Thread: Rice

Yeah I eat somewhat a lot of white rice too. I don't think it is that bad for you, per se, but I believe it lacks really any nutritional benefits.

It is not bad for you, but not especially good for you either. It is probably fortified with all sorts of stuff, for whatever that is worth. It sounds like you are using it as a good, cheap and easy base for lots of other healthy stuff. An excuse to eat vegetables. That sounds like a good plan to me If you like it, it is much better for you than a lot of other crap you could be eating.

Of course, you would be better off with brown rice, if you can find it cheap. It has a lot more fiber and protein. For some reason, it seems to cost more, even though, logically, it should cost less. Check a local asian market if you're lucky enough to have one. Grocery stores seem to only sell pricey brown rice blends in small bags.

I like Korean short grain brown rice. It is cheap, and still sticky and soft like short grain white rice. It doesn't have that chewy, long grain "wild rice" feel to it. The real down side of brown rice is it takes twice as long to cook. You're looking at 45 minutes to an hour instead of 10-20 minutes for the white stuff.

Natural brown rice is better for you, especially if you have some kind of blood sugar or other metabolic problem. I never eat white rice. I eat brown rice a good bit, though, and it is really cheap too. Make sure you are covering the other food groups. It is terrible for you to eat nothing but rice.

Originally Posted by Elis D.

I just remember hearing that rice is so nutritionally deficient that in the long run it's bad for you... is this true? I mean some Asian(Oriental?) cultures base their entire diet around rice and they don't seem too worse for the wear.

The Chinese, Vietnamese, and Japanese cultures use rice extensively. In Brazil, the base of a common meal is rice and beans. My teacher assures us that we're lucky for being brazilian, because they're both very nutritive. Rice and soy can keep you alive, but if you're going into some muscle-building activity, you might want to increase protein.

And for the record: I eat read meat nearly daily (just like all other brazilians and argentinians) and don't have any problems with it at all. Nutritionists should study more before they affirm things.

Stick to brown rice, mate, it tastes better.

I only cook white rice into recipes where there's a lot of other stuff in it that makes up for it in terms of flavor and nutrition, or when brown rice would stick out (like in rice pudding.) For a vegetable stir fry, or just straight rice, I like parboiled better than enriched white rice. It's fluffier and has a nuttier flavor.

Of course, you would be better off with brown rice, if you can find it cheap. It has a lot more fiber and protein. For some reason, it seems to cost more, even though, logically, it should cost less.

Logistical reasons. Everybody has infrastructure set up to process the shit out of everything that comes out of the field and squirt some iron and B-vitamins back on top of it. They have to set up special shipping and processing channels for something that isn't in such high demand.

Originally Posted by Odd_Nonposter

Logistical reasons. Everybody has infrastructure set up to process the shit out of everything that comes out of the field and squirt some iron and B-vitamins back on top of it. They have to set up special shipping and processing channels for something that isn't in such high demand.

We live in such a silly world. Reminds me of how local produce often costs more and is harder to find. I live in California, one of the largest agricultural producing regions in the world. Why am I getting fruit from South America? Because we ship our locally grown stuff out of the state, then import cheaper stuff from down south. Silly logistics.

Originally Posted by Robot_Butler

We live in such a silly world. Reminds me of how local produce often costs more and is harder to find. I live in California, one of the largest agricultural producing regions in the world. Why am I getting fruit from South America? Because we ship our locally grown stuff out of the state, then import cheaper stuff from down south. Silly logistics.

More like, South America has a worse constitution, which people abuse to produce cheaply.

Rice makes me vomit...

I love rice, and have it about 3/4 times a week I think - although it's usually with some boiled vegetables, or chicken and some form of home made sauce!