Hong Kong rice is far more than Yuen Long silk seedlings, the spectrum of rice varieties is also very broad. In the history of Hong Kong agriculture, rice Yuen Long silk seedlings are the most famous. Its most prestigious deeds were recorded as a tribute during the Qing Dynasty In the Xin'an County Chronicle. It is also said to have been exported to Southeast Asia and even San Francisco. As a representative of Hong Kong's famous agricultural products, the loss of Yuen Long silk seedlings always arouses people's nostalgia for Hong Kong's agriculture in the past. However, it can be called "the best of rice", and its disappearance is also regrettable.
"Its outer shell shines golden, the rice grains are crystal clear, with it cooked rice fragrant, smooth, soft, loose, sweet, without any side dishes can make you eat two big bowls," former Agriculture Director of the Fisheries and Agriculture Department Wu Rangcheng once In the interview, he described it as if he was describing Talking about the most delicious food in the world, he lifted his palm, as if in his palm was the exquisite rice with a dazzling appearance like gold - "Yellow Shell Qi Mei", a person most people had never heard of, with royal style and a bit of beauty A seductive name.
According to Wu Rangcheng's description, "yellow shell" refers to the golden husk of this rice, and "qimei" refers to its shape, slender and pointed at both ends, like a woman's eyebrow. Slightly inferior to the yellow shell Qimei in fragrance is "White Shell Qimei", which is yellow and white.
Yuen Long was a land of fish and rice in the early years. In the 1980s, rice was still grown, but in recent years it has declined. Yuen Long Tai Tong Organic Ecological Park started re-cultivation three years ago, the Qing Dynasty tribute rice "Yuen Long Silk Seedling", which is praised for its rich rice flavor. Farmers say that its rice is more fragrant and soft than the Northeast Wuchang rice, which has become famous in recent years Excellent, Yuen Long was rich in rice in the past, and "Yuen Long Silk Seedlings" was a tribute from the Qing Dynasty. He said that in order to rehabilitate rice in the garden, he searched around and finally obtained authentic "Yuen Long Silk Seedling" seeds from a farmer in Sha Tau Kok.
The government has revisited the development of sustainable agriculture in the New Territories in recent years. Former chairman of the Yuen Long 18 Townships Rural Affairs Committee, which operates Tai Tong Organic Eco Park in Yuen Long, said its organic ecological park covers 3,000 acres, of which 20 acres, about 15 acres 10,000 square feet of land, planted "Yuen Long Silk Seedlings" three years ago. Do you know that the answer is the best rice "yellow shell and eyebrows" in what rice is believed to be the best by Leung Fu-yuan, who was born in a farmer's family, and Wu Rang-cheng, the former agricultural director of the Department of Fisheries and Agriculture?
According to Wu Rangcheng's description, "yellow shell" refers to the golden husk of this rice, and "qimei" refers to its shape, slender and pointed at both ends, like a woman's eyebrow. Slightly inferior to the yellow shell Qimei in fragrance is "White Shell Qimei", which is yellow and white. Former chairman of the Yuen Long 18 Townships Rural Affairs Committee, Leung Fuk-yuan, said he had found "Qi Mei" seeds in Sha Tau Kok to re-cultivate "real" Yuen Long silk seedlings The use of natural mountain water irrigation in Yuen Long makes the rice grow lushly and the silk seedling rice is particularly fragrant. The "Qi Mei" grown may not be exactly the same species as the tribute rice of that year, but the aroma of rice is difficult to match with foreign rice.
The Department of Fisheries and Conservation and CUHK implemented a rehabilitation program three years ago, and four of the rice seeds stored that year were obtained from the International Seed Bank of the Philippines for cultivation, including silk seedlings, flower waist, qimei and white shell qimei.
Rice cultivation in Hong Kong occurs twice a year, with the first cropping from March to August and the second cropping from August to November. Late-made ones mainly include silk seedlings, flower-waisted ones, rat teeth, yellow-shelled eyebrows, etc. The Yuen Long silk seedlings that are now well known refer to late silk seedlings. "Late-made silk sprouts are fragrant, soft and smooth, with short grains and not crystal clear. It can be said to be the most common type of rice at that time, and generally considered to be of good quality.
It is lamentable that rice in Hong Kong was eventually lost. In the 1950s, the Fisheries and Conservation Department had already carried out seed selection and seed saving work for crops. The government has set up 10 experimental farms in Castle Peak, Sheung Shui, Tai Lung, Ta Kwu Ling, Sai Kung, Mok Shan, Tsuen Wan, Tai Po, Tung Chung and Mui Wo. Seed warehouses are equipped with all-weather air-conditioning equipment to preserve seeds. There are also Having dedicated personnel conduct regular seed germination tests is a technology- and labor-intensive task. Due to shrinking government funding, seed conservation work was completely stopped in 2001.
