Southeast Asian Cuisine: Rice Obsession or Passion?

If you’ve been to Asia, you will know that the Eastern culture and cuisine is rice-crazy! There is no meal in the day that is not in some way complimented with a rice serving, be it breakfast, lunch, dinner or even dessert. This can make those unfamiliar with Asia wonder just how interesting the cuisine can possibly be. A quick Google of the kind of culinary experience you can expect from a trip to Asia doesn't even touch on the sheer variety of rice types and preparation methods used in this beautiful destination. And so, this blog endeavours to take a brief journey into the white haze of the Eastern rice craze.

First and foremost, every continent has its staple food. North America has corn, Russia has potatoes, South Africa has wheat, and Asia has rice. Of course, with the sophistication and expansion of global trade, international foods are no longer a mystery to the rest of the world, and almost every country can have international foods imported to them, but in Asia and Thailand? Rice is most undeniably the staple food crop. You can see it everywhere, from the marketplaces where great hessian bags of rice are sold, to the breath-taking vistas of emerald rice paddies laid out like a patchwork quilt of greenery.

So, why rice? Quite simply, the lush and tropical climate and waterlogged fecund soils of Southeast Asia are highly conducive to the growth of this food crop. Generations of knowledge, teaching, and experimenting has resulted in the vast array of rice cooking techniques that can be enjoyed today! In the West, a bowl of rice is about as imaginative as a hard-boiled egg, but in the East… a bowl of rice can be steamed, sticky, gelatinous, brown, white, jasmine, vermicelli or pudding. Furthermore, rice is used in the creation of an incredible host of products, including vinegar, soups, wine, liquor, pasta, bread, milk and just about everything else that can be rendered from flour!

So, make a point of exploring the many wonderful types of rice dishes and preparations, and remember this: if the cuisine of Thailand can be likened to art, then rice is undoubtedly the canvas!