October 31, 2017
October 30, 2017
The color of rice
Rice has been domesticated in Asia more than 8000 years ago and
its importance as a staple food is even deep-seated in Chinese everyday-language,
where the word for “cooked rice” (饭/fàn) is part of all meals:
breakfast (早饭/zǎofàn) , lunch (午饭/wǔfàn) and dinner (晚饭/wǎnfàn).
Rice is usually cultivated on flooded fields, which makes rice
production more efficient because it controls weed growth and pests. Although
rice can also be grown without flooding the fields, the cultivation of 1 kg
rice therefore normally requires ~1400 liters of water on average or even more
(such as ~2500-5000 liters per kg rice).
Green rice, as it is popular in Vietnam, stems from sticky rice that is
still immature. The harvesting and preparation process of green sticky rice (Cốm) is
done in autumn and it is a laborious and sophisticated process. It is harvested
by hand at a delicately chosen time point to catch exactly the right degree of
maturity. Furthermore, it is said to be best only within the first 24 hours
after harvesting. Green rice, which has a slightly sweet taste, is then either eaten
plain or it is used to prepare desserts (e.g. cakes, sweet soup) or as an
ingredient in other dishes.
Red, black/purple and brown rice are all whole grain rice sorts, which have
differently colored husks. When cooked, the black color of black rice turns into
a dark purple.
Although fibers are generally healthy, the fibers in whole grain rice
bear a potential health risk because rice can accumulate arsenic more readily
than other plants from its environment and it is even more enriched in the
husks. Therefore white rice may have reduced arsenic levels compared to whole
grain rice. Besides testing rice for arsenic to allow selection of rice with
low arsenic levels for consumption, the risks from arsenic in rice can be
lowered by soaking rice in lots of water that is poured away after soaking or
by cooking rice in a large amount of water.
Because black rice was reserved for royals in Ancient China, it is also
called “forbidden rice” or “emperor’s rice”. It is more nutritious than many other
sorts of rice and therefore was supposed to prolong the emperor’s life.
Rice with a red color can either be rice with a reddish husk or it may
be rice that has been cultivated with a particular mold that causes the red
color of “red yeast rice”, a type of fermented rice that is used as a food
colorant and which also is used in Traditional Chinese medicine.
米饭 / mǐfàn / rice
Sources and further reading:
Black
Rice Research, History and Development, Kushwaha Ujjawal, Springer
International Publishing,2016, eBook ISBN 978-3-319-30153-2, ISBN
978-3-319-30153-2
September 30, 2017
September 29, 2017
September 26, 2017
August 29, 2017
Mini-story (no. 5) with Chinese characters at HSK2 level
警察:好的。让我问你几个问题。她一直都很守时吗?
妈妈:是的。
警察:你以前会经常联系不到她吗?
妈妈:从来没有过。
警察:她最近打算出远门吗?
妈妈:没有。她在大学里很忙的。她少有出去。
警察:她最近过的是不是不快乐?她有什么未来的计划吗?
妈妈:她很快乐。她的学习成绩很好。她希望有一天能自己开店。她很有上进心的。
警察:好的。她看来没有自杀的倾向。是否有人不喜欢她,恨她?她和人有过矛盾吗?
妈妈:没有。大家都很喜欢她。
警察:她有男朋友吗?
妈妈:没有。她现在还没有遇到特别感兴趣的男孩子。她觉得现在工作最重要。
警察:我知道了。你可以把你们家人,她的朋友,还有她工作的饭店老板的名字和联系方式写下来吗?我们也需要问他们一些问题。
警察/ jǐngchá / police
一直/ yīzhí / so far
守时 / shǒushí / on time,
punctual
以前 / yǐqián / before
经常/ jīngcháng / normally
联系 / liánxì / contact
从来没有/ cónglái méi yǒu /
never
最近 / zuìjìn / recently
打算 / dǎsuàn / to plan, to intend
未来的计划 / wèilái de jìhuà / plans for the future
成绩 / chéngjì/ mark,
grade
自己 / zìjǐ / oneself, here:herself
上进心 / shàngjìnxīn /
ambition
看来/ kànlái / seems
like
自杀 / zìshā/ suicide
倾向 / qīngxiàng /
tendency
否/ fǒu / no
恨/ hèn / hate
矛盾/ máodùn / difference, antagonism, conflict
遇 / yù / to meet
特别 / tèbié/ special, extraordinary
感兴趣 / gǎn xìngqù / to be
interested in
重要 / zhòngyào / important
把 / bǎ / to hold
老板 / lǎobǎn / boss
联系方式 / fāngshì liánxì
/ way to contact
需要/ xūyào / to need
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