Suterare Seijo no Isekai Gohantabi - Ch. 10
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Food pedantic discussion-
Basmati is Indica. All commonly purchased cultivated rice is scientifically known as Orzya Sativa. Basmati is a varietal of "long grain" rice- which are all conventionally known as Indica, just as all "short grain" rice varietals are referred to Japonica (which originally was Sinica due to it being first cultivated in Yangtze valley area in China, tho archaeological evidence points to earlier cultivation in what is modern day Philippines).
The MC wasn't just making this up to say "India" rice- both of these naming conventions DO refer to nations of influence from where they were popularized. Granted, scientific nomenclature and identification is very confusing, and rice has been subject to TONS of DNA manipulation, both in modern labs and non-bioengineered selective breeding which doesn't help with naming conventions (see how many japanese food manga extol the virtues of certain rice types by prefecture name only, and a popular form of "heirloom" American rice "Carolina Gold" is a crossbreed of Indica and Japonica). (And there are 2 other known cultivated species, 1 extinct post colonization from Brazil, and one currently grown in parts of Africa but not sold commercially).
A more accurate way of describing would be by type and amounts of starch content, amylose and amylopectin, and is what the MC is describing in this chapter when she waxes on about the texture and appropriate dishes. (edited to add- amylose is less sticky, and is proportionally more in Indica strains, while amylopectin is water soluble and creates the gummier/sticky texture in Japonica, but both types of starch are present in all rice). But that's a bit more difficult to say, so in most discussions regarding food and identification, Indica is generally what means "long grained rice". (and even that can get confusing, since the rice most often used in Paella is actually Indica, BUT looks short grained. And there are glutinous, ie "sticky", long grain rices throughout Asia as well.)
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There are a bunch of those small tips when it comes to cooking. Many are true, many aren't.
Another one here was breaking apart the mushrooms vs cutting them. That made me think of the difference between garlic being pressed/minced or chopped. Depends on what you want out of it.
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It's funny that the team commented about Uncle Roger, because as soon as I saw the finger technique for measuring water to cook rice, I thought it was just like an Uncle Roger video.
...Although with a rice cooker you'd normally just use the fill lines and this is generally done for something like cooking rice in a pot...
...Although with a rice cooker you'd normally just use the fill lines and this is generally done for something like cooking rice in a pot...
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Right- so another food pedant point-
So much of cooking knowledge is based on "tradition"- and much of it is demonstrably silly and wrong as AnotherDuck noted, but was passed on because that is how a person did things without repeated experimentation of variables, and because they didn't want to get things wrong. So, many things that had nothing to do with the result were recorded down as essential- you will find recipes for whipping egg whites to ONLY whip in one direction, something that has nothing to do with how meringues form.
The "don't wash mushroom" issue has been debunked multiple times- though it has caveats, and like anything, depends on the preparation and type of mushroom. Most important to note- mushrooms grow in detritus- or worse/trash/molding logs, etc. It's actually SMART and SAFE to wash them. YES- mushrooms will absorb moisture if washed, but VERY minimal, and if they are being cooked, this matters little since the moisture will either evaporate if searing/sauteeing, or will be added to soups/stocks if wet cooking. This is a good primer on the topic, specific to things like shiitakes as this manga chapter alludes to- https://www.seriouseats.com/knife-s...mushrooms#toc-how-to-clean-shiitake-mushrooms
Wash just before using, since moisture will accelerate bacterial growth and spoilage. The important thing here is after washing, remember to dry them, either in a salad spinner or with paper towels and air dry, as this allows for better browning/maillard reactions when searing/sauteeing them since there is less water to interfere.
As for washing things like truffles, which are often stored in dry rice to absorb moisture (again, another kinda silly tradition, since dessicant/silica/calcium chloride packs would do much the same, without the risk of surfaces for bacterial growth), it's kind of a similar point, but different order. They grow in dirt, or worse- wiping with a damp cloth is the standard. Whether washing them fully and then spinning/patting/letting them dry and storing away (in the manner above in rice or more modern methods) is better, I'd leave it up to the person using them. Most restaurant truffles are received pre-cleaned in the damp cloth method, or only dry cloth (hence doing it yourself before usage) and stored as listed above, so unless you are lucky enough to forage yourself, it's not really an issue. The point here is that you would be eating these often raw, shaved on top of dishes to finish, etc, and so would not want added moisture from washing.
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Rin is so cute with those cute poses she do when cooking
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Not the 'uncle roger approved this' bcs sameee 😂🙌 we asian wash and cook rice by touch and feel 😂
