Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 31

Thread: Rice

  1. #1

    Speedy Chef - stir fry two fried rice/ noodle within one minute

    Speedy Chef in Shenyang, Liaoning China, can stir fry two fried rice/ noodle within one minute

    He can also cook many dish at the same time. Even while singing. He has been cooking for over twenty years.

    His top record was to cook 12 dishes at the same time. He could cook over 200 dishes within 2 hours. Therefore the average per minute is 2 dishes.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1dvt...eature=related
    Last edited by kowloonboy; 06-09-2011 at 06:43 PM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Canada!
    Posts
    23,110
    I wonder how the taste is.
    Kung Fu is good for you.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,907

    Rice master

    Because of course, Japan would have rice masters.

    Japanese rice master: Beijing demonstration falls short but provides morale boost
    February 14, 2016
    By JUNJI MURAKAMI/ Staff Writer

    SAKAI--Tsutomu Murashima said his rice-cooking demonstration in China was only “60 percent successful,” despite the accolades that poured in from audience members who sampled his concoction.

    Murashima, 85, returned to Japan on Jan. 13, a day after the event in Beijing organized by a Chinese government group that is trying to improve the quality of products sold in China.

    During the Jan. 12 demonstration, Murashima mixed 10 types of rice from across China using bottled water from a retailer in the country. He cooked 150 servings of rice in three pots on a stage.

    About 180 people in various fields, from influential business people and food critics, tried the rice. The reviews were overwhelmingly favorable, including, “The rice made by the master is sweet and tasty.”

    However, Murashima had difficulty adjusting the gap between the pot and the heat.

    “Although I did my best, the stickiness, luster and flavor of the rice were different from what I usually make,” he said.

    “The rice was 60 percent successful,” he said.

    But he said he felt motivated by the compliments he received for the rice.

    “I felt that food has no borders," he said. "I want to try again.”

    His rice was quickly gobbled down, as well as the 3 kilograms of “shiokonbu” (thin strips of kelp cooked in soy sauce), a local specialty Murashima brought from Sakai, served as an accompanying dish.

    His “onigiri” rice balls went down particularly well among the audience members, bringing smiles to their faces while they ate.

    For more than half a century, Murashima has cooked rice at the Ginshari-ya Gekotei eatery that he opened in 1963 in Sakai. He became widely known in China after a Chinese blogger who visited Gekotei posted an article that described Murashima as “the wizard of rice cooking in Sakai.”

    Murashima was also featured on television programs.

    The rice-cooking demonstration was arranged by an organization from China’s Ministry of Commerce that has been planning a “highest-quality mark” for products sold in China.

    The Chinese organizers invited Murashima as an “ambassador of rice culture” to learn his methods and attitude toward rice cooking as part of the Beijing’s quality-improvement efforts.

    The organizers asked for Murashima’s participation through the Sakai city government, saying, “Mr. Murashima’s bowl of rice is the very thing that warms and bridges the hearts of Japan and China.”

    On Jan. 7, Murashima flew to Beijing with his favorite pots. Having never before cooked rice in China, he studied the right amount of water and heat level through trial and error before the Jan. 12 event.

    On Jan. 16, Murashima reopened Gekotei.

    “I really appreciate that Chinese visitors said ‘delicious’ to my rice,” he said. “I will go back to square one and keep trying.”

    By JUNJI MURAKAMI/ Staff Writer
    Quote Originally Posted by GeneChing View Post
    Why is this in the Southern Chinese Kung Fu forum again?
    I'm so hijacking this thread. I'll move it to the OT forum soon.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,907

    Audi rice cooker

    If you're a facebooker, you've probably seen that trending Audi with a rice-cooker. It was actually an April Fools prank from 2015, but that's facebook for you. And to think that fb is having such an effect on our Presidential election this year...

