Grains, rice & flours · Rice
Red rice
Wholegrain rice with a red-brown bran layer, nutty and slightly chewy; Bhutanese red rice cooks fastest.
Also called: Bhutanese red rice, red cargo rice, Himalayan red rice, kakulu rice
Around the world: eue chum (dz)
A kind of rice
Photo: Sengai Podhuvan, via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA-3.0)
What it is
Red rice is any rice whose bran is coloured by natural red pigments. It is sold wholegrain or partly milled, so it cooks more like brown rice. Bhutanese red rice is a short, partly milled grain that cooks quickly and turns soft and pink; Sri Lankan and Kerala red rices are bolder and firmer. It is unrelated to Chinese red yeast rice.
How it’s used
- Bhutanese meals with ema datshi
- Sri Lankan and Kerala rice plates
- Grain salads and bowls
- Red rice pilaf
Characteristics
- Taste
- Nutty, earthy.
- Texture
- Slightly chewy; Bhutanese red rice becomes soft and a little sticky.
- Sold as
- whole
- Cooking uses
- Commonly cooked, Suitable for boiling
- Common in
- Bhutanese, Sri Lankan, South Indian, French
Storage
Cool, dry and dark. Airtight and cool; like brown rice, the bran can turn rancid, so use within a few months.
Diet, allergens and safety
No major allergens in typical versions.
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy-free
- Egg-free
- Gluten-free
- Nut-free
- Soy-free
- Caffeine-free
- Cooked rice can carry spores of Bacillus cereus that survive cooking; cool leftovers quickly (within about an hour), refrigerate, use within 1 day and reheat until steaming hot throughout. Do not keep cooked rice warm for hours.
Nutrition per 100 g
- Energy
- 367 kcal
- Protein
- 7.54 g
- Carbohydrate
- 76.25 g
- Fat
- 3.2 g
- Fibre
- 3.6 g
- Sugars
- 0.66 g
USDA FoodData Central: Rice, brown, long-grain, raw (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program) (a close stand-in).
Substitutes
Optional — what works if you don’t have it, and how it changes the dish.
- Brown rice — Closest swap for texture and cooking time; loses the colour.
Related ingredients
Recipes with red rice
Bhutanese red rice
Bhutanese · 37 min · 367 kcal · Vegan
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