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Rice is a side dish that is eaten in almost every country because of its beneficial properties, delicate taste and low price. And in many countries, there is a specialty dish based on rice, by which we can easily recognize the nationality.
The Japanese believe that the beauty of a woman directly depends on the consumption of rice, because it contains a lot of iron, which improves blood and increases hemoglobin, thereby improving the blood supply to the skin. Also, rice contains antioxidants, vitamins A and B, which help to remove harmful substances from the body.
It is impossible to imagine Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Italian, Central Asian cuisine without rice. The choice of cereals is also huge – grain length, steamed, brown, basmati, and so on.
Japan
For the Japanese, rice is an everyday meal that is eaten all day, seven days a week. Their rolls, which also include rice, have long spread throughout the world.
To prepare them, you will need 150 grams of boiled rice seasoned with rice vinegar, salt and sugar, slightly salted salmon and avocado. Put rice on a leaf of bucket elevator, form a strip of fish and avocado in the middle, roll into a tight roll and cut into portions. Serve with pickled ginger, wasabi and soy sauce.
Another rice-based national pride in Japan is the rice alcoholic drink sake, which is interpreted in dictionaries as “rice wine”, “rice beer” or “rice vodka”. It is prepared from rice, rice malt with the help of special steaming.
Italy
Risotto is the standard of taste in Italy. To prepare it, you will need large rice with a high starch content, which is traditionally used for risotto or paella. Who first came up with the idea of frying rice and who appreciated the taste of the resulting tender mass of risotto, forgetting the soup on the stove – is unknown. The first recipe for this dish was published only in 1809, in the Milanese collection Modern Cuisine, although legends date it back to the XNUMXth century.
To prepare the risotto, pass the chopped onion in a frying pan with olive oil until transparent. Then add 300 grams of rice and, stirring constantly with a wooden spatula, fry for 2-3 minutes. Then pour in 100 ml of dry white wine and evaporate it completely.
Next, gradually add a liter of hot broth. Add it in portions as it boils, without stopping stirring. Season with salt and pepper to taste, bring the risotto to al dente and remove from heat. Add a handful of grated Parmesan cheese and 50 grams of diced butter and stir gently.
Greece
The Greek moussaka casserole is a visiting card of the country. For hundreds of years, Greek housewives have accumulated a large amount of techniques and secrets of making moussaka. One of the options is in front of you.
Cut 4 eggplants into thick circles, brown in oil and place on a paper towel. Chop 3 onions in half rings and fry until transparent. Add 150 grams of rice to them, fry for a couple more minutes, pour 400 ml of water and salt. Simmer the rice over low heat until it absorbs all the liquid. Grease a baking dish with oil. Cover the bottom of the dish with tomato circles, top with the fried eggplant slices and then the rice.
Repeat all layers again and fill them with a mixture of 300 ml of milk, 3 eggs and 2 tablespoons of flour. Cook the moussaka in the oven at 180 degrees for half an hour.
Spain
It is not known for sure where the name “paella” came from. According to one version, it comes from the Latin word “patella”, which means “frying pan”. According to another, the name is a warped “para ella”, that is, “for her.” Allegedly, Spanish paella was first prepared by a fisherman in anticipation of his girlfriend.
To prepare real Spanish paella, you will need 0,6 kg of rice, 3 tomatoes, a quarter cup of olive oil, 0,5 kg of shrimp, 0,6 kg of mussels, 0,3 kg of squid, a can of canned peas, 2 peppers of different colors, an onion, a tea a spoonful of saffron, parsley, salt, pepper. Boil the shrimps with salt, boil the mussels separately until the shells open.
Mix broths, add saffron. Pour oil into a preheated pan, add onions, fry over low heat, add tomatoes and squid. Then add rice and fry for 5-10 minutes. Add broth, simmer for about 20 minutes. 5 minutes until cooked, pour shrimps into a frying pan, put peppers, mussels and peas. Cover with foil and let sit for 5 minutes.
Uzbekistan
Eastern cuisine is, of course, Uzbek pilaf. Back in the X-XI centuries, on big holidays, this dish was prepared from devzira rice. In the XNUMXth century, pilaf was considered an honorable dish; it was served both at weddings and major holidays, as well as at memorial rites.
Pour a kilogram of rice with water in advance. Heat 100 ml of vegetable oil in a cauldron and melt 200 grams of fat tail fat. Brown a kilogram of lamb, chopping it into large pieces. Add 3 diced onions and cook until golden brown. Then send 2 grated carrots and fry until softened. Season with a tablespoon of cumin, a teaspoon of barberry and half a teaspoon of red pepper. Place 4 heads of garlic without husks on top. Now add the swollen rice and cover with water over two fingers. Season to taste, cover and simmer until the liquid evaporates completely.
Bon appetit!
Let us remind you that earlier we talked about how interesting it is to serve rice for a child, and also shared the recipe for “Sunny” rice, which is cooked with cashews.