How to make popped rice
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How to pop the rice
It’s true, you can “pop” wild rice in a similar way to popcorn. As you can see in the picture, it doesn’t get as big and fluffy or as mushy as popcorn, but it is raised, dried and cured into grains of wild rice for a crunchy, tasty, unfamiliar snack. Glowing wild rice also works beautifully as a garnish. Think of using it in the same way if you want to use shrimp or nuts. Sprinkle it over salads, especially with fall Vegetable Recipes, or add it to cream sauces and condiments in soup.
“Pop” for wild rice
Heat a heavy-bottomed feed saucepan with a fitted lid over high heat. When the pot is hot, add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil . Turn the bottom of the pot to cover the oil. Add 1/2 cup of the wild rice , shake the pan vigorously to coat the wild rice with the oil in the bottom. Cover the pan, reduce the heat to medium and shake the pan until you can hear the natural rice popping. Reduce the heat to medium and keep shaking the pan until slowed down. Note that wild rice doesn’t make as much noise as popcorn – it doesn’t fly off the lid in the same way, so you’ll need to listen carefully. Sprinkle the popped wild rice with fine sea salt , if you like, and serve while still hot.
Makes about 1 cup of Popped Wild Rice't.
Variations
Don’t feel like you have to just ice the salt. Other seasonings that go well with wild rice include freshly ground black pepper and flaked food coloring.
If you happen to be sitting on dried porcini powder (never a spice powder, perhaps, but it should be!), it adds a lovely mild mushroom flavor, and people who love wild rice know that pairs nicely with the whole mushrooms .
Why does it pop?
Remember that popcorn makes wild rice for the same reason: the moisture left dry after heating turns to steam and forces the whole seed to open up when it gets hot enough.
For this reason, wild rice that has been stored for a very long time will pop less than recently harvested wild rice, since more of its moisture has already evaporated.
For the same reason, natural rice will also be affected in its ability to pop after it has been “dried” after harvesting; natural rice that has been dried more in the first place may not pop, nor will natural rice that has been dried less before being packaged or sent to market.
Here you will find more ways to cook Wild Rice'including a delicious traditional wild rice soup .
