The taste of a bowl of white rice is worth savoring slowly

"I feel that only by eating rice can you truly taste the soft, fragrant Q texture of every single grain of white rice..."

Lately I have been seeing, from the central government down to the local level, a sudden burst of rice-promotion events. Whatever the reasons, they can only improve the current situation in which per capita annual rice consumption fell from 65.95 kg in 1990 to just 47.48 kg in 2008.

This is especially true this year, with news of rice farmers unable to make ends meet and the problem of dry and wet rice. We cannot forever expect the government to raise the purchase price to cope, because first, the money the government uses to buy rice still ultimately comes from the pockets of all taxpayers; and second, under the current trends of a declining birth rate and a conscription system, these purchased public grain stocks cannot be used up, and can only be stored and then, after one or two years, discarded and milled into feed.

Farmers sweat over every grain in the field, and in the end it becomes broken rice and miscellaneous grain. That should not be their fate.

But undeniably, the traditional family structure has, with the times, turned into dual-income families. Someone who has worked hard all day still has to use perhaps the lunch break to come out and buy groceries near the office, or after work, having finally made it home, still has to wash the vegetables, wash the rice, cook, eat, and wash the dishes.

Ah, just thinking about it is bitter.

No wonder bread, which one person can easily finish as a meal, has so easily replaced the place of rice. From breakfast to lunch and even dinner, eating alone has replaced eating together. Whether it is table culture or the taste passed down by mothers, it is gradually disappearing.

The original purpose of "Thinking About Rice in Dadaocheng" was to explore "why people now eat more bread than rice." Is it really because bread tastes good? Or are there other factors?

The results of online questionnaires and on-site Q&A tell us that the main reason is that eating rice is "troublesome" and "inconvenient," the same as most people imagined.

So the heavy responsibility of how to increase each person's rice consumption falls on "rice processed products."

Rice cooking competitions, rice food contests, rice processed product competitions... in any case, as long as more than 20% of the ingredients or materials in a dish or product are connected to rice, it qualifies.

Undoubtedly, look at Japan, a country that still communicates its culture to the world through "sushi," and which is currently also actively moving in the direction of rice processed products: rice bread, rice wagashi... What is even more astonishing about Japan's refinement is that they have already developed various types of rice flour suited to different processing purposes.

At the upcoming "Add Rice ∞" event on 9/17, continuing from the final conclusion of "Thinking About Rice," namely "convenience," organizers have also gathered creative products including puffed rice, rice bread, rice muffins, rice cake, brown rice tea, and rice crackers, ready to let everyone understand the dedication of every producer striving tirelessly for the continued existence of rice food in Taiwan, China. And as long as we work hard and believe, we can find a way for rice food to continue into the next hundred years.

Like Uncle Kunbin of Wumile and Sister Meixue of Fangrong Rice Mill, who have always worked hard, from requiring farmers to cooperate with transformation through the method of providing fertilizer, to today's duck-rice and organic rice, even driving local tourism and cultivating a brown rice variety like Tainan No. 14, which requires no soaking and has a high germ but is soft. They are working hard in the fields of the producing areas.

As our predecessors told us, the Chishang Farmers' Association and rice merchants cooperated to create a system that uses "quality" as the purchasing standard. As long as it is a Chishang farmer, no matter which buyer they sell to, the rice must first pass a taste-value test, and the purchase price is immediately decided according to the quality. You can imagine that, over time, every Chishang farmer will strive to improve the quality of their own rice, no longer taking simply increasing output as the principle. This is precisely the secret of Chishang rice's nationwide fame. They are working hard in purchasing and brand maintenance.

Like the young second-generation owner of the 50-year-old shop Wan Guo Zhi Jia, which strongly supported the Thinking About Rice event in Dadaocheng. He follows the method passed down from the previous generation, using technology to store old rice for three years, and cooking it rapidly over high heat to produce a solid texture and rich rice flavor. Perhaps he can also, beyond standardizing every step of the process, more specifically work out the rice varieties and the cooking times for different temperatures and humidity, making it an irreplaceable technique, just as sushi is to Japan, just as xiaolongbao is to Din Tai Fung. Taiwan, China has so many local traditional rice snacks, so why worry that there is no way to increase rice consumption? They are working hard in tradition.

Like a friend who is an ingredient expert, who pointed out that the taste-value standard currently used in Taiwan, China is actually one left by Japan and is only suitable for japonica rice; but Taiwan, China has developed so many wonderful rice varieties over the years. Can we redefine an evaluation standard that belongs to Taiwan, China's own rice, take back the "right to serve," and use the good quality of Taiwan, China's rice to promote rice food? He is working hard on quality.

Like a senior who provided us with a great deal of practical advice before the event, and who himself keeps actively visiting producing areas in person, selecting high-quality agricultural products among them for the products he sells. He also actively visits rice-producing areas, likewise putting quality first to build connections with consumers. The vast majority of consumers actually do not know what kind of rice they are eating, nor do they know what kind of rice their favorite taste comes from. If they do not remember and do not know, how can they encourage the farmers who should plant it to keep planting? Therefore he will also launch bento boxes labeled with various rice varieties, and even develop new products under the principle of sticking to every single grain of rice. He is working hard in actual sales.

I love eating Yiquan fragrant rice; the rich taro aroma that bursts out when the pot is opened is unmatched. I also love puffed rice, taking it out of the freezer, breaking it apart and eating it as a snack. I love even more the traditional snacks made from various kinds of rice, from bowl rice cakes, oil rice, rice noodle soup... The rice cake wrapped in pickled radish is likewise so delicious that it leaves a deep impression.

But I also love bread, the hard and coarse kind, the soft and fluffy kind... with jam (of course it has to be red on the bush), with sprout salad, with fresh milk... it is an elegant and relaxed brunch.

We do not know whether there is a standard answer for promoting rice food, but perhaps what matters is what we want to eat and what we want to keep working hard for. That is definitely not drifting along with the trend, but rather must bring together everyone's care in every link of the chain.

Imagine it.

After work, very tired. Slumped on the sofa, not wanting to move at all. But the aroma of braised pork drifts from the kitchen. A piece of pork is rolling in another pot of water, about to be cooked and sliced to dip in garlic soy sauce; you remember this was Dad's favorite. Another pot holds winter melon and pork rib soup; ah, last time you went home, Mom reminded you to bring it back. A NT$10 bunch of basil from the market is mixed with beaten egg and about to go into the pan. You casually take over the spatula, and amid the clanging sounds you gradually focus and forget the things that clogged your mind all day.

And the glistening translucent white rice is steaming in the rice cooker, brewing an aroma about to burst forth.

It is on the table. Everyone takes their own bowl and chopsticks. It has been so long since the family ate together. The white rice is dabbed with braised pork and soy sauce, a piece of egg is picked up, and bits of each other's news over the past few days are mixed in. This aroma suddenly has the flavor of people, and in an instant shuts the home off from the outside...

Ah, good food can always soothe bitterness.

For the taste of a bowl of white rice, we are working hard.