Rice --- strain or not

[Mojomor]

A few years ago I had a Thai GF who gave out yards to me for straining the rice with boiling water. She maintained I was washing the goodness away.

My view was that it was pure starch, and therefore no good for anybody.

However a few short years later, on a visit to Vietnam, I learned that the Vietcong mostly lived on cassava, which is mostly starch.

So, learned friends, please discuss.

[derator01]

Let's move this over to the Thai Food forum.

Topic Moved.

[AyG]

It seems a very odd thing to do. The rice is going to end up very wet.

Better to rinse the rice before it's cooked to remove any loose rice dust, then cook "conservatively" (i.e. you add just the right amount of water so there's none left when the rice is cooked) - most easily done in a rice cooker. That way you best preserve the nutritional value - not that white rice has a lot.

[Pla shado]

_{As AyG says, it's always a good idea to rinse the rice to clean. My wife will rinse khao hom mali (jasmine rice) a few times before boiling with just a little water over the rice. She measures the water by using the first joint of her index finger from the top of the water to the top of the submerged rice. If cooking khao mai (new season rice) she will use less water. For khao niao (sticky rice) she will rinse the rice several times and then let sit for an hour or more in water before steaming.}

_{Thais will use several methods for cooking rice depending on the type, age and intended use.}

[recom273]

As AyG says, if you wash it - it's all soggy and taste of water.

I think the correct way would to wash it before cooking until the water runs clear, which washes away the starch dust.

Edited December 16, 2015 by recom273

[notmyself]

As AyG says, it's always a good idea to rinse the rice to clean. My wife will rinse khao hom mali (jasmine rice) a few times before boiling with just a little water over the rice. She measures the water by using the first joint of her index finger from the top of the water to the top of the submerged rice.

I do that too but there is an element of knowledge involved. Annoys the Hell out of my sister when I visit the UK because I measure nothing! She will be there taking notes on a pad on how to make something and ends up with a list of 'some' salt or what not. Her and her family don't eat much plain rice but they do often eat this type of product....

Rice is free because I take 20kg of Hom Mali with me whenever I visit which makes this product even more expensive. Bought a kilo of dried mixed veg off of ebay along with bouillon powder, garlic powder, onion powder, tomato powder and some guar gum. Now they can eat the exact same product for free.

The reason for the guar gum is because you need a stabiliser to stop the powders from floating on the surface of the water when it gets hot.