    Audi Japan debuts special edition A8 featuring a rice cooker






    Exclusive only for Japan, The Audi A8 5.5
    “Vorsprung durch Technik” advances to a whole new level
    Audi premiered their flagship car, Audi A8 in 2014 to achieve mature market excellence of Japan’s import automobile industry. In addition to the lineup of A8 3.0/4.0, Audi debuts the “5.5” model limited only in Japan. To respond to the high demands of our customers, Audi A8 5.5 strived to aim for the most satisfying model using world class, advanced technologies. The model name 5.5 was inspired from 5(five) Go and 0.5(half) Han, coming from the term gohan, which means rice in Japanese.
    From the console, shines the pure-white perfection.
    In honor of the Japanese rice-eating culture, the Audi A8 5.5 features the world’s first rice cooker in the rear sheet console. The rice cooker is exclusively designed on the basis of the unique performance of Audi A8's 435PS/600Nm. From the intense heat convection inside the broad-brimmed Japanese rice cooking pot called, Hagama, it can generate heat directly from the core, cooking the perfect rice ever.
    Innovated gourmet food technology in a sophisticated style.
    With the touch screen menu panel, owners can select multiple cooking options. Through Audi’s refined, innovative technology, each and every owner can now customize any rice to their own taste of preference.
    The one and only fine quality of soft rush grass (rice straw) selected carefully will grasp the owner’s heart instantly.
    Audi’s innovative aesthetics creates the most comfortable atmosphere fitted for the Japanese climate. The 2,990mm long wheelbase interior is designed with tatami made out of the finest rush suitable for high temperature and the humidity in Japan. Enjoy the aesthetic features of Japanese culture with the new Audi A8 5.5
    Audi A8 5.5 debut.
    100 Years of Audi History. Today is April 1st.

    Present
    Audi April Fools' Day gift 「Audi original rice paddle」



    For customers who contact their local Audi dealer regarding the Audi A8 5.5, will receive a special gift based on first come first serve basis.

    Please click here to contact your local dealer.
    Please note that distribution of gift will be finished upon stock availability.
    The Gift will be distributed only on April 1, 2015. Dealers which close on April 1st will distribute it the next business day.
    Please note that some of dealers will not distribute the gift.
    This exclusive campaign is conducted only in Japan
    .
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,907

    Rice Museum

    CHINA RICE MUSEUM CELEBRATES THE GRAIN
    BY ELISABETH PERLMAN ON 6/13/16 AT 8:25 AM

    The world’s first museum dedicated to rice has opened in China, The Times reported.

    Based in Changsha, the capital of central China’s Hunan province, Longping Rice Museum pays homage to Yuan Longping, otherwise known as the “father of hybrid rice,” for his contribution to increasing rice yields throughout the country. Longping, a Chinese agricultural scientist and educator developed the first hybrid varieties of rice in the 1970s.

    Museum visitors are invited to walk inside a collection of buildings shaped like rice kernels, while reflecting on China’s historical relationship with the grain.

    The world's first rice museum, named after Chinese agricultural scientist Yuan Longping, in Changsha, the capital of China’s Hunan province, May 17.
    @XHNEWS/TWITTER

    “Good rice is so tasty that you don’t need anything else, you can have a meal just of rice,” said Professor Zhu Zhiwei, an analyst at China’s National Rice Research Institute, founded in 1981 and based in the eastern province of Hangzhou. Professor Zhiwei heads a team of six Chinese government officials who try 30 different types of rice every day. The different varieties are then rated on a scale of one to 100 based on texture, flavor, color, smell and aftertaste.

    The major rice growing regions in China are based in the country’s northeast provinces of Jiangsu and Ningxia. The Chinese population is on course to consume a record 145 million tonnes of rice this year, which amounts to approximately 30 per cent of global demand, The Times reported. Despite high yields, the only country boasting national rice tasting standards is Japan, which remains the dominant global authority when it comes to rice.
    Every time I get a rice or noodles news story, I think about splitting this thread. Then I read through the beginning and decide it's too funny to split. But some day I will....maybe.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Great Lakes State, U.S.A.
    Posts
    1,645
    I've been eating way more rice than noodles over the last few weeks, a major craving. Must be some logical explanation besides the way rice can be more filling and last longer to curb hunger. Of course the taste is unique. Rice stands alone in that way.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,907

    This topic really needed its own thread

    The posts above are poached from the Noodles-or-Rice thread.

    I don't know why this amuses me. Maybe because I've been in Chinese kitchens and seen bugs?

