Is Nishiki Rice a Healthy Rice?

What Is Nishiki Rice?

Rice has long been a staple in Japan and is used as both a side dish and in the making of many entrees as well as appetizers. Different types of rice are used for various dishes, however one of the most versatile types of rice is known as Nishiki rice.

Nishiki rice is a brand of short grained rice that is used in Japan to make sushi, sake, and sticky rice. It comes in both white and brown rice varieties. Now Nishiki rice is being grown in some parts of California.

Although 1/4 cup of Nishiki rice has more calories than a cup of regular white rice, it contains less fat and the stickiness of this rice makes it especially ideal for rolling into sushi rolls and eating with chop sticks. Nishiki rice also has a great flavor.

How Is Nishiki Rice Milled?

The new process for milling Nishiki rice is somewhat unique. The process is called munsenmai (no-wash-rice) and it mixes the rice with water and heated tapioca. The tapioca attaches itself to the bran of the rice and floats to the top of the water. When the rice is then rinsed off, the bran is removed along with the tapioca. The process results in less water needed in the cooking of the rice and no need for pre-rinsing.

Nutritional Value Of Nishiki Rice

While Nishiki rice does have a good flavor, it really is not high in any sort of nutritional value. The rice has 150 calories for 1/4 cup, (compared to 102 calories per cup of regular rice) is 11% carbohydrate and has no protein, vitamins and minerals.

Nishiki brown rice does fair somewhat better in the nutritional department. While it does have the same amount of calories as Nishiki white rice, it has 1% less of carbohydrates and does contain 3 grams of protein and 2% iron.

Making Sushi At Home

It is not difficult to make sushi at home as long as you have the right "utensils" to cook the rice and to roll the sushi. Having a sushi mat is all you need to roll the sushi. Cooking sushi rice in a rice cooker is perhaps your best bet to ensure the rice is cooked just right for making sushi.There are many rice cookers that will do the trick. If you'd like to have the perfect appliance for everything you do in your kitchen, then look for a rice cooker that has "sushi" setting on the menu. This will ensure that nothing will go wrong with preparing the sushi rice.

After the rice is cooked and prepared for sushi. You simply need a strip of nori (seaweed) which you lay on a sheet of plastic wrap and then coat with the Nishiki rice. You then turn the nori over so the riced side is against the plastic wrap and put a bit of rice on the top of edge of this side of the nori. Next place your sushi ingredient (e.g. fresh avocado, cucumber, etc.) in the center. You then use the sushi mat to form the sushi into a roll, remove the plastic wrap and cut into bite size pieces. Serve with soy sauce and wasabi (Japanese horseradish) that's so pungent and will clear your sinus out in one bite. So be very sparing with the wasabi.

Where To Buy Nishiki Rice

Despite the fact that a type of Nishiki rice is now being raised in parts of California, this rice can often be somewhat difficult to find on the local grocer shelves. Unless your grocery store carries a large variety of ethnic foods from different cultures, chances are that you are going to have to shop for this rice somewhere else.

The best places to buy Nishiki rice are Asian food stores or at least food stores that carry a line of Asian foods. You may buy this rice through the Internet. There are a number of Asian food stores on line that carry Nishiki as well as sites such as Amazon.com.