Jasmine rice.............what's the big deal?

[jaideeguy]

My Thai wife always buys the most expensive rice now that she's married to a falang...........Jasmine Homale and to be honest, I find it the most tasteless rice there is. A lot of my dislike to it is that she always puts too much water and it ends up being a [tasteless] sticky goo that 20% is left stuck to the rice cooker pot.

I'm sure a lot of her preference for it is the fact that her father grows the famous Jasmine rice on his farm in Issan and he sells his whole crop to the buyers, then for the family he buys the cheapest broken rice.

I was raised in a rice culture [Hawaii] and we used Calrose, a California grown version of a Japanese rice that has some texture and decent flavor and then there is Basmati rice that actually does have some flavor and texture. Jasmine to me is totally overrated.

I also like some of the many colored rices that are grown..............black, brown and red with a lot more texture than the mushy white rice.

Thanks for listening to my 'Thai Rice Rant'..............

[Oscar2]

we never buy white Jasmine rice. 90% of the time we use brown rice - a few variations. for khao man gai we use mun poo rice.

i too, prefer the Japanese or the Basmati rice but as said, seldom ever eat white rice.

[marko kok prong]

I myself much prefer Basmati,flavour and fluffy grains,i do eat Thai rice but my wife does not buy Jasmine, but some other type,she to cooks it in the rice cooker,it's okay but i do find as you say it tends to stick together and you have to kind of gently chop away at it with a spoon to break it up,the sticky rice i do not like at all,but for me Basmati is the best.

[thailiketoo]

Try getting it straight from the farm and not the store and buy a Toshiba rice cooker with a 4mm forged thick pot. I now cook all the rice at home by request. My cooker also has a timed thing so I can set it at night to start cooking an hour before we get up.

[slipperylobster]

Can tell the difference right away, by the aroma.

Any rice can be cooked to perfection. And, like wine, some rices go better with certain foods.

A nuttier flavored brown rice ...heavy in texture and flavor...may be more suited for...say a Roasted, seasoned Leg of Lamb....in a rice Pilaf.... While Jasmine would be best with certain mild Curries.

Japanese varieties (short grained) are very good, and tend to be easier to eat with chopsticks.... best when topped with some stirfry.

Non-afficianados probably will not care much which type they are eating. Many farangs scoff at rice all together, forcing their wives to eat greasy, unappealing chips (french fries) or limp mashed potatoes with butter and greasy gravy... ewwwwwwww

Edited May 13, 2014 by slipperylobster

[thailiketoo]

Can tell the difference right away, by the aroma.

Any rice can be cooked to perfection. And, like wine, some rices go better with certain foods.

A nuttier flavored brown rice ...heavy in texture and flavor...may be more suited for...say a Roasted, seasoned Leg of Lamb....in a rice Pilaf.... While Jasmine would be best with certain mild Curries.

Japanese varieties (short grained) are very good, and tend to be easier to eat with chopsticks.... best when topped with some stirfry.

Non-afficiandos probably will not care much which type they are eating. Many farangs scoff at rice all together, forcing their wives to eat greasy, unappealing chips (french fries) or limp mashed potatoes with butter and greasy gravy... ewwwwwwww

Agree with that also the water content of the rice changes depending how long ago it was harvested and so the amount of water cooked with it should also change.

[Estrada]

Your wife can't cook, send her for cooking lessons. Thai Jasmine Rice is the best if cooked properly.

[chuenyongman]

Cook your own rice and have which variety you wish.

[catweazle]

I'll pity you if I find the time... if the choice/price of rice my wife buys would be my biggest problem, I'd call myself blessed...

By any chance, are you what they call a "Cheap Charly"?

[salapau]

Buy it yourself then

[crazykopite]

Tell your wife is she uses brown rice she will feel better and live a lot longer that should do the trick and better still buy her a 400 baht rice cooker with a measuring cup in it . One thing is for sure a bag of rice is a lot cheaper than that gold necklace or ring in the local jewellery shop !!!!

[fxe1200]

we never buy white Jasmine rice. 90% of the time we use brown rice - a few variations. for khao man gai we use mun poo rice.

i too, prefer the Japanese or the Basmati rice but as said, seldom ever eat white rice.

I do not eat white rice either, when home. Attached is the reason. The numbers given are from the University of Upsala. I have converted them into this graph.

[HUAHIN62]

Your wife can't cook, send her for cooking lessons. Thai Jasmine Rice is the best if cooked properly.

