Thai Red Rice 101 - 5 Colour of Thai Rice

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This is episode #3 of my special video series "5 Colours of Thai Rice"! If brown rice is old news to you, how about trying some Thai red rice?

About the 5 Colours of Thai Rice Series: Did you know that Thai people nowadays are eating so many colourful varieties of rice? That's right! There are several options of Thai rice you could be having with your Thai meal! In this series, I am giving you the lowdown on 5 types of rice Thailand has to offer, each with its own unique colour, and these are the 5 main types that Thai people now eat on a regular basis. Thank you Thai Trade Center Vancouver for sponsoring this awesome series!

Extra Notes on Cooking Red Rice

I use 1 part red rice to 1.5 part water (ratio is by volume, not weight). This ratio is good for rice cooked in a rice cooker or on the stove top. If you want to know how to cook perfect rice on the stove top, check out this video How to cook perfect Thai jasmine rice without a rice cooker..
If the water has all dried up but the rice doesn't taste tender enough for you, add a little more water and keep it cooking longer (on low heat!).
A sign that the rice is tender enough is that the rice grains should look like they've burst open, i.e. the rice has swollen enough that the red bran "jacket" rips open, exposing the white inside of the grain.
The best way to cook mixed red and white rice:
1. Rinse the red rice once and place it in the rice cooker or the pot you're using to cook the rice.
2. Add the total amount of water you'll need to cook the rice and let the red rice soak for at least 1 hour (So if you are cooking a TOTAL of 1 cup of rice - ½ cup red and ½ cup white - add 1 ½ cups of water.)
3. After soaking, rinse the white rice a couple of times and add to the red rice. Mix it up and cook as per usual.
4. If you're in a real rush, you do not need to soak the rice, but in my experience, you get a better texture overall if you let the red rice soak first. Without soaking I find the white rice will be overdone or the red will be underdone.
Another way to mix red/white rice: Cook a bunch of red rice, freeze it in portions, and when you're ready to eat just reheat in the microwave for about 90 seconds and mix as much of it as you want into white rice. This method requires advance planning and freezer space, but it doesn't require soaking, and you can mix in as much of the red rice as each diner wants (kids who are used to eating white rice may want to start out with just a little red rice mixed in).