    China Agency to inspect basmati rice production facilities for insects
    No commitment to open the door for imports; trade in non-basmati rice out of question
    Sanjeeb Mukherjee | New Delhi
    September 7, 2016 Last Updated at 12:42 IST



    India’s basmati rice harvest, which has been facing headwinds of late due to quarantine issues, could find a new market as China’s plant quarantine and inspection body has agreed to undertake a survey of all the 19 rice mills registered with India’s National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPO).

    The inspections will be for presence of ‘khapra’ beetle in Indian basmati rice.

    However, inspection does not mean that China has opened the doors for import of basmati rice from India.

    These mills are situated in states such as Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, among others.

    On basmati rice, traders and senior officials said the inspection is not related to its exports as China’s has its own rice variety which is similar to India’s and whatever shortfall it faces is compensated by imports from Pakistan.

    “There is no question of China allowing imports of non-basmati rice as it already has its own varieties and as far as allowing imports of basmati rice is concerned, yes they have agreed to inspect our facilities, but there is no commitment that it will materialise into firm export orders,” Rajen Sundaresan, Executive Director, All India Rice Exporters Association (AIREA) told Business Standard.

    The NPPO will assist its Chinese counterpart AQSIQ during the inspection from September 19-28 for pest risk analysis and plant quarantine purposes to ensure that the non-basmati consignments from India will be pest-free, safe and of good quality.

    Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), which is part of the Indian commerce ministry, is also involved in the process.

    India had earlier sent the information sought by AQSIQ regarding the quality protocol and standard operating procedures.

    India accounts for over 70% of the world's basmati rice production. However, it constitutes a small portion of the total rice produced in India. By volume, the share of basmati rice was around 6% in India’s total rice production in 2014-15. By volume, however, basmati rice exports accounted for 57% of India's total rice exports in 2014-15.

    Studies show that basmati rice exports have increased at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27% from Rs 28.24 billion in 2004-05 to Rs 275.98 billion in 2014-15.

    The proportion of basmati rice exports in India's total exports has increased from around 0.6% to around 1.3% during the last one decade.

    While basmati rice is consumed across the globe, West Asian countries account for 75% of Indian basmati rice exports in 2014-15.

    Within West Asia, Iran and Saudi Arabia are the two largest buyers, together accounting for over 50 per cent of basmati rice exports from India.

    India’s goods trade deficit with China has surged from $1.1 billion in 2003-04 to $52.7 billion in 2015-16.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,907

    Rice spy

    When GMOs become an international incident.

    U.S. government worker pleads guilty in plot to steal rice for Chinese
    REUTERS



    By Julia Edwards

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A geneticist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture pleaded guilty on Monday to making false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation when questioned about plans to send U.S. rice samples to China, the Justice Department said Wednesday.

    Wengui Yan, 61, of Arkansas admitted that a group of Chinese tourists in 2013 told him of their plans to steal engineered U.S. rice samples, but he first told investigators he had no knowledge of the plan.

    The number of international economic espionage cases referred to the FBI is rising, up 15 percent each year between 2009 and 2014 and up 53 percent in 2015, according to the FBI.

    Agricultural espionage, like the case involving Yan, allows thieves to reproduce genetically modified plants in China, skipping years of research and millions of dollars typically invested in development of the highly resistant seeds.

    The majority of economic espionage cases reported involve Chinese nationals, a law enforcement official said in April, shortly after a Chinese man named Mo Hailong pleaded guilty to sending hybrid corn seeds stolen from Iowa fields back to China.

    Yan refused to give the group of Chinese visitors rice seeds they requested because they were protected, but he did travel with them to a rice farm where he "knew they would have an opportunity to steal seeds," the Justice Department said in a statement.

    Under Yan's plea agreement, he faces up to 20 months in federal prison.

    (Reporting by Julia Edwards; Editing by Sandra Maler)
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,907

    This article is dated

    I got a repub version and traced it back to this earlier article.

    Use these four tricks to identify toxic plastic rice

    China remains the world's largest producer of rice. The Middle Kingdom harvests over 200 million tons per year and a large share of it gets exported all over the world. But cooks and diners alike should take care: not only are untold amounts of pesticides used in Chinese agriculture, but according to a report in The Korea Times rice is also now being manufactured artificially. Potato starch gets mixed with plastic (synthetic resin, for instance) and then formed into rice-shaped kernels. Finally the grains are steamed with a typical rice aroma. Doctors have emphatically warned against consuming the artificial product: three full portions apparently contain as much plastic as there is in a little plastic bag. That's alarming!

