Journal / Travel
Travel - April 14, 2026
A Week Of Rice From Around The World
By Mariana Estevez
Start the week in Japan with a bowl of plain short-grain rice, just rinsed and steamed, with a single salt-cured plum on top. The grain stays distinct, sticky enough to lift with chopsticks. The whole thing is about the rice and nothing else.
By midweek, swap to Persian long-grain basmati with a saffron-stained crust on the bottom of the pot. Then go to Italian short-grain Carnaroli for a creamy risotto where each grain carries a coat of starch. End the week with Indian basmati layered with marinated chicken and dum-cooked under a sealed lid -- the same grain, treated almost completely differently.
A week like this teaches you a lot about technique. Same staple, seven kitchens, seven outcomes. The grain itself is doing different work in each one, which is the point.
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