The benefits of Japanese short-grain rice
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What uruchi rice does
What this vegetable does
It is held to replenish the qi of the Spleen and Stomach and to ease poor digestion and tiredness.
How to eat it
Cook it as white rice, or enjoy it as congee or in rice balls.
A yakuzen note
It is held to settle the gut and to support the appetite and recovery from tiredness.
Uruchi rice is held to replenish the way the Spleen and Stomach work and to ease poor digestion and tiredness. It is worth bringing in when the appetite is poor or when you want your strength back. As congee or in a soup it is kind to the gut and suits everyday care.
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When uruchi rice is in season, its types, and how to choose it
If you want to enjoy what uruchi rice does, it helps to know its season, its types and how to choose it. As the staple of the Japanese table, it is the most familiar rice of all.
In season as new rice in autumn, and how it differs from glutinous rice
Uruchi rice is the rice behind what is called white rice, the rice of everyday meals. Being a cereal crop, its season is autumn, and the new rice harvested around September to October has a scent, a gloss and a juiciness all its own. What separates it from the glutinous rice used for mochi and okowa is the nature of the starch: cooked, uruchi rice has a moderate stickiness, separates well and looks half translucent. Dried, it stores well, so it eats well all year round even after the new-rice season has passed.
Varieties and degrees of milling
Uruchi rice comes in many varieties, differing in stickiness and flavour, so you can choose to taste and to suit the dish.
| Variety | What stands out |
|---|---|
| Koshihikari | The standard, strongly sticky and sweet. Grown widely across the country |
| Akitakomachi | Moderately sticky, good even cold, which suits rice balls |
| Nanatsuboshi | Light, with the grains standing apart. Suits sushi and rice bowls |
The same uruchi rice divides again by milling into brown rice, partly milled rice, white rice and rinse-free rice. Brown rice, with the bran layer left on, has a firm texture; white rice is soft and easy to eat; rinse-free rice saves you washing it. You can choose the degree of milling by texture and by taste.
How to choose it, how to wash it and how much water to use
To choose good uruchi rice and cook it well, these points keep you out of trouble.
- A recent milling date, with even grains and a clarity to them
- Few cracked or chipped grains, and no cloudy white ones mixed in
- Wash it quickly before cooking, then let it soak about thirty minutes before you cook it
When washing, change the first water quickly so no smell of bran is left behind. New rice holds more water, so easing back on the water a little keeps it from cooking sticky. For congee, use plenty of water and simmer it slowly over a low heat for a smooth result.
How to eat uruchi rice
Uruchi rice is at home as freshly cooked rice, of course, and equally in Japanese, Western and Chinese cooking. Here are the usual ways.
As rice, rice balls and sushi
The most basic way is freshly cooked rice. Varieties that do not harden as they cool suit rice balls and lunchboxes. A light rice with grains that stand apart, seasoned into sushi rice, sits well with the toppings in sushi and chirashi. It suits dishes with firm seasoning too, such as rice cooked with seasonings, rice bowls and fried rice, and choosing the variety and the cooking to suit the dish changes the result.
As congee, zosui and risotto
Congee, simmered soft with plenty of water, is kind to the gut and suits a poor appetite or a cold morning. Zosui, with stock and beaten egg, and ojiya, made easily from leftover rice, are both useful when you want to warm the body. For a Western turn, risotto, the rice fried and then simmered in stock, is worth making. Grated ginger or a umeboshi alongside makes congee easier still to eat.
How to keep uruchi rice
Rice looks like a dried good but in fact does badly with damp, with dry air, with smells and with insects. Rather than leaving it in its bag, move it to an airtight container or a plastic bottle and keep it somewhere cool out of direct sun. In warm weather in particular, the vegetable drawer of the fridge holds the flavour better and keeps insects off. Milled rice loses flavour over time, so finishing it within about a month keeps it good.
Alongside this, the same rice used in food for the year's occasions, The benefits of glutinous rice and one that suits daily care kind to the gut, The benefits of Japanese yam as a guide for everyday cooking.
The staple of the Japanese table, uruchi rice is the all-purpose grain behind everyday meals, from rice, rice balls and sushi to congee, zosui and risotto. Strongly sticky Koshihikari, light Nanatsuboshi: choose by variety and by milling and each shows its best. As a bowl that also becomes congee for daily care kind to the gut, bring it into your meals.
