Glutinous rice


Glutinous rice is a type of rice grown mainly in Southeast and East Asia, Northeastern India and Bhutan which has opaque grains, very low amylose content, and is especially sticky when cooked. It is widely consumed across Asia.
It is called glutinous in the sense of being glue-like or sticky, and not in the sense of containing gluten. While often called "sticky rice", it differs from non-glutinous strains of japonica rice which also become sticky to some degree when cooked. There are numerous cultivars of glutinous rice, which include japonica, indica and tropical japonica strains.

History

In China, glutinous rice has been grown for at least 2,000 years.

Cultivation

Glutinous rice is grown in Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan, Northeast India, China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and the Philippines. An estimated 85% of Lao rice production is of this type. The rice has been recorded in the region for at least 1,100 years.
The improved rice varieties adopted throughout Asia during the Green Revolution were non-glutinous, and Lao farmers rejected them in favor of their traditional sticky varieties. Over time, higher-yield strains of glutinous rice have become available from the Lao National Rice Research Programme. By 1999, more than 70% of the area along the Mekong River Valley were of these newer strains.

Composition

Glutinous rice is distinguished from other types of rice by having no amylose, and high amounts of amylopectin. Amylopectin is responsible for the sticky quality of glutinous rice. The difference has been traced to a single mutation that was selected for by farmers.
Like all types of rice, glutinous rice does not contain dietary gluten, and should be safe for gluten-free diets.
Glutinous rice can be used either milled or unmilled. Milled glutinous rice is white and fully opaque, whereas the bran can give unmilled glutinous rice a purple or black color. Black and purple glutinous rice are distinct strains from white glutinous rice. In developing Asia, there is little regulation, and some governments have issued advisories about toxic dyes being added to colour adulterated rice. Both black and white glutinous rice can be cooked as discrete grains, or ground into flour and cooked as a paste or gel.

Use in foods

Sticky rice is used in many recipes throughout Southeast and East Asia.

Northeastern India

Sticky rice called bora saul is the core component of indigenous Assamese sweets, snacks, and breakfast. This rice is widely used in the traditional sweets of Assam, which are very different from the traditional sweets of India whose basic component is milk.
Such traditional sweets in Assam are Pitha. Also, its powder form is used as breakfast or other light meal directly with milk. They are called Pitha guri or Handoh guri.
The soaked rice is also cooked with no added water inside a special kind of bamboo. This meal is called sunga saul.
During religious ceremonies,i indigenous Assamese communities make Mithoi using Gnud with it. Sometimes Bhog, Payokh are also made from it using milk and sugar with it.
Different indigenous Assamese communities make rice beer from it which is preferred more than other rice, as it is sweeter and more alcoholic. They also offer this beer to their gods and ancestors. Rice cooked with it is also taken directly as lunch or dinner on rare occasions.
Similarly other indigenous communities from NE India use sticky rice in various forms similar to native Assamese style in their cuisine.

Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, especially in the Chittagong, Cox's Bazar and Sylhet areas, the sticky rice called bini dhan is very popular. Both white and pink varieties are cultivated at many homestead farms. Husked sticky rice is called bini choil in some dialects. Boiled or steamed bini choil is called Bini Bhat. With meat or fish curry and grated coconut, Bini Bhat is a popular breakfast. Sometimes it is eaten with a splash of sugar, salt, and coconut only without any curry. Bin dhan also used to make khoi and chida. A part of these many other sweet items made of bini choil are popular.
One of the favorite pitas made of bini choil is atikka pita.It is made with the mixture of cubed or small sliced coconut, sugar or brown sugar, ripe banana and bini choil wrapped with banana leaf and steamed.
Another delicacy is Patishapta pita made of ground bini choil. Ground bini choil is sprayed over a hot pan and a mixture of grated coconut, sugar, milk powder; then ghee is sprayed over that and rolled out. Dumplings made of powdered fried bini choil called laru. First bini choil is fried and ground into flour. This flour is mixed with sugar or brown sugar, and ghee or butter and is made into small balls or dumplings.
One kind of porridge or khir made of bini choil is called modhu bhat. This modhu bhat becomes naturally sweet without mixing any sugar. It is one of the delicacies of local people. To make modhu bhat first prepare some normal paddy or rice for germination by soaking it in the water for few days. After coming out of little sprout dry the paddy and husk and grind the husked rice called jala choil into flour. It tastes sweet. Mixing this sweet flour with freshly boiled or steamed warm bini bhat and then fermenting the mixture overnight yields modhu bhat. It is eaten either on its own or with milk, jaggery or grated coconut.

