Jasmine is a variety of long-grain aromatic rice, softer than basmati, with somewhat shorter and fatter kernels. It’s named after the jasmine flower, to celebrate its perfume and white translucence. Grown and enjoyed in Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos, only Thailand exports its crop to the US. When cooked, the grains are separate but cling together, making it ideal to eat with chopsticks.
Since this variety of rice rapidly loses its prized fragrance, connoisseurs search out each year’s freshly harvested “new crop” of jasmine rice. Every November, my Vietnamese friends and I would pester shop owners on Argyle, Chicago’s Asian market street, to let us know when the new crop would appear on the shelves. That first day, we’d be there to purchase our bags of Three Ladies Brand for the coming year.
Glutinous rice, also known as sticky rice, can be long or short grained and is used in sweet and savory dishes. It has a higher starch content than jasmine rice and should be soaked at least 6 hours or preferably overnight before steaming. In Taiwan, the short-grained variety is favored.
I grew up in a street market in Taipei where my family had a dumpling stand. Among the food stalls, there were vendors selling fresh produce, housekeeping items, groceries, stationary, school supplies….anything you might need you could find within a few blocks. Of course, my favorite part of the market was the food stalls. Each stand had its own specialty. It could be a noodle soup shop or a dumpling place. It could be a dessert stand selling colorful rice cakes or a stall offering zong zi, sticky rice, pork, and shrimp steamed in a bamboo leaf.
These small stands are where people go for a quick bite and you often share a table with strangers. What a great place for people watching! It’s common to see a group of working class men who are getting ready for their night shifts sitting right next to some young teenage students in their uniforms who just got off from school, all at the same table ordering similar dishes from the simple menu.
– Iu-luen Jeng
Recipes
Jasmine Rice in the Pressure Cooker