Rice flour
Rice flour is a form of flour made from finely milled rice. It is distinct from rice starch, which is usually produced by steeping rice in lye. Rice flour is a common substitute for wheat flour. It is also used as a thickening agent in recipes that are refrigerated or frozen since it inhibits liquid separation.
Rice flour may be made from either white rice, brown rice or glutinous rice. To make the flour, the husk of rice or paddy is removed and raw rice is obtained, which is then ground to flour.
Types and names
By rice
Rice flour can be made from indica, japonica, and wild rice varieties. Usually, rice flour refers to flour made from non-glutinous white rice.When made with glutinous rice, it is called glutinous rice flour or sweet rice flour. In Japan, the glutinous rice flour produced from ground cooked glutinous rice, used to make mochi, is called mochigomeko. In comparison to the glutinous rice flour, non-glutinous rice flour can be specified as so.
When made with brown rice with only the inedible outer hull removed, it is called brown rice flour. Flour made from black, red, and green rice are each called as black rice flour, red rice flour, green rice flour. In comparison to brown rice flour, white rice flour can be specified as so.
By milling methods
Different milling methods also produce different types of rice flour. Rice flour can be dry-milled from dry rice grains, or wet-milled from rice grains that were soaked in water prior to milling. Usually, "rice flour" refers to dry-milled rice flour, which can be stored on a shelf. In Korea, wet-milled rice flour is made from rice that was soaked in water, drained, ground using a stone-mill, and then optionally sifted. Like moderately moist sand, wet-milled rice flour forms an easily breakable lump when squeezed with a hand. It is usually stored in the freezer. In the Philippines, rice flour is not traditionally prepared dry. Rather, it is made by first soaking uncooked glutinous rice overnight then grinding the results into a rich and smooth viscous rice dough known as galapóng.Uses
Culinary
Rice flour can be used to make confections like rice cakes, macaroons and some types of buns due to the texture and flavor it lends the finished products. It is also used for dusting confections in a manner similar to powdered sugar.East Asia
In China, rice flour is used to made foods like jian dui, tangyuan, nian gao, qingtuan, and yuanxiao.In Japan, cooked glutinous rice flour, called mochigomeko is used to create mochi and dango or as a thickener for sauces. Uncooked glutinous rice flour, shiratamako, is often used to produce confectioneries. The non-glutinous rice flour jōshinko is primarily used for creating confectioneries.
In Korea, rice flour made from different rice varieties and with different milling methods are used for different types of tteok and hangwa. Glutinous rice flour, chapssal-garu, is used for making chapssal-tteok and gochujang, as well as rice glue for kimchi. Non-glutinous rice flour can also be used to make porridge- or gruel-like dishes such as,,, and.
Southeast Asia
In the Philippines, galapóng, glutinous rice dough, is the basis for numerous types of native rice cakes and desserts. Depending on the dish, coconut milk, wood ash lye, and various other ingredients may be added to the galapóng. The galapóng can be prepared baked, steamed, boiled, or fried, resulting in dishes like puto or bibingka.South Asia
In South India, rice flour is used for dishes like dosa, puttu, chakkuli, golibaje and kori rotti. It is also mixed with wheat, millet, other cereal flours, and sometimes dried fruits or vegetables to make manni, a kind of baby food.. Rice flour is used to make bhakari in the Konkan region in western India.In Bangladesh, rice flour is a regular ingredient. In the Bengali and Assamese cuisines of eastern India, it is used in making roti and desserts such as sandesh and pitha. It is also used in making kheer, a common dessert in the Indian subcontinent.
In Sri Lanka, it is used in making many household food products. Among them are pittu, appa, indi appa and sweets such as, kokis and athirasa. It can also be used in making bread and other bakery products.
In Nepal, Newars use rice flour to make yomari and chataamari. Sel roti is another well-known rice flour based food commonly eaten in Nepal and in the Sikkim and Darjeeling regions of India. Sel roti is known as shinghal in Kumaon.