THE RED AND BLACK RICE WE BOUGHT IN MALACCA

An inspiration for black rice salad. People seem to put a lot of fruits in such salads.

We are opting a habit of buying some grocery overseas. Grocery is becoming expensive in Singapore, and sometimes getting local produce overseas is the more affordable and interesting option. Often local products get to Singapore and become exotic and more expensive.

Malacca is known to be a food town. It was and still is well-known for it spices. They make their own coconut sugar and fermented shrimps. And god knows what else we have not stumbled upon. Things in Malaysia is in general much cheaper. And since we went there with the car, why just just stock up on some local produce?

On this walk, we stumbled on some colored rice. We bought a packet of black rice and a packet of red rice. We know that colored rice is more healthy than polished white rice. They contain more nutrients though they might be more difficult to cook due to their husky outer coat. We are planning to make some rice salad for T's lunch boxes soon, just like the photo above. It should keep him full through the day. Nonetheless, here is some information about black and red rice.

Black Rice has a black coloured bran layer due to its unique anthocyanin combination and these anthocyanins cause black rice to turn into a deep purple colour when cooked. Compared to brown rice, it contains about three times the amount of fibre and requires less cooking time. Its variants include purple rice (forbidden rice) and Indonesian black rice.

New research shows that black rice packs a bigger antioxidant punch even than blueberries, which have long been celebrated as antioxidant powerhouses. 

And that's not the only advantage of the little-known grain.

"Just a spoonful of black rice bran contains more health promoting anthocyanin antioxidants than are found in a spoonful of blueberries, but with less sugar and more fiber and vitamin E antioxidants," researcher Dr. Zhimin Xu, associate professor of food science at Louisiana State University Agricultural Center in Baton Rouge, said in a written statement. 

Black rice also costs less than blueberries or blackberries, another antioxidant-rich fruit.

Anthocyanin antioxidants - also found in red grapes, strawberries, red wine, red cabbage, red onion, and blood orange juice - have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer.

Red Rice contains a variety of anthocyanins that give its bran a red/maroon colour. Compared to brown rice, it contains similar amount of fibre but twice the amount of iron and 6 times the amount of zinc. It requires less soaking and cooking time as compared to brown rice.