Best rice for the best dishes

THE HIGH-QUALITY jasmine rice from the Northeast that Chaitip sells in the supermarkets under the name Panomrung was the star of an outstanding menu concocted by renowned chef Chumpol Jangprai at an extravagant dinner earlier this month at the Blue Elephant.
Chumpol, who’s worked at the Blue Elephant, Anantara hotels and his family restaurant Sa-nguan Sri, created a five-course “contemporary Thai” feast that started with appetite-whetting fried rice and Parmesan cheese, served with Parma ham, herbs and pomegranate rubies.
Next up was warming and fragrant gaeng liang, with sizeable river prawns and a dash of creamy rice milk, followed by main course, the mild and flavourful choo chee curry with sheatfish, barramundi and snakehead, accompanied with steamed Panomrung Gourmet jasmine rice.
The last dish was creme brule of khao mao (pounded, unripe rice) served with either toasted rice or khao kua-flavoured ice cream.
“First and foremost is the selection of the rice,” the chef explained. “Quality jasmine rice needs to be white, glossy and clear.
The kernels need to be perfect – any broken or inferior grains must be removed.
“To make the rice soft and fluffy, I recommend traditional steaming. Because this takes much longer, it allows the rice to absorb more moisture and therefore cook better.
An important but simple technique is to thoroughly wash the rice first so that the grains are evenly soaked.
“In cooking the rice, the correct recipe is to add one and a quarter cup of water for every cup of rice. Level the rice off at the top before pressing the start button and you will get soft and delectable jasmine rice to go with all of your dishes.”
The sources are the highland plantations of Ubon Ratchathani’s Amphoe Wrinchamrab and Detudom, Leong Nokta in Yasothon, and Amnat Charoen. Each bag of Panomrung Gourmet offers up to 94 per cent full-grain kernels that are meticulously polished to luminous sheen.
The rice rises beautifully, with a subtle fragrance, when cooked.
Panomrung entered the market in 2006 but targeted only hotels and restaurants. Top chefs decided it was one of the best brands, and soon enough, Panomrung Gourmet was available in supermarkets for Bt269 per kilo.