The world in a bowl: Around the world in rice (Asia)

In this mini-series of rice around the world, we begin with Asia — the world’s biggest producer and consumer of rice. Rice is the very backbone of many Asian cultures, diets and traditions. It takes countless forms across the continent, from street foods to royal banquets. Now, grab your spoons and let’s dig in!

Qabooli (India)

India is home to a variety of biryani dishes, and one of the most famous dishes is the Hyderabadi dum biryani. But here’s a Hyderabadi dish that deserves a little more limelight today: Qabooli. It is made with chana dal, ghee, and a variety of spices like bay leaf, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and star anise (you know, like every other biryani). A recipe can also call for plums, prunes, and apricots. And yes, in case you may not have noticed it, it is a vegetarian biryani.

Qabooli was believed to be the favourite of Aurangzeb, son of Shah Jahan, and the last of the Mughal Empire. And if you also must know, he was a vegetarian!

Bibimbap (Korea)

The word bibimbap in itself is an amalgamation of two Korean words: Bibim which means ‘mixing’ and bap which means ‘cooked rice’. This consists of rice with blanched vegetables called namul, some sliced meat of choice (usually beef), a fried egg, and gochujang, a Korean chilli paste. These ingredients are stirred directly before eating. Each city across South Korea has their own take on this dish. In 2017 the dish was listed on the World’s 50 most delicious foods readers’ poll compiled by CNN Travel, peaking at number 40.

Htamin jin (Myanmar)

This might be a little hard to pronounce, as it is to digest. Htamin jin (pronounced tuh-meen jin), which translates to ‘sour rice’ is a Burmese fermented rice dish. This dish consists of rice, fresh or fermented, kneaded with boiled fish, fresh tomato paste, mashed boiled potatoes and garlic garnish. It is then garnished with garlic chives roots, garlic oil and crispy garlic, and roasted chilli flakes in oil are served along with it. Sour and spicy, a very kooky combination.

Champorado (Philippines)

Chocolate and rice might sound like a weird combination to many of us, but in the Philippines, it’s a delicacy.

Champorado is a sweet chocolate rice porridge dish seen in Filipino cuisine. It is usually made by boiling sticky rice with tablea (traditional tablets of pure ground roasted cocoa beans) with a drizzle of milk or coconut milk and maybe some sugar. It is eaten on its own, but also served with salted dried fish (daing or tuyo).

To make things even more interesting, they have a version with purple yam, which they call ube champorado. It is characteristically purple like all ube-based dishes. Other contemporary variants include white, pandan and strawberry flavors.

Bahn chung (Vietnam)

Rice eaten like a cake? Vietnam can do it. Banh chung is made from glutinous rice, mung beans, pork, and other ingredients in a wrap. The wrap is made from lá dong leaves, strings split from giang, a type of bamboo with a long node, and a square mold to shape the rice better. It is then steamed collectively.

According to legend, its origin traces back to Lang Liêu, a prince of the last king of the Sixth Hùng Dynasty. He earned his place as successor by creating bánh chưng and bánh giầy, which symbolise the earth and the sky, respectively.

Chazuke (Japan)

Japan’s love for green tea goes strong, even in a rice dish. Chazuke is a simple Japanese dish made by pouring green tea, dashi, or hot water over already cooked rice. Common toppings include tsukemono (pickled vegetables), umeboshi (pickled ume), nori (seaweed), sesame seeds and tarako (salted and marinated pollock roe), salted salmon, shiokara (pickled seafood), scallions, and wasabi.

It provides a way to use leftover rice as a quick snack. It is also so easy to make, that it became an instant food in the 70s.

Yangzhou Fried Rice (China)

And now we come to the hub of all things rice: China. Yangzhou Fried Rice is the country’s signature fried rice. It originated in the city of Yangzhou in the Jiangsu province, East China.

There are many varieties but it most properly describes egg fried rice with mixed vegetables and two forms of protein, typically pork and shrimp with scallions. What makes this different from ordinary Chinese fried rice is that it uses a combination of protein, unlike the latter which uses only one protein.

Dolma (Turkey)

This isn’t just one dish, it’s a whole genre of rice dishes of the Middle East. Dolma is essentially derived from Turkish origin, and it means “stuffed” or “filled”, which kind of sums up the whole concept of the dish.

It is typically made with a filling of rice, minced meat, offal (meat from animal organs), seafood, fruit, or any combination of these inside either a leaf wrapping or a hollow vegetable, like a bell pepper.

This dish is popular across many countries in the Middle East, and each country and region has their own spin on the dish. Turkish baldo rice or Carlose are common, but the Persian Gulf likes to use basmati rice.

Nasi Goreng (Indonesia)

Nasi Goreng is an Indonesian stir-fried rice dish with meat and vegetables added. A typical nasi goreng dish consists of stir-fried rice with kecap manis (sweet soy sauce), shallots, garlic, ground shrimp paste, tamarind and chilli, and eggs, chicken or prawn.

What makes it stand out from other Asian rice dishes is the distinctive smoky, earthy, and aromatic flavour, because of the sweet soy sauce and the shrimp paste. It is also stronger in taste compared to Chinese fried rice. It is also the unofficial national dish of Indonesia, although there are more competitors.

Nasi Lemak (Malaysia)

Another national dish on this list is Nasi Lemak from Malaysia. The rice dish is accompanied with Malaysian sambal (a spicy chilli paste), garnishes like fresh cucumbers, ikan bilis (fried anchovies), roasted peanuts, and eggs, hard-boiled or fried. It can also include an extra protein side, like fried chicken or cuttlefish. It is traditionally wrapped in a banana leaf.

Although a Malaysian dish, it is equally popular in Singapore. In both countries, it is eaten as a breakfast dish.

Interestingly, there is also a strawberry variant, which is a specialty in the Cameron Highlands, a district in Pahang, Malaysia. The fruit is added to the sambal, which in turn gives the rice a dark pink hue.

This dish is rice accompanied with curry chicken, pork chop, chap chye (braised cabbage) and kong bak (braised pork).

Hainanese Chicken Rice (Singapore)

Don’t let the name confuse you. This dish was made by Hainanese people — people from Hainan, China — living in Singapore, and hence. But it is a Singaporean dish.

The recipe developed during the British colonial rule in Singapore. Hainanese people who lived in Singapore were employed by the British (and the Perankanan Chinese) as chefs. Pork chop was adapted from British cuisine, and the rest of the ingredients were from Perankanan cuisine.

Rice binds Asia together, though every country makes it unique. It is a symbol of prosperity and celebration. Although there are a lot of dishes missed out here, it just goes to show how big Asia’s culinary map is. In the next write-up, we will cover the Americas. See you soon!