Burma

Glutinous rice, called kao hnyin, is very popular in Myanmar.
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In the Chinese language, glutinous rice is known as nuòmǐ or chu̍t-bí in Hokkien.
Glutinous rice is also often ground to make glutinous rice flour. This flour is made into niangao and sweet-filled dumplings tangyuan, both of which are commonly eaten at Chinese New Year. It also used as a thickener and for baking.
Glutinous rice or glutinous rice flour are both used in many Chinese bakery products and in many varieties of dim sum. They produce a flexible, resilient dough, which can take on the flavors of whatever other ingredients are added to it. Cooking usually consists of steaming or boiling, sometimes followed by pan-frying or deep-frying.
Sweet glutinous rice is eaten with red bean paste.
Nuòmǐ fàn, is steamed glutinous rice usually cooked with Chinese sausage, chopped Chinese mushrooms, chopped barbecued pork, and optionally dried shrimp or scallop.
Zongzi is a dumpling consisting of glutinous rice and sweet or savory fillings wrapped in large flat leaves, which is then boiled or steamed. It is especially eaten during the Dragon Boat Festival, but may be eaten at any time of the year. It is popular as an easily transported snack, or a meal to consume while traveling. It is a common food among Chinese in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia.
Cifangao is a popular breakfast food originating in Eastern China consisting of cooked glutinous rice compressed into squares or rectangles, and then deep-fried. Additional seasoning and ingredients such as beans, zha cai, and sesame seeds may be added to the rice for added flavour. It has a similar appearance and external texture to hash browns.
Cifantuan is another breakfast food consisting of a piece of youtiao tightly wrapped in cooked glutinous rice, with or without additional seasoning ingredients. Japanese onigiri resembles this Chinese food.
Lo mai gai is a dim sum dish consisting of glutinous rice with chicken in a lotus-leaf wrap, which is then steamed. It is served as a dim sum dish in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia.
Ba bao fan, or "eight treasure rice", is a dessert made from glutinous rice, steamed and mixed with lard, sugar, and eight kinds of fruits or nuts. It can also be eaten as the main course.

Hakka

A distinctive feature of Hakka cuisine is its variety of steamed snack-type buns, dumplings and patties made with a dough of coarsely ground rice, or ban. Collectively known as "rice snacks", some kinds are filled with various salty or sweet ingredients.
Common examples of rice snacks made with ban from glutinous or sticky rice and non-glutinous rice include Aiban, Caibao Ziba and Bantiao.
Aiban encompasses several varieties of steamed patties and dumplings of various shapes and sizes, consisting of an outer layer made of glutinous ban dough filled with salty or sweet ingredients. It gets its name from the aromatic ai grass, which after being dried, powdered and mixed with the ban, gives the dough a green color and an intriguing tea-like taste. Typical salty fillings include ground pork, mushrooms, and shredded white turnips. The most common sweet filling is made with red beans.
Caibao is a generic term for all types of steamed buns with various sorts of filling. Hakka-style caibao are distinctive in that the enclosing skin is made with glutinous rice dough in the place of wheat flour dough. Besides ground pork, mushrooms and shredded turnips, fillings may include ingredients such as dried shrimp and dry fried-shallot flakes.
Ziba is glutinous rice dough which, after steaming in a big container, is mashed into a sticky, putty-like mass from which small patties are formed and coated with a layer of sugary peanut powder. It has no filling.

Philippines

In the Philippines, glutinous rice is known as malagkit in Tagalog or pilit in Visayan, among other names. Both meaning "sticky". The most common way glutinous rice is prepared in the Philippines is through soaking uncooked glutinous rice in water or coconut milk and then grinding it into a thick paste. This produces a rich and smooth viscous rice dough known as galapóng, which is the basis for numerous rice cakes in the Philippines. However, in modern preparation methods, galapong is sometimes made directly from dry glutinous rice flour, with poorer-quality results.
Galapong was traditionally allowed to ferment, which is still required for certain dishes. A small amount of starter culture of microorganisms or palm wine may be traditionally added to rice being soaked to hasten the fermentation. These can be substituted with yeast or baking soda in modern versions. Other versions of galapong may also be treated with wood ash lye.
Aside from the numerous white and red glutinous rice cultivars, the most widely used glutinous rice heirloom cultivars in the Philippines are tapol and pirurutong rice, both of which have colors ranging from purple, reddish brown, to almost black. However both varieties are expensive and becoming increasingly rare, thus some Filipino recipes nowadays substitute it with dyed regular glutinous rice or infuse purple yam to achieve the same coloration.
Dessert delicacies in the Philippines are known as kakanin. These were originally made primarily from rice, but in recent centuries, the term has come to encompass dishes made from other types of flour, including corn flour, cassava, wheat, and so on. Glutinous rice figures prominently in two main subtypes of kakanin: the puto, and the bibingka. Both largely utilize glutinous rice galapong. A notable variant of puto is puto bumbong, which is made with pirurutong.
Other kakanin that use glutinous rice include suman, biko, and sapin-sapin among others. There is also a special class of boiled galapong dishes like palitaw, moche, mache, and masi. Fried galapong is also used to make various types of buchi, which are the local Chinese-Filipino versions of jian dui. They are also used to make puso, which are boiled rice cakes in woven leaf pouches.
Aside from kakanin, glutinous rice is also used in traditional Filipino rice gruels or porridges known as lugaw. They include both savory versions like arroz caldo or goto which are similar to Chinese-style congee; and dessert versions like champorado, binignit, and ginataang mais.

