Red Rice

crispy pork hock with steamed red rice and roasted vegetables 

There are various Philippine heirloom rice available to buy online but I find the prices of the rice too steep. I had to settle for the cheaper, at $10.00 for a 5-pound bag, Thai red rice which are sold in nearby Asian grocery stores. Thai red rice is a long grain non-glutinous rice similar to brown rice but the color of the bran is red. According to Wiki, only the husks of the rice grains are removed during the milling process, retaining all the nutrients, vitamins and minerals intact in the bran layer and in the germ. Red rice is a good source of thiamine, riboflavin, fiber, iron, and calcium.

The package's cooking time for 1 cup rice and 1½ cups water is 25 minutes but I steamed for another 10 minutes because the rice was not cooked through and the water was not fully absorbed after 25 minutes. Some websites suggest to soak the rice in water for an hour or two before steaming.

To season the cooked rice I added sea salt and a little butter. It is nutty and chewy but also soft enough, and a bit fragrant like jasmine rice. I like it.

I cooked a half cup of red rice for sweet snack/dessert. The half-cooked rice is then simmered in 2 cups of coconut milk, with a pinch of salt, and 3 tablespoons sugar, stirred occasionally. It's almost like corn guinatan so I topped one half with corn. I love it! The other half was cooked until the coconut milk is absorbed and the mixture has thickened. I had that with sliced mango.

guinatan and pudding

To make the crispy pork hock, I used the recipe for Crispy Pig Tails.