I agree, we use Jasmine everyday and its not sticky or tasteless. But you get different brands and to some you need to add less water when you cook the rice. The brand we use cost B 148/5 kg at Makro, dirt cheap.

[risky11]

I used to be married to a Filipina and had to deal with this crap. So glad I am single now. I can do my Paleo diet in peace...

[giddyup]

Buy cheap rice and it's likely to involve an expensive trip to the dentist. You are more than likely to find a stone in cheap rice.

[Seelow]

Out of interest how much is the price difference between normal rice and this Jasmine Homale, and so how much extra a week would one estimate your financial damage is?

[Thakkar]

OP, your wife sounds like an atrocious woman. You must leave her forthwith and join my club. We do manly things like sit around drinking beer and complain about or exes. It's loads of fun, really.

Surf on over to arseholesclub.com and sign up. I'm the chairman and chief <deleted>. God, I miss my wife, boo-hoo, sniff, sniff...oh, wait, eh am I still on thaivisa??

This is embarrassing...

T

[AnotherOneAmerican]

I'm on my own, not worth cooking my own rice.

The local rice shop provides cooked rice (sticky or steamed) for 5bht a portion from 7am to 9pm.

1 portion is twice as much as I can eat.

[ezzra]

Be happy that she only buys expensive rice, mine like to buy expensive cars....

[Artist]

I don't know about you guys but in our village there is an epidemic of Type 2 diabetes. Both my wifes parents have it and my wife has slightly raised blood sugar levels. Consequently our doctor in Australia has advised her to only eat brown rice. Traditionally village people ate brown rice as they couldn't afford white rice. As everybody in the village seems to be more affluent nowadays they eat white rice and get diabetes (a nasty killer). So you could suggest to your wife that there might be health risks in eating the most expensive rice.

[ice4351]

Will you please get a life!

[kieran2698]

Buy cheap rice and it's likely to involve an expensive trip to the dentist. You are more than likely to find a stone in cheap rice.

Or some extra work, you really do get what you pay for, and if you want to get the stones out yourself you can save penny.

[Neilcnx]

I lived in Kauai for the first of my 16 years in Hawaii. One day, I was invited to lunch at the home of a local doctor I"d met. He asked if I had any food preferance and I told him no, I eat everything. Every time I've been asked a similar question since then I answer, I eat anything but poi.

Your complaint sounds a lot like the classic defense for justifiable murder... "I kept telling her to put the cap back on the toothpaste and she wouldn't listen."

Why don't you try making rice the way you like it and let her try it. If she agrees, teach her how to make it your way. If not, buy another rice cooker.

[Pii Kate]

So why not buy your favorite rice, throw it in the cooker with the correct proportion of water and offer it to her. Or get two rice cookers, his and hers.

[giddyup]

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Buy cheap rice and it's likely to involve an expensive trip to the dentist. You are more than likely to find a stone in cheap rice.

Or some extra work, you really do get what you pay for, and if you want to get the stones out yourself you can save penny.

I don't and I don't.

[wandasloan]

I lived in Kauai for the first of my 16 years in Hawaii. One day, I was invited to lunch at the home of a local doctor I"d met. He asked if I had any food preferance and I told him no, I eat everything. Every time I've been asked a similar question since then I answer, I eat anything but poi.

Now THAT is funny. Thank you. And you are so absolutely, totally right. Give me pla ra and a plate of beetles every day, make me go to Suthep concerts every night for a month, but please don't feed me poi.

[Phoenix1312]

Of coarse she does. Are you really surprised

[jaideeguy]

My OP got lost and found it's way to the Thai food forum, probably where it should have been in the first place............

Actually the FIL did send me a big bag of his rice and it was better than most, but still tasteless white mush after the wife cooked it.

I know what your next statement will be.......................'why don't I cook the rice my way.........drier and with more texture??'

my reply will be................'I have tried it and the wife [and brainwashed kids] like it overcooked and mushy and then insist on cooking it her way' which is the way her mother did it and her grand mother etc.....

I do occasionally insist on a different kind of rice and keep MY rice in the refrigerator for ME.

life is tough here.............

[Somnambulist]

Action speaks louder than words. As long as you keep eating that terribly prepared rice, your wife will keep serving it to you no matter what you say. Just refuse to eat it. That should drive home your point.

[lvr181]

Trade her (the rice cooker) in for a new model!