Cooking it the rice way

Cooking it the rice way

Electric cookers and steamers have largely replaced traditional ways of cooking the national grain

SOCIAL & LIFESTYLE

After years of using electric rice cookers, many young people today may be unfamiliar with the more traditional cooking method for the grain.

But for homekeepers who are older than 50, the traditional way of cooking rice was very easy, and most of them have done it since childhood.

Dong Khao, a technique to drain hot water while the pot is tilted back and forth for a while to make sure all the grains are cooked.

For instance, Uthumporn Swang-arom, 58, said she started cooking rice traditionally when she was just 10 years old.

Most children in remote areas did chores around the house to help their parents, who worked away from home.

"My parents were fishermen in Phetchaburi province. When they went out to sea, I had to cook and also take care of my younger sisters and brothers," she recalled.

"I found traditional rice cooking to be very easy.

"You just put the rice in a cooking pot, rinse the grains a couple of times to remove starch or any additives, then pour in water to a level of two or three times higher than the rice. If you use too little water, the rice won't fully cook.

"The rice cooked well without having to be soaked in water. But for brown rice, it's traditional to soak it before cooking, as it helps that type of grain to swell as it absorbs water."

Then, she said, you put the cooking pot on the hot stove and constantly stir the rice to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pot or piling up on the bottom and then burning.

Eventually, the flame is reduced until the water simmers.

Once the rice grains are swollen and cooked, the final step is to drain off the water from the boiled rice, using a bamboo stick to keep the lid in place while the pot is tipped to pour out the water.

The hot leftover water drained from the pot is called nam khao and in the past would usually be given to the dogs.

But children and sick people could also take it as a drink, as it contained nutrients and was easy to digest.

Once the hot water is drained out, the pot is put back on the stove and the fire kept low while the pot is tilted back and forth for a while to make sure all the grains are cooked, a technique called dong khao.

"We had to perform that technique slowly until the steam was completely evaporated and the rice fully cooked, and then we'd call the rice khao suay," Ms Uthumporn said.

"If the rice turned out burned or stuck to the bottom of the pot, we'd call that khao tang."

In the past, housewives generally used firewood, charcoal or chaff as cooking fuel, making the cooked rice gentle and fragrant.

However, the advent of electric rice cookers and rice steamers have resulted in the traditional method almost disappearing.

And it must be admitted that electric rice cookers are much better at preserving nutrients.

"Nonetheless, I cooked rice in the traditional manner until I was 24 years old. I only quit doing that once I'd moved to work in Bangkok," Ms Uthumporn said.

She said another benefit of electric rice cookers is that they allow homekeepers to do housework at the same time.

"But personally, I still favour the traditional method. Rice cooked using this technique is much more fragrant and does not spoil easily," Ms Uthumporn added.

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