Welcome ladies and gentleman to the main event of the week! In the category of Culinary Boxing here at Chef’s Mandala, we have weighing in at 1 pound from North America, please welcome wild rice! His opponent, weighing in at 1 pound from China, please welcome white rice!
LET’S GET READY TO RRRRR…….HAVE A SPIRITED DEBATE ON FOOD!!!
In the Red Corner – WILD RICE
Today’s challenger is a tall, aquatic grass harvested for its’ delicious grains! His unrefined, unpolished exterior has led some to dismiss wild rice’s uncouth ways. However his fight record goes back over 4 million years and he has 30 times more antioxidants then white rice. Wild rice is going to be one tough opponent! Some boxing experts claim that wild rice is something of a prima donna, taking twice as long to get ready for a fight (45 to 50 minute cook time) and costing more money then white rice. Wild rice’s fans shoot back that the challenger is worth it, having more nutritional value then even grass fed beef!
In the Blue Corner – WHITE RICE
Our current champion is also a seed harvested from watery grass. But to get trim he’s shed his husk (outer coating), bran (hard outer layer) and germ (seed equivalent of ovaries)! This makes white rice much easier to digest. While some critics say the human body immediately converts the champ into sugar, for athletes this is a great source of quick energy. And white rice is rarely eaten by itself. This helps slow down any surges in blood sugar. Furthermore unrefined whole grains have phytic acid. This prevents your body from absorbing essential nutrients like calcium, zinc, magnesium and iron. But much like white bread, white rice is a refined carbohydrate. So he has less fiber, protein and nutrients then the challenger. Unlike white bread, white rice is gluten-free. Lastly for hometown fan’s of white rice, being naturally sticky makes eating with chopsticks so much easier!
FIGHT!!!
- The Play-By-Play
Wild rice emerges from his corner, his fighting style more a combination of the old bare-knuckle boxing seen hundreds of years ago. White rice exists his corner in smooth, measured strides. His southpaw fighting style has been a source of some debate. Much like Connor “The Notorious” McGregor, white rice favors many moves that are considered blatantly illegal in boxing. Oh, and white rice just faked a jab with his left hand, followed by a jump spinning kick with his right leg to the head!
AND THE WINNER IS….
Wild rice, white was disqualified. Unless you are training 2 hours a day, 4 days a week your body doesn’t have the same demands as those of a competitive athlete. For the more sedentary among (or most of) us, wild rice is a much better choice. And newer rice cookers use induction heating and pressure to cook much faster then normally possible. But for many Asian dishes, white rice is as an essential accompaniment. Just make sure to eat it as a side, and not by itself (if you’re worried about surges in blood sugar).