# Rice to be labeled differently



## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

The NFA is doing away with the fancy rice names such as Sinandomeng or Dinorado and it will be labeled either local or imported.
NFA to do away with ‘fancy’ rice names | Philippine News Agency


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## Zep (Jun 8, 2017)

I just wish they could fix the taste and consistency of the rice. Every time you buy some it is either too mushy or too hard. Takes a while to find the right amount of water to add and even then something seems wrong.

I am comparing this to the "jasmine" rice I used to buy in the US from various places. Always was able to add water to the 6 cup line on the rice cooker if I put in 6 cups of rice. It was always perfect. Always experimenting here. 

Oh well, we grow our own and it ain't any better. Some day I will find a version of rice I like and try to grow it myself.


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## Manitoba (Jun 25, 2014)

I always thought that rice was rice until the Philippine OFW, the Thais, Vietnamese, Indians (ROI not North America aboriginals) and Pakistanis and Afghans that I worked with got into a friendly ongoing argument of what was the best rice.

The Americans, the Brits and I all added fuel to the fire by saying innocently " What you mean there is a difference? Isn't it just all the same white stuff?" LOL


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

Manitoba said:


> I always thought that rice was rice until the Philippine OFW, the Thais, Vietnamese, Indians (ROI not North America aboriginals) and Pakistanis and Afghans that I worked with got into a friendly ongoing argument of what was the best rice.
> 
> The Americans, the Brits and I all added fuel to the fire by saying innocently " What you mean there is a difference? Isn't it just all the same white stuff?" LOL


Amen Bro,,,, rice is rice unless it has rocks in it. Far as I'm concerned--it's an ingredient that is added to 
canned and dried dog food!


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## Zep (Jun 8, 2017)

It's funny how flour costs less here in the PI (even less than rice) yet I do not believe they even grow wheat here. P30 per kilo at the local market. I imagine it is even cheaper in bulk in a larger city.

I try to eat homemade bread and biscuits and other stuff. Wife and kids look at me like I am crazy for not eating rice 5 times a day.


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## bigpearl (Jan 24, 2016)

Zep said:


> It's funny how flour costs less here in the PI (even less than rice) yet I do not believe they even grow wheat here. P30 per kilo at the local market. I imagine it is even cheaper in bulk in a larger city.
> 
> I try to eat homemade bread and biscuits and other stuff. Wife and kids look at me like I am crazy for not eating rice 5 times a day.


Yep Zep,,,,,,, lol, a poet and I don't know it. Agree with what you say, even in Oz we eat a h***ll of a lot of rice, good thing I'm into rice or a divorce might be in the wind.
We only buy Basmati rice in Oz, we used to buy Jasmine rice but found Basmati had a longer grain, was sweeter and always cooked consistently every time.
Shame you may say as we pay about 18 bucks Oz for 5 kilos, I just looked up Basmati rice available at Robinsons that works out to be a little over 33 Aussie bucks for the same 5kgs of rice,,,,,,, if its the same, who knows as we haven't tried it yet.

https://tinyurl.com/ya6oqpkc

So a dollar 20 for local rice, 6 bucks for 5 kilos? I'm afraid to say I'll be paying extra in PH for what we enjoy and the budget just got slashed/blown out.
We do eat the local rice and as other contributors correctly state "it's rice". 
"all you can eat in many establishments" agree no matter what we buy in the local markets it is definitely rice and simply fills a hole. Good quality rice costs bucks but is more palatable.
As an expat to PH. rice will be every day but I will choose the rice I eat no different to those that choose eye fillet steaks. Western choices cost.
Fortunately most can and do and do.

Only an opinion and observation but I am dearly hoping others can supply info on cheaper Basmati rice.

Cheers, Steve.


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

We also bought the Jasmine rice for years in the U.S. What I've noticed about rice is there seem to be two main rice brands (many names though) but one rice is dryer takes more water and labeled Sinandomeng and makes for good fried rice the other Donorado is moister doesn't take as much water and we prefer the Dinorado. 

So the two main rice types seem similar to comparing potatoes the red potato would be Dinorado the white potato would be Sinandomeng but I think the main reason the NFA is getting rid of these fancy names is to help curb the ever increasing cost of rice so I hope it works, I did try the NFA rice you can buy only 5 or 6 kilos per day at 27 pesos last time I purchased it but the rice seemed small grained and consistency compared to Sinandomeng.

