PERSPECTIVE: Can’t Live Without Rice?

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Perspective

Can’t Live Without Rice? Same Here!

What comes to your mind when you hear that some of your Asian friends eat rice every single day? Do you find it strange or unusual to always have rice on your plate? Well, here’s the thing, not all Asians actually eat rice every day!

Take countries in South Asia, like India or Pakistan. In those places, rice isn’t always the main dish. People there often prefer bread, like roti or chapati, and they can easily go a day (or more!) without rice. But it’s a different story in Southeast Asia, especially in my home country, Indonesia. Here, rice is the star of the show in almost every meal. Not really surprising, right? Haha. I’m pretty sure people in other Southeast Asian countries feel just as strongly about rice as we do.

Even though we also have bread, cassava, noodles, sago, or potatoes, most of us feel like something’s missing without rice on the plate. It’s our main source of energy, from morning to night. Speaking from personal experience, even if I have bread for breakfast, I’m usually hungry again in just a few hours. I just don’t feel full unless I’ve had rice! And when I tried Eastern foods like chapati, I still felt hungry afterward. No offense at all, it just didn’t hit the spot for me!

Honestly, I feel like my stomach needs rice to survive. I’ve tried to break the habit and adjust my eating patterns over the years, but it’s been really hard. I know that white rice has a high glucose level, which isn’t ideal for health. But thankfully, there are better alternatives these days. People now turn to red rice, which has a lower glycemic index and is a healthier choice. Still… at the end of the day, it’s rice! Just a different color and texture.

In my opinion, there’s nothing wrong with eating rice, but we probably shouldn’t be too dependent on it either. There are so many amazing dishes out there that don’t need rice to taste great. The more we believe that a meal isn’t complete without rice, the more we’ll feel hungry if it’s not there.

So that’s my little rice story, from someone who still can’t imagine life without it!

Warm regards :b