Scorched rice in Iran | |
Alternative names | List
|
---|---|
Type | Cooked rice |
Main ingredients | Rice |
Variations | Cucayo,guōbā,nurungji,okoge,tah dig,rengginang |
Scorched rice, also known ascrunchy rice, is a thin crust of slightly brownedrice at the bottom of the cooking pot. It is produced during the cooking of rice over direct heat from a flame.
InCape Verdean cuisine, the burned, scorched, or otherwise crunchy rice at the bottom of the pot is referred to askokorota.[1] It is traditionally cooked outside, or in a semi-enclosed cooking space in a three-legged metal pot over burning firewood. In modern times, butane-powered stoves and store-bought pots are more commonly used inCape Verde; however, the three-legged pots are still frequently used in the rural areas and when making food for parties, festivals or any occasion where large quantities of food are required.
Guōbā (simplified Chinese:锅巴;traditional Chinese:鍋巴;pinyin:guō bā;lit. 'pan adherents'), sometimes known asmi guoba (米鍋巴,lit. 'rice guoba') is aChinese food ingredient consisting of scorched rice.[1] Traditionallyguōbā forms during the boiling of rice over direct heat from a flame. This results in the formation of a crust of scorched rice on the bottom of thewok or cooking vessel. This scorched rice has a firm and crunchy texture with a slight toasted flavour, and is sometimes eaten as a snack: many commercial snack food varieties exist, often made ofmillet instead of white rice.
Guōbā is also used as an ingredient in many Chinese dishes with thick sauces, since the bland taste of the scorched rice takes on the flavour of the sauces.Guōbā is also served in soups and stews and prominently featured inSichuan cuisine. Since demand forguōbā outstrips traditional production and modern ways of cooking rice (in electricrice cookers) do not produce it,guōbā has been commercially manufactured since the 1980s.[2]
In Cantonese-speaking areas of China, scorched rice is known asfaan6 ziu1 (飯焦,lit. 'rice scorch') and is a prominent feature ofclaypot rice.
Scorched rice is referred to askanzo orɛmo ase (bottom of rice) inTwi. It is made by mistake or by chance since it happens when the rice burns while cooking. Some people choose to discard it. However, kanzo has been rebranded as a staple and is now being either sold or made.[3]
Scorched rice is calledapango in Madagascar. It is boiled with water and the obtained drink, is called "ranon'apango" ["apango" water] or "ranovola", ([golden water], in reference to the golden-black color). It serves as the national drink, accompanying every traditional food. The scorched rice, once soften, can also be eaten on its own, in place of traditional rice and is even favored in some regions.[4]
InIndonesia, especiallyCentral Java, scorched rice is calledintip. It is a specialty of theWonogiri Regency area and served as a cracker. The rice cracker is made from the hardened semi-burnt rice that sticks to the inner bottom of rice-cooking vessels. These cooking vessels are filled with water to loosen up the stuck rice. After it is separated from the cooking vessel, the stuck rice is sun-dried until it loses all of its liquid contents. The dried sticky rice is later deep-fried to create a crispy rice cracker.
In Indonesia there is a similar rice cracker calledrengginang. Unlikeintip, however, it is not made from scorched rice salvaged from the bottom of a rice cooking vessel, but created separately from steamed sticky rice, boiled, seasoned, made into a flat and rounded shape, and sun-dried prior to deep-frying.[5]
InIran,Tahdig (Persian:ته دیگ,tah "bottom" +dīg "pot") is a specialty ofIranian cuisine consisting of crisp, caramelized[6] rice taken from the bottom of the pot in which the rice (chelow) is cooked.[7] It is a necessary part of every kind of rice cooking and traditionally served to guests at a meal.[8]
Often, instead of a pot of rice the bottom layer of which is crisped, a small amount of oil or lamb fat is first poured in the pot, then various items are placed at the bottom of the pot and then topped with rice, so the bottom ingredients crisp up instead of the rice.[9] Variations oftahdig include yogurt mixed with saffron, thin bread, toast, potato, pumpkin, tomato, carrots, spinach, lettuce, beetroot, eggplant, and fruits such assour cherry.[10] Iranians almost always apply this cooking method to spaghetti as well, providing a hardened base.[11]
Iraqi rice cooking is a multi-step process intended to produce tender, fluffy grains of rice.[12] A prominent aspect of Iraqi rice cooking is thehikakeh, a crisp bottom crust.[12] Thehikakeh contains some loose rice as well.[12] Before serving, thehikakeh is broken into pieces so that everyone is provided with some along with the fluffy rice.[12]
Okoge (お焦げ, おこげ) is Japanese food, usually rice, that has been scorched or blackened.[13]
Until electricrice cookers came into common use in the 20th century, rice in Japan was cooked in akamado, a traditional stove heated by wood or charcoal. Because regulating the heat of a wood or charcoal fire is more difficult, a layer of rice at the bottom of the pot would often be slightly burned during cooking; this layer, calledokoge, was not discarded, but was eaten with vegetables or moistened with water, soup, or tea.