There are some grocery store chains I avoid because of those rocks because when stuck with a bag like this you suffer nearly a month trying to clean out the rocks each time you prepare.


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## pagbati (Apr 9, 2014)

*Basmati Rice*



bigpearl said:


> … we pay about 18 bucks Oz for 5 kilos, I just looked up Basmati rice available at Robinsons that works out to be a little over 33 Aussie bucks for the same 5kgs of rice. … Only an opinion and observation but I am dearly hoping others can supply info on cheaper Basmati rice. Cheers, Steve.


Steve, I also prefer Basmati rice and I’m willing to pay the extra pesos to get it. You can’t beat Basmati when it comes to Biryani dishes etc. I tend to purchase mine from Assad Mini Mart in Manila. Last time I was there, a 5kg bag of standard Basmati was about P700/ 800. They also had 5kg bags of Special Basmati, aged for 2 years costing P900 (the brand was Lal Qila – Special Old Malai). I’d never heard of it before but decided to give it a try. I have to say it's the best Basmati rice I have ever tasted and extremely clean. Despite the additional cost, I’ll be buying it again next time. With the fall in the value of the Peso, like most things here I imagine it may have increased in price. I believe P900 works out at about AUS$24.4 so you’re still getting a better deal than Robinsons, even if you choose the more expensive brand. They will also deliver your order by post. The only downside is that their website needs developing; it's been in its current sad state for about 3 years, and their ordering system is very primative. Still, their products and rice are very good and once you get a hang of their system, it's worth the hassle. When I visited the shop, I made a note of the prices/ quantites of the products I was interested in, which simplified the ordering process.
Here’s the Lal Quilla website if you want to check out their products/ reputation. Lal Qilla Basmati Rice by Amar Singh Chawal Wala – The Original Basmati Rice
Here’s the Assad Mini Mart website in case you’ve got an abundance of patience & tolerance. https://www.assadminimart.com/home/


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## esv1226 (Mar 13, 2014)

rice is rice - but you can prepare them in many different ways. there's Spanish, Indian, Thai, etc seasoning with other ingredients other than simply bringing them to a boil. in the country alone, there's valenciana, arroz kaldo, or fried rice with garlic or chicken or shrimp or pork or beef or vegetarian style, saffron, curry or all or some of the above, i love to experiment with different flavors.


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## Manitoba (Jun 25, 2014)

Asian Spirit said:


> Amen Bro,,,, rice is rice unless it has rocks in it. Far as I'm concerned--it's an ingredient that is added to
> canned and dried dog food!


Dog food comes in cans????


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## Tukaram (Dec 18, 2014)

Labeling just 'domestic' or 'import' seems a bit daft to me. Neither my wife or I care where it comes from. What matters is what type it is. I like bismati, she likes dinarado.


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## Zep (Jun 8, 2017)

You guys and your buying a 5kg sack. Geez, I go thru a 50kg sack every two weeks or less. Maybe that's why I don't like the rice here as it is all locally grown. Short busted grains and rocks can be the norm, I have busted two crowns on the rocks so far. 

No way I could afford to buy rice in a supermarket in these quantities. That's ok, I like my bread.


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## pagbati (Apr 9, 2014)

Zep said:


> You guys and your buying a 5kg sack. Geez, I go thru a 50kg sack every two weeks or less. Maybe that's why I don't like the rice here as it is all locally grown. Short busted grains and rocks can be the norm, I have busted two crowns on the rocks so far. No way I could afford to buy rice in a supermarket in these quantities. That's ok, I like my bread.


Zep, if I were getting through 50kg of rice in two weeks I’d probably buy the cheapest product on the market. But as Steve says, it’s personal choice. My wife loves the local stodgy white rice; I tend to give it a wide berth. As our main staple is bread (which we make at home) and potatoes, we can afford to be choosy with rice. Especially as we’ve adapted to eating the local sweet potatoes, which are not only healthier than the standard white potato we’re used to, but delicious and only a fraction of the cost.


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## Danman (Mar 23, 2016)

Zep the reason you find stones in your rice is because most farmers wheather they grow rice or corn tend to dry their crops on the sides of roads, when it goes to get milled sometimes the Mill is not cleaned properly thats why sometimes you find a stone amongst the rice it is better to sift the rice a lot easier on the teeth lol. There are many varieties of seeds used to grow rice in the Philippines which is the reason why rice can taste different, some when cooked is fluffy and soft while some seem a bit hard.


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## hogrider (May 25, 2010)

I always believed that there were just 2 types of rice, white and the healthier brown version.


