Types of Rice and What to Use Them For

Long, slender and dry-textured, basmati is the rice for when every grain should stand apart. It has been grown for centuries in the Himalayan foothills of northern India and Pakistan, and good Indian basmati is aged for at least a year, which lowers its moisture so it takes up more water and aroma. Rinse until the water runs clear and soak for 30 minutes. Then either cook it by absorption, about two parts water to one of rice, or parboil it for six or seven minutes, drain and finish it covered in steam. That second route was developed for biryani; the first suits pulao and an everyday plate of dal. Jasmine is a poor swap here, because its softer grain clings where basmati should stay loose.

The everyday rice of South Indian cooking, and the one to buy when a South Indian curry calls for plain white rice rather than basmati. It is a lightweight, aromatic medium grain, a cross of the Sona and Masuri varieties, grown largely in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, and sold in big sacks in most Indian grocers. Its grains are much shorter than basmati's, with a delicate texture and a gentle, nutty flavor, so it sits quietly under a curry rather than competing with it. Rinse it two or three times until the water runs clear, then cook it with about two and a half parts water on the stove.

Thailand's Hom Mali rice is softer than most white rice and clings a little, which is exactly right under a green curry or beside a stir-fry, where rice should catch the sauce rather than scatter. Its pandan-and-popcorn fragrance comes mainly from a compound called 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline and fades in storage, which is why many Southeast Asian cooks prize each year's new crop. Use less water than for other white rice, about one and a quarter cups to a cup of rice, and take off two tablespoons if you have rinsed it. Then leave it covered for 10 minutes off the heat. Skip that rest and the grains stay wet outside and slightly hard in the middle.

The name behind much of Japan's everyday rice: about a third of all rice grown in Japan is Koshihikari, valued for a flavor and aroma that last, which is why it works in bento and onigiri eaten cold. Like other Japanese short-grain rice it holds less amylose than long grains, so it cooks tender, moist, sticky and chewy. The method is precise. Rub the grains gently in a little water to wash them, drain well, soak for 20 to 30 minutes and cook with 1.1 to 1.2 parts water. Let it steam for 10 minutes before you open the lid, because that last steaming finishes the grain. Serve it plain beside grilled fish, under a donburi topping or shaped into rice balls.

California's medium grain, and the practical choice when Japanese rice is hard to find. Calrose first appeared in 1948 from the state's rice experiment station, has been improved over the years and now makes up about 85 percent of the rice California produces. The grain is slightly oval with a mild flavor and a natural stickiness, so it holds together for homemade sushi and sits well under a poke bowl, yet it can also be cooked fluffy for an everyday plate. It is less fragrant and less glossy than a good Koshihikari, so keep it for dishes where the rice carries toppings rather than being eaten on its own.

Also sold as sticky rice or sweet rice, this is the everyday rice of northern and northeastern Thailand, where it is eaten in preference to jasmine. It contains more amylopectin and less amylose than other rice, so the cooked grains cling into a chewy mass you roll into a small ball with your fingers, which is how it is eaten. It cannot simply be boiled or put in a rice cooker. Soak it for at least four hours or overnight, then steam it in damp cheesecloth in a bamboo steamer, lid on, for about 40 minutes. Do not leave it soaking much longer, because it can begin to ferment. Serve it with som tam, larb and grilled meats such as gai yang, or as the base of mango sticky rice.

The risotto rice most shops stock, and usually the cheapest of the Italian three. Its large grains release plenty of starch, which gives the creamiest result of the group. The catch is timing. Arborio can pass from al dente to mushy within a minute or two, so taste often near the end and take the pan off the heat while the center still has a little bite; it will soften as it rests. It is a sound choice for a first risotto or a weeknight one stirred with full attention. If you want a firmer heart that forgives a distracted cook, buy Carnaroli instead.

Choose Carnaroli when the risotto matters. It releases enough starch for a creamy sauce while keeping a firm core that resists overcooking, and that wider cooking window is its real advantage: it tolerates a dinner party, a phone call or a second glass of wine better than Arborio does. That firm core holds through the constant stirring a Milanese risotto needs, so you get distinct, slightly chewy grains in a creamy sauce rather than porridge. It is grown mainly in Italy and costs a little more. Buy it for saffron risotto, mushroom risotto and anything else where texture is the whole point.

The Veneto's risotto rice: a smaller, rounder grain than Arborio or Carnaroli, grown mainly around Verona. It absorbs broth and flavor readily and releases a moderate amount of starch, which suits the looser Venetian risotto made all'onda, wavy enough to spread across the plate rather than stand in a mound. Allow 14 to 16 minutes and keep the pan wetter than you would for a Milanese risotto. Its limited growing area means it takes more finding than the other two, but it is the one to buy for seafood and spring vegetable risottos, where the grains should swell with stock rather than hold a firm core.

The paella rice. Bomba is a pearly short grain that can absorb up to three times its volume in stock while keeping its shape, and the grains stay separate rather than sticking together, which is exactly what a dry, Valencian-style rice needs. It swells mostly in width rather than length, so it fills out without splitting. It also makes a good soupy rice, though a creamy meloso comes out less creamy than with other Spanish rices; for arroz caldoso, the softer Bahía is the better fit. A packet marked Calasparra names a growing region, not a variety, so check which rice is inside before you pay the premium.

Sometimes sold as forbidden rice, a name from the days when it was reserved for the wealthy and powerful. Anthocyanin pigments give the grain its purple-black color, and cooked it is nutty, slightly sweet and properly chewy, closer to a whole grain than to white rice. Plan ahead: soak it for 30 to 60 minutes, then allow 30 to 60 minutes of cooking. That chew is the reason to use it. It stands up in grain salads and soups, gives a stir-fry contrast and works in sweet puddings too. Italy's Venere is a black variety as well, so the same handling applies if that is what you find.

Grown in the coastal marshes of southern France between Marseille and Montpellier, this browny-maroon rice has an earthy, nutty flavor that plain white rice cannot give you. Cooked, it turns a deeper red, slightly sticky yet still chewy, so it brings color and bite to a plate. Simmer it in plenty of water until tender, about 30 to 40 minutes, then drain it as you would pasta. It is very good in rice salads, where its chew survives a dressing, and in jambalaya. Choose it over black rice when you want an earthier, less sweet flavor.

The long grain that built the rice kitchen of coastal Carolina and Georgia, and the heritage rice to seek out for Lowcountry cooking. It became a commercial staple around Charleston in 1685, all but vanished after the Depression and was revived from seed bank stock in the 1980s; Anson Mills began growing it in 1998. Its diverse genetics let it behave like a medium or short grain as well as a long one, so it suits pilau and perloo as readily as creamier rice dishes. Left alone, new-crop grains cook to a sticky finish. For pearly, separate grains, boil them in plenty of salted water, drain, rinse and dry them for a few minutes in the oven. The brown form has a nutty, almond-like flavor.