produce most of the sushi rice thats used in the States, but not what we get here in Asia. I know that 'Calrose' rice is exported, but in Asia especially Japan and Korea locally produced sushi rice is favoured. I've never know any Japanese Chef who would use anything else apart from Japanese rice. I've always found the Japanese are more particular about using their own produce than the French.

The rice I'm suggesting I get from Tops and I use it for Rissotos and Paellas as well as Sushi and it is grown here in Thailand. It's a Japanese variety called 'Sasanishiki' and is produced by a company called King Elephant and costs about the same price as a standard good quality local rice such as Hom Mali, about 60 baht/kg. When you compare this to a 250g packet of Riso Gallo rissoto rice at 200 baht it's quite a saving.

Yes, you can get local rice a lot cheaper than 60baht/kg but as any chef or foodie knows, rule number one when cooking Thai food is to buy the best quality rice you can!

I too use Japanese rice as a very good substitiute for arboria/ carnorolli rice for risottos. It is grown locally just north of Chiang Rai here and costs less than 50 bahts/kilo in shops, or 20-40 bahts straight from producer. A couple of Japanese acquaintences say it is better than they can grow in Japan!

Forgot to say that it makes a very nice baked rice pudding too.