My mother was a sucker for new food products. Finding a Sunday coupon only fueled her enthusiasm for the quirky, bizarre foodstuffs that the Nabisco’s of the world throw at us.
I inherited this trait, albeit with a little different twist. If it’s “gourmet” and “expensive,” it will jump off the shelf and into my shopping cart.
How else could you explain the $13.49 bottle of bamboo rice that followed me home?
Yep, that’s right. $13.49 for 15 ounces of a Chinese, short-grain white rice infused with bamboo juice. Is bamboo juice scarce?
I do admit I was a bit breathless looking at the grassy green rice in the upscale, Urban Accents plastic bottle with a metal cap.
Directions are simple: Bring 1 cup of bamboo rice and 2-1/2 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan.
Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let it rest, covered, for 5 minutes. Gently fluff with a fork. The result?
A pale, icy-green, soft, sticky rice.
The taste? Mild, perhaps a bit grassy. Does it taste like bamboo? I have no idea. I’ve never tasted bamboo (canned shoots don’t count because they only taste like the can.) Between you and me, it could use a little salt, unless you’re serving it as a base for a naturally salty stir fry.
I could see using this rice for sushi, if you’re so inclined to make sushi at home (too much trouble for me, when we have a respectable sushi restaurant just minutes away).
The color would add an interesting element to any dish. I used it as a base for a fresh, brightly flavored stir fry, with tofu, shiitakes, sugar snaps, ginger, garlic, jalapeños, cilantro and a touch of hoisin.
Will I use it again? You betcha! Gotta get my money’s worth. Will I buy it again? Yeah, probably as a gift for my hard-to-find-gifts-for foodie friends.
My mom would have loved it, too. She never met a rice grain she didn’t like.
