Certified Organic Red Rice

Red Rice can come from the Himalayan Mountains, India, the volcanic mountains of the Philippians, Central Asia and other tropical mountainous areas. In the Philippines it is a traditional staple in their non-hybridized, non-GMO world. It is considered an ancient grain.

Wilderness Family Naturals offers two types of red rice

Wilderness Family Naturals has 2 different type of red rice: Polished and Unpolished. The only difference between each of these is that the polished rice has been tumbled with stones causing a scratching of the outer bran layer. This makes the rice cook faster and the nutty taste is not quite as strong.

Both kinds of Red Rice are Certified Organic and come from the Philippines.

Polished Red Rice

Unpolished Red Rice

My experiences on a visit to the Philippines

Having visited the Philippines, I found a few things interesting. I wondered how Americans would react it things were the same way here. For example, I noticed they had lots of watermelon and cantaloupe. But for being a tropical country, these melons were quite small. Their taste was sweeter, yet there were not as “pretty” as melons in the U.S. Tropical fruits like papaya, jackfruit, and bananas were very similar. Although they have 20 or more varieties of bananas, most of them are the kind you cook with. We call them plantains. The sweet bananas we purchase in the U.S. are not very common!

One day we were on the way to the coconut plant where they make some of our coconut oil, coconut milk, coconut water and coconut cream. The president of the company asked our driver to pull over to a roadside stand, where he purchased corn on the cob. He had not had breakfast. The roadsides are lined with people selling things. Some sell cooked meals, some sell fresh fruits and vegetables, and still others sell honey, quail eggs, furniture; you name it, they sell it. The people who sell corn on the cob have large barrels filled with water. Under the barrel there is a fire. The corn is submerged into the boiling water with the husk on, just as it was picked out of the field. When you purchase the corn, they use a pick to “spear” the cobs and pull them out of the water. Then they peel back the husk, revealing the corn underneath and hand it to you.

The corn looked delicious. We were all hungry. When we bit in, it was nothing like sweet corn in the U.S. You see, in the Philippines, they have introduced sweet corn, but because hybrids were developed to get that sweet delicious corn we are all use to, the Filipinos could not replant those seeds over and over. This is not something that fits in well with their philosophy of life.

This is where my understanding of all the hybrids that are in the American diet began, and I was stunned at what eating a non-hybridized diet meant. It means small, very sweet melons, smaller than any I have seen here, except for my garden. It means starchy corn, rather than sweet corn. It means all the fruit has seeds! It means that things do not “melt in your mouth” but instead, require chewing and have “integrity.”

Red Rice, a non-hybrid wonderful rice

This red rice is not any different. Unlike white or brown rice, this rice takes longer to cook, and is chewier. In America, it is considered to be an exotic rice, with a nutty, earthy flavor, soft texture, and a beautiful red, russet color. It is also less likely to become “sticky” on you.

You may find it interesting to know that there is a “weed” rice that American rice growers hate. It is called Wild Red Rice. This rice grows taller and stronger than the brown rice and they cannot get rid of it. Any herbicide they use will also kill their brown rice!! They say you cannot even tell the red rice from the brown rice until very late in the growing season. And it is very puzzling to there why they can sow brown rice seeds and get a “throw back” to the original wild rice from those seeds! The American Rice Harvesters call it a noxious weed; we call it Heirloom rice!

Because Red Rice has this firm, hearty texture, nutty flavor and rosy hues, it is a wonderful choice for meals showcasing rice. It goes remarkable well with salads, steamed vegetables, grilled fish and light meats.

Recipes for you to try:

Red Rice and Feta Cheese Salad

Prepare Rice:

• 1 cup red rice
• 2 cups water
• 1 tsp. of healthy salt

1. Boil rice in salted water using the ingredients above for about 40 minutes.
2. Turn off the heat, leaving the lid in place and allow the rice to sit for another 15 minutes.

