Black Wild Sweet Rice, 야생찹쌀, Thai Grown, Naturally Sweet for Desserts (2, Pounds)

New to meAs an American, this rice was an exotic food I've actually never previously come across. Where have you been all my life? I love it!Health powerhouse-Anthocyanins are the powerful antioxidant pigments that give this rice it’s ‘black’ color; that protect your body’s cells from damage. This is the same component that gives color to foods like blueberries, which is why they are rated among the healthiest foods to eat.-lower arsenic than American brown & white rice. I like to obtain rice such as this rice from Asia, because testing has proven such rices to have less arsenic, which is a concern when consuming a lot of rice regularly. (I also alternate rice with wheat bulgur for this reason. But there is no reason to avoid rice altogether, just so long as you take such positive steps; including a rinse - next)RinseDo not soak, only rinse, for the best outcomes, based on my testing/ experience. Soaking was not beneficial, as it gives mushy rice. (Some health persons do recommend soaking, & tossing the water, for the sake of reducing the arsenic found in all rice, at varying levels, depending on country/ continent of origin. However, I choose to just eat rice at a reasonable frequency in my diet, as the solution)CookingIt cooks similar to brown rice, with a longer cook time of 45 minutes, & not the shorter 15-20 minutes of white rices. I simply used a stove top pan with glass lid, & not a rice steamer & it works fine; adding a bit of salt & butter or olive oilColor blend management in rice blendsThis rice in general is intended to be used as part of a rice blend, when used in savory dishes.I wanted to maintain the firm state of each rice in the blend, as well as color, not having my white rice turn too dark, so I cook Basmati rice & this black rice separately, & then blend them once fully cool. I do not want to stir the rice much while hot, as it gives danger of creating ‘mush.’ However, if you can manage to get the timing just right, as I did with my last batch, you can cook the rice with extra water, for adding white rice in the last 20 minutes of cooking, which gave a perfectly fine outcome.Quick cooling-To avoid mushy rice, I stop the internal cooking of the hot rice, by cooling it fast, which I do by removing it from the pan & spreading it out on a flat sheet pan, then even sticking it in the refrigerator for a short time. This extra step, with just 1 extra pan to ‘quick clean,’ is such a simple price for assurance of perfect rice, so it is worth it to me.Over time, as you gain experience with the rice, to determine optimal minimal cook time, I expect such extra cooling steps less vitalHomemade Egg Foo Young! & Stir Fry-This rice gave the BEST egg foo young ever, as seen in the photo; one of my regular breakfast dishes, that I cook in advance, to eat for most of the upcoming week (e.g. 5 days). It was so delicious! I hope to always buy this rice, for the rest of my life!-I also used this rice for my General Tso’s stir fry & I am absolutely pleased

It’s too bad this has such a “sweet” reputation as it’s really not sweet if you cook it without sugar. I looked up several recipes before trying this, and for most, for every cup of uncooked rice, they have you adding at least one cup of some sort of sugar. Um, that’s going to be sweet, and you could make any rice sweet with that much sugar.I soaked the rice overnight before boiling. The water turned a little purple, but not bad. In fact, I didn’t think this was something that would stain everything it touches. Yes, it’s purple when it cooks up, but grow Black Nebula Carrots if you want a purple stain. I found it took about 45 minutes before the water was absorbed and I was left with a nicely textured porridge. (1 cup dry rice, soaked, then rinsed and cooked in nearly 4 cups of water). For the first 30+ minutes I didn’t think all that water would be absorbed, but ultimately, it was. I had no issues with sticking, though I did stir regularly with a silicone spatula so I could easily drag the bottom of the stainless steel pan.At this point, I had added nothing. I tasted the rice – it tasted of very little. I added some salt to bring out whatever flavors where there, and it was slightly nutty, but not what I would call sweet. At this point I knew if I added the 1 cup of sugar the recipe called for, I’d have a horrendously unhealthy and oversweet dessert for my taste. Instead, I decided to just have porridge (it was morning, so I had breakfast). With just a bit of date syrup, this may be a new go-to hot cereal, though it takes longer than other hot cereals, but the rice itself is quite healthy.I love the texture of risotto, but I’m not a dairy person. This rice will make a GREAT non-dairy risotto. Make it with chicken broth instead of water, maybe throw in some fine diced onions and garlic, maybe some carrots towards the end = delicious!This rice (by its reputation) does itself a disservice with the word sweet. Yes, that’s what it’s basically used for in the Asian markets, but the rice itself is rather neutral, and will go with whatever direction you season it. Yes, there may be a hint of sweetness underneath, but not as much as with carrots, or colored peppers, or a sweet onion, and those all make great savory dishes. I love this rice, but only because of my open mind to the true possibilities.

It made excellent sticky rice. Make sure you rinse it before cooking, it is essential to do that with this rice variety, otherwise it will be too starchy. This rice was just right.

I looked up a recipe for Thai coconut black sticky rice, it's a rice pudding. It is so good! The rice takes quite a while to soften up, but that's because it's wholegrain. It will make the water look black, but then it somehow takes the black back. This might be a new staple for me. I really enjoy having such an easy dessert to make that I can determine how much sugar to add. I can't wait to try more kinds of desserts with this rice.The current price is $14.99 for 2lbs.