Chinese Rice

China produces over 35 percent of the world’s supply of rice and is the largest producer of rice in the world. Rice is a grain that is the staple food for most Chinese in the central and southern China and Taiwan. The harvest of rice is thought to have begun around 8000 to 10,000 BC. In the late 1970’s Chinese archaeologists discovered rice remains in the Zhejiang Province dating back some 5000 years. The Chinese prefer short-grained, slightly sticky rice. Also popular is a short-grained glutinous rice known as “sticky rice”. Sticky rice has a sweet flavor and is a main ingredient in fillings, deserts, and is used to create some alcoholic beverages. Cooked glutinous rice is often served wrapped in bamboo leaves and is popular during Chinese festival.

Rice Cultivation
For thousands of years rice has been cultivated in the hot and humid climate areas of China. Most Chinese rice is grown in flooded fields (paddies). For many rice growers in China, cultivating rice is a labor-intensive process with two to three harvests per year. The cultivation process begins with rice seedlings being grown in protected conditions. The seedlings are then planted one-by-one into paddies. At harvest time the paddies are drained and the rice plant is removed from the fields. The rice plants are then dried and the rice removed from its husk. The entire cultivation process can take as little as 40 days.

Rice Preparation
There are three common ways the Chinese prepare rice; for breakfast and/or a late night snack the rice is cooked in a large amount of water for several hours and combined and/or consumed with salted eggs, pork, beef, chicken or fish. The second method is it to make a thicker rice soup by boiling the rice with less water. The third method and most popular worldwide is to boil the rice in a covered pot so once cooked it is fluffy enough to eat with chopsticks. In the past rice was cooked various times a day as needed. Today rice can be cooked once a day and kept warm all day in automatic electric rice cooker.

Other Uses
In China rice is not only consumed by people but also used as feed for animals. Over the centuries the Chinese have used rice plants to make paper, flour for breads and noodles, wines, vinegar, and sticky glutinous rice was even used to create a mortar used during construction of the Great Wall and other stone and brick buildings in China.