    With these simple tricks you can test whether your rice is wholesome and plastic-free:

    The Water Test


    Youtube/Cartoons

    Pour a tablespoon of uncooked rice into a glass with cold water and stir it vigorously. If the rice all sinks to the bottom of the glass, it's fine. If the grains float up to the surface, be careful!

    The Fire Test


    Youtube/Cartoons Mayank

    Try setting a little bit of your rice on fire with a match or lighter. If it starts burning right away and smells like burning plastic, then you know what to do! (Do not eat it!)

    The Mortar and Pestle Test


    Youtube/Cartoons Mayank

    When you crush a few grains of rice with a mortar and pestle they should be reduced to a fine, white, starchy powder. But with artificial rice, you will see a light yellow discoloration instead.

    The Mold Test


    Youtube/Cartoons Mayank

    If you want to know for sure whether your cooked rice is quite safe, put a small quantity into an airtight container and leave it in a warm place. Within a couple of days it will have gotten moldy. Only fake rice stays mold-free.

    Here's the video:


    This is how to be on the safe side. Show these tricks to your rice-eating friends and that way no one will have to eat plastic for dinner!
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,907

    More fake rice

    I just can't wrap my head around this. Too weird.

    Nigeria seizes smuggled plastic rice
    AFP December 21, 2016


    Nigeria has seized over 100 bags of plastic rice smuggled into the country (AFP Photo/Tauseef Mustafa)

    Lagos (AFP) - Nigeria has seized over 100 bags of plastic rice smuggled into the country, where prices of the staple food are rocketing ahead of the Christmas and New Year holidays.

    A suspect has been arrested over the haul of 102 bags of the fake rice, which officials warned Wednesday was dangerous for human consumption.

    They are suspected to have been smuggled or illegally shipped in from China through Lagos port, a senior customs official in Nigeria's commercial hub told AFP.

    The 50-kilo bags, branded "Best Tomato Rice", had no date of manufacture and were intercepted Monday in the Ikeja area of the sprawling city, the official said on condition of anonymity.

    "We have done a preliminary analysis of the plastic rice. After boiling, it was sticky and only God knows what would have happened if people consumed it," Ikeja area customs controller Mohammed Haruna was quoted as saying.

    Nigeria has banned rice imports as it seeks to boost local production.

    Haruna said the plastic rice was to be sold ahead of Christmas and New Year festivities, with the price for the popular Nigerian staple hitting the roof because of galloping inflation.

    A 50-kilo bag now sells for around 20,000 naira (63 dollars), more than double the price in December last year.

    Nigeria's inflation stood at 18.5 percent in November, its 13th consecutive monthly rise, driven by higher food prices.

    The customs service has sent the fake rice to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control for further analysis.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,907

    This would probably be better posted on a RAT thread, but I don't think we have one

    I'm not sure what the store owner hoped to achieve by this. Send a message to other rats? To me, it says 'My store has rats.' How does that sell rice?

    Who ratted on him? Rodent is tied up and publicly shamed for 'stealing rice' in China

    Pictures of the animal being punished on a road have emerged on social media
    The rat is accused of stealing rice from a convenient store, claims the uploader
    It is tied to what appears to be a trolley with a post-it note attached to the body
    Owner of the store, Lai Tiancai, said the rat had been caught by his staff

    By Tracy You For Mailonline
    PUBLISHED: 09:01 EST, 23 January 2017 | UPDATED: 10:42 EST, 23 January 2017

    China is famous for its ruthless public shaming on burglars, and the latest victim was apparently a rat.

    Pictures spotted on Weibo, a Chinese micro-blogging platform, showed the rodent being tied up to what seemed to be a trolley.

    A piece of paper attached to the animal's body explained that it had been caught stealing rice at a convenient store.


    Shame on you: A convenient store owner in China has allegedly punished a rat for stealing rice

    'I dare not do it again!' The owner tied the rodent to a trolley and put notes on it in Heyuan city, according to a social media account

    Two pictures were posted yesterday by a Weibo user with the screen name 'jiu lian shan she zhang'.