Prepare Dressing:

• 1 small clove garlic, crushed
• 1 level tsp. grain mustard (ground mustard seed)
• 2 Tbsp coconut vinegar (you can also use balsamic vinegar or apple cider vinegar)
• 2 tablespoons healthy oil (virgin coconut oil, natural palm oil, extra virgin olive oil, or butter)
• 2 Shallots, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 oz. fresh rocket leaves, finely shredded (can substitute cabbage, romaine Lettuce, or bok choy)
• 3 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped, including the green ends
• 7 oz. of Feta cheese

1. Crush the garlic and mash with ½ teaspoon of salt. When this is a puree, add the mustard and work it in.
2. Add the vinegar and some freshly milled pepper.
3. Use a whisk and blend in the oil.
4. Taste to check seasonings.
5. Add the shallots, rocket leaves and spring onions.
6. Combine the rice with the dressing.
Before serving sprinkle on top of this:

Red Rice Salad:

Prepare rice:

• 1 cup red rice
• 2 cups water
• 1 tsp healthy salt

1. Boil rice in salted water using the ingredients above for about 40 minutes.
2. Turn off the heat, leaving the lid in place and allow the rice to sit for another 15 minutes.

Prepare Dressing:

• 5 tbsp. coconut vinegar
• 2-3 tbsp healthy oil (virgin coconut oil, natural palm oil, butter, extra virgin olive oil)
• ½ tsp oregano
• ½ tsp basil
• 1 tsp muscovado sugar (or another natural sweetener)
• ½ tsp cayenne
• healthy salt
• freshly milled pepper to taste

1. Combine ingredients, blending with a whisk or hand blender.

Prepare Salad:

• prepared rice (above)
• prepared dressing (above)
• 1 cup fresh or frozen sweet corn (thawed if frozen)
• ½ cup red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup yellow summer squash, cubed (or combo of yellow summer and zucchini squashes)
• 1 cup kidney beans, cooked (you may cook these yourselves or used canned kidney beans)
• 2-3 green onions

1. Combine all the ingredients.
2. Chill until ready to serve.

Variations:

Instead of the summer squash you may want to try other fresh vegetables, chopped finely or cubed. Adding olives and tomatoes is another interesting variation.

Chicken Tortilla Soup with Red Rice

Prepare Chicken:

• 1 whole chicken
• 6 quarts water

1. Cut chicken into pieces.
2. Boil chicken in water for about 45 minutes.
3. De-bone the chicken.
4. Reserve the chicken broth for later use.

Prepare Rice:

• 1 pound red rice, dry
• Reserved Chicken broth

1. Cook red rice in chicken broth for approximately 45 minutes.

Sauté Vegetables:

• 1 tbsp virgin coconut oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 tbsp garlic
• green, red and/or orange bell peppers, diced

Fry:

• Cut strips from corn tortillas and fry in coconut oil.
• Remove from the oil and place on plate to cool and get crispy.

Prepare soup:

• de-boned chicken and broth from above.
• 2 limes
• 2 cups corn (fresh or frozen)
• 10 roma tomatoes, diced

1. Add the de-boned chicken and the juice of two limes to the rice/chicken broth base.
2. Add the sautéed onions and garlic from above.
3. Add the corn.
4. Add the roma tomatoes.
5. Add the sautéed vegetable mixture.
6. Garnish this with slices of:
peeled avocadoes (approximately 4)

• cilantro (approximately 1 bunch)
• slices of lime or lemon (will need about 4 slices)
• Monterey Jack cheese, grated
• fried corn tortilla strips (above)

Coconut Rice Pudding

• 1 cup red rice
• 1 ¾ cup coconut cream
• 1 ¾ cup coconut milk
• ½ cup muscovado sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla (adjust to taste)

1. Add the first 4 ingredients and heat slowly.
2. Simmer until rice is done.
3. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
4. Serve with tropical mango cubes, pineapples, bananas, strawberries, fruit sauces or of any fruit of your choice.

Variations:

When using berries such as raspberries or apples, it is nice to add cinnamon and/or cloves to the rice.

One variation for the coconut rice without fruit is to add a sprig of mint or mint leaves while cooking

This link will take you to a nice recipe that used both Wild Rice and Red Rice. It is called: Tomatoes Stuffed with Red Rice and Wild Rice.

Red Rice can be used just like wild rice in any recipe that calls for rice. Just allow a little more time for cooking.