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Make anything into a meal with a bowl of rice Make anything into a meal with a bowl of rice
(3 days later)
A lot of rice turns any amount of anything else into a meal. A small helping of meat perched upon a bowl of rice makes a meal of that meat; a single egg with a bare scattering of spring onions; five cubes of aubergine, four peanuts and three leaves of basil. All seem like square meals if their sparsity is offset by a generous bowl of rice.A lot of rice turns any amount of anything else into a meal. A small helping of meat perched upon a bowl of rice makes a meal of that meat; a single egg with a bare scattering of spring onions; five cubes of aubergine, four peanuts and three leaves of basil. All seem like square meals if their sparsity is offset by a generous bowl of rice.
These dishes work not just because rice is filling, but also because rice has a knack of making any accompaniment seem like that’s what you’re tasting the whole time. A friend named this effect the “bean principle” after I served him a bowl of bean broth into which just a few precious beans had escaped. The absence of beans, he said, made him appreciate the ones that were there more acutely.These dishes work not just because rice is filling, but also because rice has a knack of making any accompaniment seem like that’s what you’re tasting the whole time. A friend named this effect the “bean principle” after I served him a bowl of bean broth into which just a few precious beans had escaped. The absence of beans, he said, made him appreciate the ones that were there more acutely.
It should be called the “rice principle” since it’s the dietary strategy of most of the world’s 7 billion inhabitants, who live on rice and whatever is placed – or acutely savoured – on top of it.It should be called the “rice principle” since it’s the dietary strategy of most of the world’s 7 billion inhabitants, who live on rice and whatever is placed – or acutely savoured – on top of it.
Rice is a good reminder that all of our appetites are similar. The rice principle does not just feed Asia or Italy, but Spain and all the Middle East, and dozens of other cultures where small amounts of ingredients are cooked and served amid large quantities of rice.Rice is a good reminder that all of our appetites are similar. The rice principle does not just feed Asia or Italy, but Spain and all the Middle East, and dozens of other cultures where small amounts of ingredients are cooked and served amid large quantities of rice.
It will do for you what food should, no matter who you are. Gourmets are satisfied: it can be topped with buttered spinach and parmesan or sprinkled with shaved white truffles. And to the palates of fussy children who still think eating is a beastly reality of life, rice remains agreeably anodyne.It will do for you what food should, no matter who you are. Gourmets are satisfied: it can be topped with buttered spinach and parmesan or sprinkled with shaved white truffles. And to the palates of fussy children who still think eating is a beastly reality of life, rice remains agreeably anodyne.
It’s worth making a pot of rice without planning for anything but to be hungry
Unlike eggs, which we cook too mechanically, we don’t cook with rice mechanically enough. It’s worth making a pot of rice without planning for anything but to be hungry. In Italy, as elsewhere, white rice is simply cooked in salted water, like pasta.Unlike eggs, which we cook too mechanically, we don’t cook with rice mechanically enough. It’s worth making a pot of rice without planning for anything but to be hungry. In Italy, as elsewhere, white rice is simply cooked in salted water, like pasta.
You can also use a rice cooker. I use mine religiously. If you have a rice cooker, you can drop your bags the minute you enter the kitchen, add rice, water, a pinch of salt and press start, all before you take off your coat.You can also use a rice cooker. I use mine religiously. If you have a rice cooker, you can drop your bags the minute you enter the kitchen, add rice, water, a pinch of salt and press start, all before you take off your coat.
It’s worth making a pot of rice without planning for anything but to be hungry
Then approach dinner, as most of our fellow eaters do, with the rice principle in mind. Fill deep bowls with rice and put an array of ingredients in little bowls on the table. This turns a miscellany into an exciting meal that you can call “rice bowls”. The meal will be closest to Indian thali meals, where a beautiful succession of strongly flavoured dishes, such as tomato sauce, coconut chutney and thin, fragrant lentil soup, are served with as much rice as you can eat.Then approach dinner, as most of our fellow eaters do, with the rice principle in mind. Fill deep bowls with rice and put an array of ingredients in little bowls on the table. This turns a miscellany into an exciting meal that you can call “rice bowls”. The meal will be closest to Indian thali meals, where a beautiful succession of strongly flavoured dishes, such as tomato sauce, coconut chutney and thin, fragrant lentil soup, are served with as much rice as you can eat.
The only requisite ingredient for your own version is a bowl, of any shape or colour, of hot rice.The only requisite ingredient for your own version is a bowl, of any shape or colour, of hot rice.