    The post said: 'A friend of mine found a small rat in the warehouse of a convenient store.'

    It carried on saying: 'After [it] was arrested, it was shamed by a poster. Poor rat! How could it spend the Lunar New Year?'

    The uploader indicated that the two pictures had been taken at the Lianping County of Heyuan city in southern China's Guangdong Province.


    The post, which was up yesterday, claimed the pictures had been taken in Guangdong, China

    In the first picture, a post-it note was attached to the rat. The note was written as if the rat had been complaining to the man who had caught it and shamed it.

    The note read: 'Huh, is this the best you could do? Even if you beat me to death, I would not admit that the rice at your home had been stolen by me.'

    In the second picture, the rat had a different post-it note attached to its body, which read: 'I dare not do it again!'

    A person can be seen taking a picture of the rat and the note.

    The trolley is believed to be transporting boxes of bin liners.

    The account holder of 'jiu lian shan she zhang' confirmed to MailOnline that the rat had been caught at a shop in Zhuhai city, Guangdong Province, which was owned by his friend. The said that the notes had been written by staff at the store.

    The man has not expected the pictures would draw so much attention on social media today.

    He explained that many people had left comments under the pictures with different opinions.

    He said: 'Some people pitied the rat, some people hated the rat, and some people found it to be funny.

    'I pity the rat. It's just a small animal. It would almost certainly die being treated like this.'

    The owner of the shop where the rat had been caught confirmed that the rat had been found by his staff.

    The man, named Lai Tiancai, said 'it was just a rat' and this was a 'small incident'. The man added that the incident should not matter too much.

    The uploader has called for attention from the Shenzhen Traffic Police through his post.

    In response to the pictures, the Shenzhen Traffic Police posted three smiling face emojis on its official account on Weibo yesterday.

    In January, 2016, a man and woman from China filmed themselves tying up a defenseless mouse and 'interrogating it' for allegedly stealing bananas.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  12. #12
    All I know is rice is really good with Adobo (Filipino dish).

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,907

    fascinating

    What an earworm of an article title...


    MARKA/Alamy Stock Photo

    Rice so nice it was domesticated thrice
    By Dennis NormileOct. 10, 2017 , 3:45 PM
    Rice is unique among wild plants for having been domesticated independently on three continents: Asia, Africa, and now South America, researchers have discovered. The New World variety, tamed about 4000 years ago, apparently was abandoned after Europeans arrived. But its genetic legacy could potentially help improve Oryza sativa, the Asian rice species that is now a dietary staple for half the world’s population.

    Despite widespread consumption of wild rice by indigenous peoples, scant evidence supported the grain’s domestication in the New World. But botanists have become increasingly adept at analyzing phytoliths, microscopic bits of silica drawn from the soil that accumulate in the tissues of plants as they grow. Phytoliths persist after the vegetation decays and scientists can decipher, from their shapes, the genus and sometimes the species of plant in which they formed and whether they came from the stalk, leaves, or seeds.

    A group led by archaeobotanist José Iriarte of the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom examined 320 rice phytoliths recovered from a trench at Monte Castelo, an archaeological site in the southwestern Amazon basin in Brazil that was occupied for millennia: from more than 9000 years ago into the 14th century. The phytoliths increased in size and number from the oldest layers of the dig to the youngest, indicating that “wild rice was modified by human intervention to produce larger grains,” the authors conclude in a paper published online this week in Nature Ecology & Evolution. It’s “another proof of the ingenuity of Native American plant breeders,” Iriarte says.

    “The paper is convincing,” says Charles Clement, a plant geneticist at the National Institute of Amazonian Research in Manaus, Brazil, who was not involved in the study. Previous investigators missed rice domestication in the region, he says, because phytolith analysis “has only started to be used to search for signs of domestication (in Amazonia) in the last decade.” “Whether in Asia, Africa, or South America, local populations recognized the great potential of the Oryza plants and made use of them, which finally led to the advent of domesticated rice,” adds Zhao Zhijun, an archaeobotanist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’s Institute of Archaeology in Beijing, who was not involved in the study.