Okoge is still eaten in Japanese cuisine, and is an important part of thekaiseki meal served attea ceremonies, where it is typically served with hot water and pickles as the final course. It has a crispy texture and a nutty flavour.
Because the cooking temperature of modern electric rice cookers is precisely controlled,okoge does not usually form naturally during the cooking process. However, there are rice cookers on the market in Japan that have anokoge setting.Okoge can also be made by scorching cooked rice in a frying pan.
Nurungji[14] (Korean: 누룽지) or scorched rice[14] is atraditional Korean food made of scorched rice. After boiling and serving rice, a thin crust of scorched rice will usually be left in the bottom of the cooking pot. This yellowed scorched state is described asnureun (눌은) in Korean;nurungji derives from this adjective.[15]
Nurungji can be eaten in its crisp state as a snack or as an after meal rice tea by adding hot water,[16] or reboiled with water to makenureun bap (눌은밥) ornurungji bap (누룽지밥).[17]Nurungji in its broad sense also refers to the crisp crust that forms at the bottom of the pots and pans when cooking various rice dishes such asdolsot bibimbap (돌솥 비빔밥) andbokkeumbap.
Nurungji is traditionally known for its medicinal attributes. According to records in the 17th century medical bookDongui Bogam,nurungji was calledchwigeonban (취건반;炊乾飯) and considered as a remedy "when food does not swallow easily, upsets the stomach and induces vomiting".[18] It is also lauded as a well-being food inSouth Korea.[19]
South Korean companies madenurungji available in various pre-packaged forms around the mid-2000s.[19] Besides sweet friednurungji snacks and instantnurungji to makenureunbap, manynurungji-flavored products were also developed such as candies and tea.[20]Nurungji is also used as an ingredient in a variety of new dishes likenurungjibaeksuk andnurungjipizza.[19]
Mentions ofnurungji in folklore are common, the most famous being a folk song recognizing the difficulties of memorizing theThousand Character Classic. The lines are changed from the original chant to a clever rhyme that loosely translates into "skycheon (天), earthji (地),nurungji in thegamasot (cauldron pot)". (Korean: "하늘 천, 따 지, 가마솥에 누룽지").[21]
Scorched rice is known ascucayo,pegao,cocolón (Ecuador),concolón,raspa,raspado,graten (Haiti),bunbun (Jamaica) andconcón (Dominican Republic) in the Caribbean. InColombian cuisine, scorched rice is calledcucayo,pega orpego. It is often consumed with vegetable toppings as a cracker, or served in soups. It is also eaten alone or used to make leftovers. InDominican cuisine, scorched rice is calledconcón, though this word can refer to the crunchy, toasted underside of other food types as well, while the same can be said ofgraten inHaitian cuisine. InPuerto Rican cuisine, scorched rice is calledpegao (shortened "pegado", "stuck"). In Ecuador,kukayu(cucayo) is the name given to food items that are meant for travel, derived fromkukayu (Quechua for a ration ofcoca). InTrinidad and Tobago cuisine and other English speaking Caribbean countries, scorched rice at the bottom of the pot is calledbun bun.[22]
In theBurmese language, scorched rice is calledhtamin gyo (ထမင်းချိုး). It is commonly found inhsi htamin, glutinous rice cooked with turmeric and oil.
Tutong (Tagalog) ordukót (Cebuano, "to stick") is used for a wide variety of dishes inPhilippine cuisine, even as flavouring for ice cream.[23][24] Some people may consider it apoverty food, but others eat it because they enjoy the taste.[25][26]
Socarrat (inCatalan language) refers to the crust that forms on the bottom of the pan when cookingpaella. It is appreciated as a particularly tasty bit. It is also known aschurruscado in Spanish.[27]
InVietnamese cuisine, it is calledcơm cháy [vi] (literally "scorched rice"). It is typically fried in oil until golden brown, then topped withchà bông (pork floss) ortôm khô (dried shrimp),mỡ hành (chopped scallions cooked by pouring boiling oil over them to release their aroma), and chili paste to produce a popular dish calledcơm cháy chà bông orcơm cháy tôm khô (although both the pork and shrimp may be used, in which case the dish is calledcơm cháy chà bông tôm khô orcơm cháy tôm khô chà bông).Cơm cháy may be made from the crust of rice left over from cooking rice in an iron pot, or, more commonly since the advent of electric rice cookers in the late 20th century, from leftover rice that is fried in oil over high heat to acquire a crispy texture.[28]