You could measure the significance of rice via the millions of bowls (and appetites) it fills on a regular basis: about relies on the grain to feed themselves.
You could also listen to greetings in ; where "have you eaten rice yet?" might be the first thing you say to someone. From , it's a common refrain, and these rice-eating updates can also be heard in .
RICE & CULTURE
The many meanings of rice in Asian culture
You can tell how essential the grain is when languages basically consider it a synonym for a meal. In Japanese, breakfast essentially means "morning rice" and dinner is "evening rice".
Malay and Mandarin have different words for cooked rice and uncooked rice. "Compare this to the English language, where rice is just rice," says Loh Yi Jun on his podcast. "The Indigenous farmers in Borneo have more ways to describe rice."
Judging from people's meal times and the rice paddies that have shaped their landscape, the grain is vital in many Asian countries. From the 10th century onwards, Japan even used rice as currency. In the 1500s, it was an alternative to . Just imagine finalising an Australian house purchase today with the same method (the amount would probably be enough to produce sushi, pad Thai and for millions of people).
Of course, you'll find this staple far beyond Asia, from West African to Jamaican rice and peas. It can be a dessert (like Turkish ), fuel a soup (like Indian ) or fill cups as a sweet drink (Korean sikhye).
Nasi goreng. Source: Kitti Gould
There's no greater recipe on the planet than a congee.
It doesn't necessarily stick to borders, either: is a fried rice dish, adapted by Chinese labourers while living in Peru. , a spiced rice staple in Russia, originated from Uzbekistan. And though cooking teacher has Russian roots, this pilaf-style staple is new to her. She's actually more familiar with rice dishes from China because her family are from Harbin, in the country's north. "Most of the Russians in Sydney come via Shanghai and Harbin."
Edwards runs food workshops at Sydney's , and is co-author of its book and follow-up "Kitchen Companion", titled , out in November. The new book features many ways to repurpose leftover rice, from fritters to a cheat's paella. If you've got some grains you need to use up, "there's no greater recipe on the planet than a congee", Edwards says.
There are many other strategies for proving that 'rice is nice' – so here are more examples from across the world.
Source: Murdoch Books
Iran
In Iran, "rice is part of the everyday diet," says , owner of Melbourne's eatery.
"I remember my mum used to have a rice cooker, but I've never seen her using it for cooking the rice."
That's because cooking rice the traditional way – and achieving the golden tahdig crust at the bottom of the pot – was a prized feat.
Cafe Sunshine & SalamaTea is one of the suburb's multicultural highlights. Source: Cafe Sunshine
More Persian delights
Lubia polo (green bean rice)
You might recall cookbook author cooking tahdig with her mother on her show. "There are so many stories about tahdig, there's so much more lore," says Nosrat, who has Iranian roots like Allahyari. "New wives are judged on their tahdig."
Achieving that perfect tahdig crust – golden and crunchy instead of painfully burnt – takes a lot of experience. That optimum crispiness is only possible when the rice is just charred and tahdig portions are limited by the size of your pot, so there's only a small amount for sharing. Allahyari says, "Which is why we fight over it. This is my tahdig, don't touch!"
There's no other cooking show like it. Source: Netflix
This is my tahdig, don't touch!
If you flip your pan onto a dish, the tahdig becomes a "spectacular crunchy lid". And the geologically distinct layers of rice in this dish can be transformed according to your preference. The grains are traditionally interspersed with bread and potatoes, but Allahyari has seen new updates with pumpkin, lettuce and beetroot.
FAMILY & FOOD
A fragrant Persian dish that bridges generations
Allahyari features instructions on how to achieve an ideal tahdig in his new book, . It also has many other Iranian recipes formed with rice, from (green bean pilaf) to rice puddings served during Ramadan.
"When we have iftar, it's a very common dish," he says. The rice allows you to recharge with carbs, and the dessert's sugar hit is handy after you've been fasting all day.
Allahyari has memories of making rice pudding for 2,000 people at his mosque during Ramadan, but the sholezard (saffron rice pudding) in his cookbook is different to what he served then. This new recipe is a collaboration with (author of Ostro and Around The Table): it's made more decadent with extra cream, milk and vanilla and he credits Busuttil Nishimura for suggesting roasted rhubarb for a sour, lovely twist.
"These days I would never make sholezard without it," he writes in the book.