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

*Basamati Rice*



pagbati said:


> I also prefer Basmati rice and I’m willing to pay the extra pesos to get it. You can’t beat Basmati when it comes to Biryani dishes etc. https://www.assadminimart.com/home/


Pagbati Basmati rice sounds interesting and I learned something new with the comment on the Biryani dishes and it sort of reminds me of cooking those quick "Rice a Roni" meals but I don't find these boxes here. Regular rice seems to get mushy when cooked but it looks like the Basmati rice holds up as a stew, I also used to get an instant chili mix and it had rice as part of the ingredients but never became mushy.


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

I'm from Grand Forks ND so we lived on the border MN and frequently my mom would cook with wild rice and I've seen wild rice sold here in vacuum packed bags but it sure gets attacked by the bugs quickly and it has to be stuck in the refrigerator or it ends up getting rotten but what a flavor it also takes longer to cook so even harder to figure out how to cook the wild rice but I'll bet delicious in a Biryani dish.


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## pagbati (Apr 9, 2014)

*Local Red & Black Rice*



M.C.A. said:


> I'm from Grand Forks ND so we lived on the border MN and frequently my mom would cook with wild rice and I've seen wild rice sold here in vacuum packed bags but it sure gets attacked by the bugs quickly and it has to be stuck in the refrigerator or it ends up getting rotten but what a flavor it also takes longer to cook so even harder to figure out how to cook the wild rice but I'll bet delicious in a Biryani dish.


MCA, we rarely use wild rice but we do buy the local red and black rice. Very tasty and by all accounts, it's more nutritious that than white rice so it’s obviously more healthy; but it’s not to everyone’s taste and the extended cooking time tends to put off a lot of people. We don't use it all the time as it can be 'kind of heavy' and you certainly wouldn't eat much of it in one sitting. Besides, plain white rice goes really well with so many dishes. I tend to soak the red and black overnight first and then it takes approx. 30-40 mins on the stove top. The important thing is to avoid buying old rice, which takes a lot longer to cook. As you say, it also advisable to keep it in the fridge.

Because we can’t source pinhead oats (steel cut), we occasionally use red or black rice for porridge. I used to make it the night before to save time in the morning. Last year we came up with the idea of grinding our red & black rice into flour and making porridge from that. What a difference; it only takes about 7 or 8 mins in the morning but it’s still got all the nutrients and retains the ‘nutty’ flavour.


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## Manitoba (Jun 25, 2014)

M.C.A. said:


> I'm from Grand Forks ND so we lived on the border ......


If you want the really good wild rice in Grand Forks you have to drive up I-29 until the guy (or gal) in the little booth says "Bienvenue au Canada" ....


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## bigpearl (Jan 24, 2016)

I have to admit that we do eat the "local rice" at the outlaws when visiting, even buy the 40 peso per kilo rice at the wet markets and yes generally as others say rice is rice is rice. Never had a problem cooking the local rice for consistency nor have we ever encountered stones or grit. For us in Oz a 5 Kilo bag of Basmati rice lasts 3 or 4 weeks as we eat many other meals without rice,,,,,,,,, much to Bengie's disgust and then some. 
If too difficult to buy Basmati or Jasmine we are happy to eat the local varieties, honestly rice is nice but just a filler for the stomach probably no different to pasta, potatoes or bread. What makes these staples is what you cook to go with them. Ben makes the best Sisig's and dry Adobo's one could find and all rice pales with excellent flavours. A bit like bangers and mash, the good sausage wins hands down and the spuds are the filler and the gravy desert.

As manitoba suggested there are only 2 rice varieties, whole and pearl. While true the whole includes husks, brown, black or wild is definitely healthier though the white varieties all seem the same hold many subtle differences with texture, flavour and obviously cost. Only my thoughts.

Cheers, Steve.


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

As I have Type 2 Diabetes we try and stick to Basmati as it has a better glycemic index than most white rices.


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## boris64 (Dec 13, 2018)

Gary D said:


> As I have Type 2 Diabetes we try and stick to Basmati as it has a better glycemic index than most white rices.


But

This is very important. Especially as we get older. I am trying to convert Roxan to white rice. But, as I have said in other places it is like trying to make the Pope Lutheran))))


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## Rebaqshratz (May 15, 2016)

I do not eat much rice here because the local potato is not too bad. When I do eat rice it is strictly Japanese rice which taste better to me than anything local.


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