Adventures in Thai Cooking & Travel
Thai Jasmine Rice
All About Thai Jasmine Rice (Kao Mali)
by Kasma
Loha-unchit
Copyright © 1998 Kasma Loha-unchit
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I was recently invited to teach in New Orleans. Staff at the cooking school did the shopping for me, but on the day of the first class, I was suspicious of the jasmine rice they supplied. Grown in Texas, the grains were fatter and lack the light translucence and fragrant aroma I am fond of in jasmine rice from its native Thailand. When steamed, I was convinced that this indeed wasn't jasmine rice.
The next day I rented a car and went searching for real jasmine rice in the Southeast Asian district outside the city and was relieved to find a bag of my favorite jasmine rice in a small Vietnamese market. I was determined that the second class I was scheduled to teach would be served the real thing.
There certainly was no comparison between the rice I purchased and the one supplied by the school. As soon as I opened the bag, the familiar fragrance spilled forth to validate its name and reputation. I ran my fingers through the grains and brought them up to my nose. Ah, what a pleasant, delicious aroma! The rice from Texas, on the other hand, smelled dusty and uninteresting.
So, if you've had jasmine rice before and did not find it to be anything special, it's highly likely that it wasn't a good grade of the rice. In fact, not all imported rice labeled as jasmine rice passes my quality control test. Good quality jasmine rice, when properly steamed, retains a wonderful fragrant aroma and delicious chewy texture so tasty that I often would eat it plain all by itself.
Even in Thailand, where this aromatic rice originated, the quality can vary considerably depending on where it is grown. The northeastern region of the country has the ideal combination of soil and climatic conditions to produce the best-tasting, most fragrant rice. China knows this and last I heard, Chinese agricultural authorities are trying to work out an agreement to lease a large tract of land in northeastern Thailand to assure that their growing affluent will be fed the best-tasting jasmine rice.
The same strain of jasmine rice, when planted in the wet central valley where most of Thailand's rice is grown, often yields a lesser quality rice, subtler in aroma and flavor. And when transplanted overseas to Texas and California, even less predictable results can be expected, the tasty aroma that gives the rice its name all but present in much of the American-grown grain.
My
favorite label of jasmine rice is Golden
Phoenix, packed most commonly in 25- and 50-lb. sacks, though occasionally you may find a 10-
or 5-lb. bag. Other fairly good labels are Double Phoenix, Butterfly and Elephant. Make sure
the sack identifies the grain as jasmine, fragrant or scented rice, as Thailand does produce
other varieties of rice. Because of Thailand's current economic woes, high-quality jasmine
rice, which has become an important earner of foreign exchange much needed by the country, has
risen in price, so it's not likely to be found in large discount markets that carry their own
labels.
Because of its slightly sticky quality when cooked, jasmine rice tastes best steamed. Steaming fluffs up the rice and retains the fullness of its natural fragrant flavor. Electric rice cookers can be used for steaming, but most of them do not truly steam, but rather, boil rice. Usually the rice at the bottom of the cooker is boiled and only the portion closer to the surface is steamed, which is why the rice closer to the top tastes much better than the mushy rice at the bottom of the pot.
But
steaming rice without a rice cooker is easy, and here is an almost foolproof method to get
"perfect" rice each time - with no measuring. All you need is a deep, heat-proof bowl, a pot in
which it fits and a trivet to lift the bowl off the bottom of the pot. Or, you can use an
Oriental stacked steamer if you have one.
Fill the bottom of the pot with a couple of inches of water and bring to a boil. At the same time, heat a kettle of water on a separate burner. Place rice in the bowl to fill it about halfway. Rinse a few times and drain. Balance the bowl on the trivet inside the pot (or place on a steamer rack of a stacked steamer set) and pour boiling water over the rice to about three-quarters of an inch above the rice line (the rice tastes better when hot rather than cold water is added to it initially).
Just estimate the depth with your eye; there is no need to stick your finger into the water to measure if it is "one knuckle deep," as you may have heard from other sources. You don't want to burn yourself in the hot water, and the knuckle technique is somewhat flawed because some people have longer fingers than others. Don't worry if the water level is a little more or less than three-quarters of an inch. Within a range, this technique will work and produce wonderful steamed rice. If the first time you use this method the rice turns out too soft to your liking, use less water the next time; likewise, if it is too hard, use more water. It all depends on how you like your rice, and whether the rice is new-crop rice or aged rice.
New-crop rice grown in the current season has not dried out as much, and therefore, takes less water to cook no matter what cooking technique you use. Fortunately, new-crop rice usually will be labeled as such, but check the year, as time spent on the ship, in the distributor's warehouse and in the store may have aged the rice. If you have problems cooking new rice you may wish to try cooking a smaller quantity in a shallower pan.
After you have added hot water to the rice, cover the pot and steam at medium heat, or at a level where you can still hear the sound of water boiling on the bottom of the pot or see steam escaping from underneath the lid. The rice will be cooked in about 25 minutes, longer if you are cooking a denser mass of more than 6 cups of rice. You need not worry about overcooking or burning the rice should you forget to turn off the heat after more than half an hour, because once cooked, the steam from the boiling water will only keep the rice warm until you are ready to serve.
The simple method described produces great-tasting, evenly steamed rice with grains that stay whole (unless too much water is added). This is because none of the grains are boiled or come in close contact with an intense heat source (as the bowl is lifted) which can cause rice grains to break down, losing flavor and aroma. The hot water added to the rice no longer boils but is gradually absorbed by the grains as they are cooked by the surrounding steam.
Over the years, many of my students have found that this method of steaming rice is one of the most important cooking techniques they learned in my classes. It has helped them appreciate rice more (especially jasmine rice), and this is important, as rice is the main source of nutrition to millions around the world.
Note: Kasma's referred brand is Golden Phoenix.
Copyright © 1998 Kasma Loha-unchit
A version of this article was originally printed in San Jose Mercury News
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Article Copyright © 1998 Kasma Loha-unchit. All rights reserved.
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Last updated 14 February 2005.