Purple Rice
Let’s talk rice for a moment.
It’s a staple in pantries across cultures around the world, a very important grain that feeds generations and helped us accomplish the level of growth and advancement we have today. It’s also been talked about for decades, the good and the bad. It’s good for us one day and all of a sudden, we are supposed to avoid it because it’s not good for our gut, our blood sugar and the list goes on...
From a scientific perspective, rice is generally good for us. Now, there are many types of rice — white, brown, red, black, wild, Basmati, and we have short, medium and long grain rice. Which rice is better — depends on culture, the type of dish, and is it a sweet or savory dish.
Rice vs. Blood Sugar
In terms of blood sugar, we want to experiment to see which type of rice and how much rice raise our blood sugar. Is the raised blood sugar still within normal range or is it raised so high that it is now concerning. Did we eat 1 cup, 2 cups or 4 cups of cooked rice in one seating? Was it all white rice or did we mix some whole grain rice to help lower blood sugar spikes? Another important question is, what did we pair with our rice — did we have protein, vegetables, or healthy fat?
In this recipe, I used a mix of white, brown, red and black rice. I personally prefer mixing some white rice because it helps keep moisture which is more palatable. Using only water to cook the rice without salt, sugar, oil or any type of fat, to keep it simple, less calorie dense, that way you can pair with seasoned side dishes which may require more fat to cook with.
I like using medium grained rice because they are not totally sticky like glutinous rice but not too dry like long grain rice. It’s a great grain to have at home for regular use.
Ingredients
1 cup mixed black/red/brown rice
1 cup white rice (Korean or Japanese medium grained)
2 ½ cup water
Instructions
1. Wash rice
Wash the rice mix with tap water at least 2-3 times to rinse off the excess starch. This is more for its texture. Washed rice would cook up to be fluffier than clumping together. Plus, you should wash rice to remove any impurities, dirt or bugs, if any.
2. Add water
Once washed, add 2 ½ cup water. Whole grain rice requires more water to cook through so they are softer and more palatable.
3. Cook it
Cook your rice in a rice cooker or a pressure cooker. I like InstantPot pressure cooker and I usually choose the brown rice or mixed grain setting that cooks for 40 mins. Your settings/time may differ when using different appliances.
4. Fluff and enjoy!
With my InstantPot, it usually takes another minute or two to rest and to allow its pressure to drop before you could open the lid. Fluff the rice by running a spoon, a pair of chopsticks or a ladle to lift the rice and mixing it lightly without pressing them into a clump. My Asian mum would say, leave it a few minutes to let the rice “settle” and fluff up more before we serve. This is optional.
Dietitian Notes
We like to have rice with different Asian dishes, and often, we refrigerate the leftover rice for at least a day to make fried rice or porridge. Rice is such a versatile ingredient that pairs well with many types of flavor profiles.
Again, rice can be healthy! Always pair grains with protein, fiber like vegetables, herbs, or other whole grains. This helps create a challenge for the gut to metabolize carbohydrates with other complex carbs, which helps slow down sugar absorption into the blood system.
Tips & Variations
You can make it even more fun by adding:
barley
quinoa
beans (red/black/kidney/mung bean/etc)
peas
edamame
onion
garlic
herbs (cilantro/parsley/green onion/chives)
homemade vegetable/chicken/bone/fish broth — this is a really fun way to add depth in the flavor without having to season the rice!
Final Thoughts
Once you find the right rice mix that you and your family enjoy, you won’t have to think twice about what type of rice you should make at home. Taking one extra thinking out of the way.