Greece
"Greeks use rice a lot," says , the chef behind Sydney's and restaurants. "Pilaf is a big staple in Greek cuisine."
Some types are more like a side or support act – "basically a vehicle for all the other flavours," Conistis says. Then there are the megastar dishes, like gamopilafo, a wedding pilaf that's a specialty of Crete.
You'll find rice stuffed in many staples of Greek cuisine: they're sealed into vine leaves for and are snugly packed into different types of summer vegetables as . The chef points out there are two kinds of yemista.
Head Chef of Alpha, Peter Conistis says his cooking is a "more relaxed approach to Greek food, indicative of the lifestyle I've grown up with in Australia". Source: Alpha
"You'll either get the vegan version, which purist Greeks will eat half of the year, because of religious ceremonies, or you'll get the one which is stuffed with a rice pilaf with sauteed lamb mince and lots of fresh herbs and spices for the rest of the year."
There's essentially a Greek ingenuity for filling any spare room in a recipe with rice – just consider the country's pies. Conistis says there's a slow-braised lamb pie from that's stuffed with rice and lots of cheese. "In northern Greece, from upwards, one of the most famous pies up there is a chicken filo pie, which is layered with poached whole chicken and then the broth is used to make the rice pilaf," he says. The finished dish is an elaborate filo parcel, packed with alternating levels of steamed rice, chicken and the "Greek equivalent of ricotta", Conistis adds.
CHICKEN & RICE
Greek chicken and rice pie
If you like spanakorizo, the classic spinach and rice dish, you'll be glad to know there are many closely related versions of it around. "At home and at a lot of tavernas in Greece, you'll get the purest leek version, so it's just very slow-cooked leeks with rice." Then there's the tomato variety, reduced with fragrant onion and garlic, until the tomato is thick and rich. It's finished with rice and crowned with crumbled feta on top.
A specialty from central Greece, where the chef’s mum is from, features a near-caramelised eggplant, and a rich amount of olive oil and honey. "They finish that with lots of crispy fried onions in a rice pilaf. So it's a meal, as opposed to a side dish," he says.
Japan
Given how ubiquitous rice is in Japanese cooking, it's tough for to name all her favourite ways to cook with this grain. The author of the popular site and upcoming cookbook does have a few suggestions, though.
"I love simple – bowls of hot rice topped with anything, such as stewed beef (), chicken and eggs (), or sashimi and seafood," she says.
She's also a fan of flavoured rice prepared in different ways like (Japanese-style fried rice) or (rice cooked with seasonal ingredients).
Takikomi gohan. Source: Adam Liaw
"And while I would rarely make it, I adore mochi – a very sticky pounded rice cake that is eaten in various forms, but I love it best grilled until crispy and brushed with soy sauce!"
JAPANESE RICE RECIPE
Takikomi gohan
There are many Japanese methods for reworking leftover rice, so does Maehashi have a favourite strategy?
So simple but so delicious, this is peak Japanese comfort food.
"Ojiya!" she says. "Also known as zosui, this is a Japanese rice soup where leftover rice is cooked in broth or soup. A classic way to eat ojiya is after nabe (Japanese hot pot). The leftover hot pot broth is packed with flavour from all the ingredients that were cooked in it. Dump in day-old rice, simmer until the rice swells slightly and finally stir in an egg, along with maybe some chopped green onions. So simple but so delicious, this is peak Japanese comfort food."
Japan was originally known as "" ("the land of the water stalk plant or rice") and there are dedicated to Inari, "the Shinto deity of harvest and rice" – so the grain clearly has a deep connection to the country. Rice has been remixed and reworked endlessly in Japan: as a thirst-crusher (thanks to sake and amazake) or as a starter in pantry staples (soy sauce, miso and other Japanese essentials come from ). It's also the tangy force behind nukazuke: these Japanese pickles are fermented in rice bran – a by-product of milling rice. The spongey shokupan at Sydney's is a gluten-free bread derived from rice: owner Yu Ozone first learnt how to make it in Japan, after hearing about success with the method.
Japan's rice products aren't all strictly edible, either – think of and lanterns delicately shaped from rice paper. Hiroshima University yet again has come up with another : its scientists have taken leftover husk waste (produced from milling rice) and turned it into an innovative LED light. It's a world first and offers a smart afterlife for the 100 million tons of husk waste generated internationally a year.
Japan might not use rice as currency anymore, but it proves that the grain still has a lot of value.