Indonesia

Glutinous rice is known as beras ketan or simply ketan in Java and most of Indonesia, and pulut in Sumatra. It is widely used as an ingredient for a wide variety of sweet, savoury or fermented snacks. Glutinous rice is used as either hulled grains or milled into flour. It is usually mixed with santan, meaning coconut milk in Indonesian, along with a bit of salt to add some taste. Glutinous rice is rarely eaten as a staple. One example is lemang, which is glutinous rice and coconut milk cooked in bamboo stem lined by banana leaves. Glutinous rice is also sometimes used in a mix with normal rice in rice dishes such as nasi tumpeng or nasi tim. It is widely used during the Lebaran seasons as traditional food. It is also used in the production of alcoholic beverages such as tuak and brem bali.

Savoury snacks

In addition, glutinous rice dishes adapted from other cultures are easily available. Examples include kue moci and bacang.
Indonesian glutinous rice dishes

Japan

In Japan, glutinous rice is known as mochigome . It is used in traditional dishes such as sekihan is known as the red rice, okowa, and ohagi. It may also be ground into mochiko a rice flour, used to make mochi which are known as sweet rice cakes to the non-Japanese, mochi a traditional rice cake prepared for the Japanese New Year but also eaten year-round. See also Japanese rice.

Korea

In Korea, glutinous rice is called chapssal, and its characteristic stickiness is called chalgi. Cooked rice made of glutinous rice is called chalbap and rice cakes are called chalddeok or chapssalddeok. Chalbap is used as stuffing in samgyetang.

Laos

Glutinous rice is the main rice eaten in Laos, the Lao eat more sticky rice than any other people in the world. Sticky rice is considered the essence of what it means to be Lao. It has been said that no matter where they are in the world, sticky rice will always be the glue that holds the Lao communities together, connecting them to their culture and to Laos. Often the Lao will refer to themselves as "luk khao niao", which can be translated as "children or descendants of sticky rice". Sticky rice is known as khao niao : "khao" means rice, and "niao" means sticky. It is cooked by soaking for several hours and then steaming in a bamboo basket or houat. After that, it should be turned out on a clean surface and kneaded with a wooden paddle to release the steam; this results in rice balls that will stick to themselves but not to fingers. The large rice ball is kept in a small basket made of bamboo or thip khao. The rice is sticky but dry, rather than wet and gummy like non-glutinous varieties. Laotians consume glutinous rice as part of their main diet; they also use toasted glutinous rice khao khoua to add a nut-like flavor to many dishes. A popular Lao meal is a combination of Larb, Lao grilled chicken ping gai, spicy green papaya salad dish known as tam mak hoong, and sticky rice.
Khao niao is also used as an ingredient in desserts. Khao niao mixed with coconut milk can be served with ripened mango or durian.

Malaysia

In Malaysia, glutinous rice is known as pulut. It is usually mixed with santan, coconut milk in English, along with a bit of salt to add some taste. It is widely used during the Raya festive seasons as traditional food, such as:
In Thailand, glutinous rice is known as khao niao in central Thailand and Isan, and as khao nueng in northern Thailand. Northern Thais and northeastern Thais traditionally eat glutinous rice as their staple food. Southern and central Thais, and northeastern Thais from Surin Province and neighboring areas influenced by the Khmer-Thai people favor non-sticky khao chao.
Glutinous rice is called "gạo nếp" in Vietnamese. Dishes made from glutinous rice in Vietnam are typically served as desserts or side dishes, but some can be served as main dishes. There is a wide array of glutinous rice dishes in Vietnamese cuisine, the majority of them can be categorized as follows:
Glutinous rice can also be fermented to make Vietnamese alcoholic beverages, such as rượu nếp, rượu cần and rượu đế.

Beverages

According to legend, glutinous rice was used to make the mortar in the construction of the Great Wall of China. Chemical tests have confirmed that this is true for the city walls of Xi'an. In Assam also, this rice was used for building palaces during Ahom rule.
Glutinous rice starch is often used as a vegetarian glue or adhesive.