In 1993, the government invited Dr. Fernando, the Agriculture Commissioner of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Bangkok, to come to Hong Kong to study whether Hong Kong's agriculture needed to be sustained. When Wu Rangcheng, who was in charge of agricultural promotion at the time, received him, he said: "Agriculture is not great, agriculture is must. ” He said that if Hong Kong wants to have food security, the government only needs to preserve the productivity of 3,000 hectares of agricultural land, so that it can have 7 to 14 days of food supply to deal with any emergencies. Without local agriculture, it is difficult to resist the dumping of contaminated foreign crops.
Why is the source of origin not written on the plastic bag of Golden Elephant Rice? Coincidentally, I was asking too.
As luck would have it, smart consumers, suddenly discovered, eating more than 19 years of "Thai rice", the packaging bag did not have a description of the source of origin.
That pack of "excellent rice", from the beginning to the end looked many times, really no; with nutritional information, company address and expiration date, but there is no source of origin. Those with a golden elephant did not even say that they were Thai rice; those with a kangaroo did not write that they were Australian silk seedlings. In the supermarket whole rice rack, just can not find any package of rice, tell you the source of origin. Not a single pack.
I asked the shop assistant: Where is the origin of these rice?
He said: Vietnam.
I asked.. I have to find Thai rice, not a pack in the whole shelf is Thai?
He said.. No, all Vietnam.
I asked.. but did not write.
He said.. Yes, they don't write it.
Please forgive me for being too naive, I think I seem to have heard of it long ago, but have not been too concerned.. Don't think that a golden elephant means Thailand, don't think that a kangaroo means Australia. Seeing an elephant is an elephant, seeing a kangaroo is just a kangaroo, if you think of something else, you are thinking too much.
“Mixed rice” can mean mixing rice from different sources into one product for sale, such as different rice-producing areas within the same country, and often rice supplied to restaurants is mixed with new rice (newly harvested this year) and old Rice (also known as old flower rice, that is harvested in the early years), to prepare a more popular taste, called "groove rice", even rice produced in different countries. Transportation is now more convenient than ever, and rice-producing Southeast Asian countries have their free trade zones. Rice is easily transported between these countries, making it difficult to determine where rice is grown, industry insiders said. Overall, there is no negative connotation to mixing rice, and it would be a good thing for consumers to be able to mix out better-tasting products. As long as suppliers clearly mark details such as the true origin of the product and even the percentage of different types of rice on the label, respecting consumers' right to know and facilitating their purchase is advantageous for all parties.
But in any case, as a consumer, we should have the right to know, why does food packaging not indicate the source of origin?
Reviewing old news online, Jinyuan Rice Industry had invested in Vietnam, the owner said "nineteen years ago has started doing rice business with Vietnam" (the report said). It had also been explained earlier that Golden Elephant Rice no longer says “Thailand” because the ingredients are less than 92% of the Thai authorities’ regulations and cannot be called Thai rice.
Do you feel that the elephant on the packaging is allegedly misleading, feeling deceived for many years? However, actually, if you think of something else, it's just that you think too much. 😅😂
How to cook the best Yuen Long Silk Rice?
500g rice cooks out about 5 bowls of rice. "rice:water ratio" approx 1:1, that is, 500g rice added to 500ml water to cook, 10 minutes after cooking to flip loose, so that the rice emit excess moisture, better taste.
New rice comes out of the harvest absorbs too much water. It is recommended to simply wash the rice to remove the chaff, add water to cover the water surface by 2 cm, cook and stir it. The rice is more authentic flavor and the taste of Yuen Long silky rice.
500g of rice cooks 5 bowls of rice: the ratio of rice to water is about one to one, that is, 500g of rice is boiled with 500ml of water. It will loosen in 10 minutes after cooking, allowing the rice to release excess moisture and taste better. .
The porridge made with this rice is more fragrant, creamier, softer and smoother, and is suitable for the whole family.
1, good rice do not wash too much
The rice must not be washed more than 2 times, otherwise the nutrients in the rice will be lost in large quantities, so the aroma of the steamed rice will also be reduced.
2. Good rice needs to be soaked
This step is very important because the moisture content of quality silk seedling rice is strictly controlled. Moreover, silk rice adopts full vacuum packaging, the packaged rice grains are more dry, so when cooking silk rice after washing rice before cooking to soak for 20-30 minutes, to ensure the best taste of cooked rice. Be sure to remember that good rice soaking must not be skipped.
3. Don’t add too much water
Silk seedling rice contains more water and the soaked rice is already in a state of saturated water, so there is no need to add a lot of water when cooking rice.
It is recommended to put water in a rice-to-water ratio of 1:1-1.2. Place your index finger into the rice water as long as the water goes beyond about one joint of the rice index finger. It's better to cook with mineral water!
4, stir and continue to simmer
Be sure not to open the lid in a hurry for cooked silk rice. After the rice cooker jumps to keep warm, continue to simmer for 3 minutes before opening the lid. Use a spoon to stir over the cooked rice so that it is fluffy and fully heated. At this time, cover and simmer for about 10~15 minutes.
