Make sure you don't miss the Zojirushi giveaway we're doing! How is rice grown? In Japan, young seedlings are first raised in nursery beds until they are large enough to be transplanted into water-filled paddy fields during the rainy month of June. The rice needs a long, hot growing season and a warm, dry maturing period before the harvest in autumn. In general, it requires high maintenance, skilled land management, and good luck with the weather. How to buy and store rice The flavor of newly harvested rice in late autumn is considered to be the best. Polished rice should be stored in an airtight container in a cool, dark, and dry place and eaten as soon as possible. Certain Italian rices can be used as a substitute for Japanese rice. Italian rices typically used for making risotto, such as Arborio and Vialone can be used if you can’t find Japanese rice where you live. How to cook rice If you want rice that is tender, flavorful, glossy, and moist, then you must remove all of the surface starch from the raw rice kernels before cooking them, which means you have to wash the rice. Put the rice in a large bowl and cover it with cold water. Stir and swish the rice vigorously (it will become cloudy). Drain the rice then repeat the procedure with fresh cold water. Continue until the rinsing water runs clear. Drain the washed rice well after the final rinsing. When cooking Japanese-style rice, the amount of cooking water is always slightly more than the amount of raw rice. In fact, the first way we learned to measure out water and rice ratios for cooking was by using our hands! The water level should rise about 1/3 inch above the rice (some people measure using the tip of their thumb, or their entire hand). Plain boiling is the classic way to cook rice. Now nearly every Japanese household uses a rice cooker, but you can still make it the traditional way on the stovetop! A Japanese song describes the cooking process: Hajime choro-choro (At first it bubbles) Naka pa-ppa (and then it hisses) Akagao ga naite mo (even if the baby is crying from hunger) Futa toru na! (never remove the lid!) So basically, place the pot over high heat and bring the water to a rolling boil. The song will help you recognize clues to where you are in the process so that you don’t have to lift the lid! You will know the water is boiling when you hear bubbling noises and see the lid begin to dance (this is the choro-choro line). Then reduce the heat to low and continue to cook for about 5 minutes, or until you hear a low hissing sound (the naka pa-ppa stage). Increase the heat to high again for 30 seconds to dry off the rice, then remove from the heat, still tightly covered, and let it stand for at least 10 minutes. The rice is NOT done at this point! It will use those 10 minutes to do a final self-steaming to reach the proper texture. Of course, if you eat rice more than once a week, then a rice cooker is well wroth the investment! Cookers allow you to set the cooker to work when you aren't around and will keep the rice fresh for several days. And most importantly, how do you eat rice? Bowl of plain white rice: Plain rice is traditionally served in an individual bowl with a separate bowl of miso soup. This is the simplest Japanese meal and other dishes, no matter how elaborate they may be, are mere accompaniments to the rice. Donburi mono: Big bowls of plain boiled rice served with different toppings and sauces as a one-bowl meal, often for lunch. Oyako donburi: Chicken and egg over rice. Tendon: Tempura of fish and vegetables over rice. Katsudon: Pork cutlet over rice. Gyudon: Sauteed beef over rice. Unadon: broiled seasoned eel over rice. Sushi Onigiri Gomokumeshi: Rice boiled with small pieces of vegetables (usually five different kinds). Some people add small bits of fish or chicken. Kayu: Rice porridge.