Anyone know anything about this rice?

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a friend got it for me in Japan. I can’t read it. I need to know how to cook it.

thanks

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What a thoughtful friend! He/she gave you koshihikari (a premium short grain rice) from Uonuma, a city in the Niigata Prefecture that’s famous for producing this rice. Koshihikari roughly translates to the “light of Koshi,” Koshi being an ancient province. I’ve never cooked it myself, but there are general cooking instructions at the bottom of this page: Short Grain Sushi Koshihikari Rice - Hinode Rice

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Here’s an NHK Begin Japanology episode dedicated to rice. Mitsuo Ishizuka, a 10th-generation rice farmer who produces koshihikari, is featured from 4:20 - 9:20: - YouTube

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Wow. Thank you.

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Measure out a few cups of grains. Add appropriate amount of water. Pop mixture into Zojirushi rice cooker. Hit “Start”. Wait.

May deliciousness will be yours.

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@MaladyNelson did I just purchase American rice from Japan?

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You’re golden, @Sgee. The kanji that I circled indicates it’s from Niigata Prefecture.

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米国 and アメリカ are the ways to write America.

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@MaladyNelson thanks for translating! :+1:

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I should add that your rice is from Uonuma as well, @Sgee. Ha, I’ll bet my mom thanks you from the bottom of her heart for briefly resurrecting my long dormant Japanese-language skills. Have a great holiday weekend.

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Where did you get that?

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@MaladyNelson I’m sure your mom will be delighted at your proficiency in action! Thanks again.

@PorkyBelly picked it up from Ryubo dept store in Okinawa

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Can I buy this rice here in America? Or online and have it shipped to me?

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Have you checked Google or Amazon?

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I did after I posted. Not sure if this is the same - https://www.amazon.com/Shirakiku-Rice-Koshihikari-15-Pound/dp/B0093ZTUEA?ref_=ast_bbp_dp

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Roy Sieh in the the question and answers section for this rice say "It’s grown in California. The quality is on par with koshihikari grown in Japan, IMHO. "

And I will say that I have Japanese neighbors who are very very picky about their rice are very happy with koshihikari grown in America, specifically California. Plain Calrose? Nope. But koshihikari? They’re in!

@Luluthemagnificent - if you are in Los Angeles (and I think you might be) head to a nice Japanese Grocery -

Or even a Korean/Japanese Grocery
http://www.littletokyomarket.com
Or, Tokyo Central where you can also hit the killer bakery -
https://www.tokyocentral.com/c-192-japanese-rice.aspx

And you should be able to find wonderful rice for less than Amazon.

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There is also this thread: California grown Tamanishiki, Koshihikari rice shootout? - #16 by Sgee

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Thank you both so much. I am in Los Angeles. close to those markets. will check it out.

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Neat! In Chinese (of which Japanese kanji is closely related), 米国 means “rice country”.

The Chinese write America as 美國 (traditional) or 美国 (simplified), which literally translate to “beautiful country”.

Linguistic food fun… (chow fun!)

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I love Chinese phrasing; Yunnan - “The Land South of the Clouds”, “Ignored by the Dog filled buns”, “Pock-Marked Mother Chen’s tofu”, “Crossing the Bridge rice noodles”, “Typhoon Shelter crab”, “Sister-in-Law Song’s fish chowder”, and “Lotus Leaf Eight Treasure rice” among so many others.
Yunnan is definitely on my bucket list.