Of tasting rice

I spend this Christmas - New Year holiday in the PhD room. I do not go anywhere as I have a deadline by 7th of January, 2014. The problem of spending holiday in campus, especially at Cranfield University, is running out of food supplies. This university is indeed in the middle of England but somewhat also in the middle of nowhere. So if you are unprepared to face holiday here at Cranfield, such problem–running out of food, may occur.

 

However, I have prepared this holiday by buying several packs of microwave-ready foods. Lucky me, sometimes my friends invite me to have lunch or dinner in his or her dormitory. This afternoon I was invited to have meal in my Iranian friend's kitchen.

 

As I saw him prepared the meal, I distinguished a different way to cook rice. He regarded his doing as the common way of Iranian to serve rice. In Indonesia, as far as I know, we just cook rice plainly with no spices. There are other ways indeed to prepare rice in Indonesia, for example nasi liwet or nasi bakar. Nasi liwet is rice that is cooked in coconut milk instead of water, while nasi bakar actually is simply plain steam rice that is treated further by grilling it with spices in a wrap of banana leaf. However, these ways of serving are done occasionally, not for every day meal.

 

My Iranian friend prepared the rice by putting some salt and sunflower oil on the rice before put water and cooked it. When the rice was half-cooked, he poured a half cup of diluted flavour. Later he also put a kind of herbs or grains.

 

As I tasted the rice, I distinguished that the texture was little bit rough and the herb give a strong sour taste. I asked what the name of the herb/grain was; he said that he did not know what the name of it in English.

 

Then, I remembered when I came to the new students welcoming celebration in the mosque at this campus. That time I was served a plate of rice and peas with greasy texture. The cook was Palestinian. When I eat rice at a cafeteria in campus which I guess this how English serves it, I taste the coarse and plain texture. Surely, Asian serves fluffier rice.

 

I also just knew that rice can be served by using microwave. As I mentioned above, I bought several packs of instant food for these days, including instant curry rice. Reading serving suggestion on the pack, I understand that rice within the wrap has an amount concentration of water.

It is little bit funny to gain a little knowledge of cooking although I do not cook here (I do not consider use a microwave as cooking). However, after tasting several type of rice-serving, I cannot weigh which one better or tastier. To eat properly here and to experience foreigner cooking (not only rice, of course) are blessing beyond compare. Sour, coarse, fluffy, greasy, plain, savoury, sweet, bitter, salty and forth are the tastes of life. Think to taste and enjoy them all!

Once again, I am just grateful for being here.