    Researchers collecting soil samples bearing rice phytoliths at the Monte Castelo archaeological site in Brazil.
    Arqueotrop_University of São Paulo

    The discovery “was a wonderful surprise,” Iriarte says. His team was looking for hints of cassava domestication and for clues to when maize farming spread to the Amazon. But in sifting the soil samples, Ph.D. student Lautaro Hilbert noticed the unusual abundance of rice phytoliths. Another remarkable aspect is that the Monte Castelo residents were farming maize and rice simultaneously, says Briana Gross, a plant evolutionary geneticist at the University of Minnesota in Duluth, who was not a member of the team.

    Iriarte’s group suggests that New World rice cultivation was a response to increasing rainfall at Monte Castelo from 6000 to 4000 years ago that could have expanded wetlands and caused seasonal flooding. Such conditions would be unfavorable for other food resources but suited for the wild Oryza species, prompting farmers to manipulate and ultimately domesticate rice even while they grew maize and other crops, such as squash.

    The authors suggest that the indigenous population decline and cultural disruption during European colonization was a death knell for domesticated rice in the Americas. Gross suggests that researchers can now look in wild rice populations for genetic traits that early Amazonian farmers bred for; if these persist, they might be exploited for improving modern cultivated varieties.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,907

    Seawater grown rice

    Chinese scientists put rice grown in seawater on the nation’s tables
    Salt-resistant species could boost country’s rice harvest by nearly 20 per cent, top researcher says
    PUBLISHED : Monday, 16 October, 2017, 12:00pm
    UPDATED : Monday, 16 October, 2017, 11:22pm
    Stephen Chen



    Rice grown on a commercial scale in diluted seawater has, for the first time, made it into the rice bowls of ordinary Chinese people after a breakthrough in food production following more than four decades of efforts by farmers, researchers, government agencies and businesses.
    Ning Meng bought a bag of the rice online and had it delivered to the family of her boyfriend early this month. Her boyfriend was living with his parents in a city in Zhejiang province, and the rice was a gift to her future in-laws.
    On the evening of the Mid-Autumn Festival, they gathered around the rice cooker. The lid lifted, releasing a puff of steam and fragrance that made everyone take a breath.
    “I could tell one grain from the other in my mouth,” said Ning, who gave it a top satisfaction rating. “My boyfriend said it was like the braised rice he had back in his village. It is very good.”.
    The rice was not grown in traditional rice paddy, where fields are filled with fresh water, but on a salty beach on the Yellow Sea coast in Qingdao, Shandong.
    China has one million square kilometres of waste land, an area the size of Ethiopia, where plants struggle to grow because of high salinity or alkalinity levels in the soil.
    Agricultural scientist Yuan Longping, known as China’s “father of hybrid rice”, told mainland media that if a tenth of such areas were planted with rice species resistant to salt, they could boost China’s rice production by nearly 20 per cent.
    They could produce 50 million tonnes of food, enough to feed 200 million people, he said.


    Rice growing last month in a saline environment at the Qingdao Saline-Alkaline Tolerant Rice Research and Development Centre. Photo: China Foto Press

    A research team led by Yuan, 87, recently doubled the output of seawater rice, which in the past was too low for large-scale production.
    In the mid-1970s, worrying about how to feed the world’s largest, and rapidly growing, population, the Chinese government started looking for rice species that could grow in salt-soaked fields.
    A major discovery was made by Guangdong-based researcher Chen Risheng, who stumbled on a species of red wild rice near a mangrove forest in Suixi county, Zhanjiang. After decades of trait selection, cross-breeding and genetic screening, researchers across the country came up with at least eight candidate species, but their productivity remained low, at two tonnes a hectare, just a third that of ordinary rice and insufficient for large-scale planting.
    Last month, at the nation’s largest seawater rice farm, in Qingdao, the output of Yuan’s seawater rice exceeded 4.5 tonnes a hectare, according to state media reports.
    Yuan Ce Biological Technology, a Qingdao-based start-up and business partner of Yuan’s team, said it set up an online shop in August, branding the rice “Yuan Mi” in honour of the project’s chief scientist.
    The rice now being sold was harvested last year. This year’s crop will enter barns next month.
    Each kilogram of “Yuan Mi” costs 50 yuan (US$7.50), or eight times as much as ordinary rice. It is sold in packs weighing 1kg, 2kg, 5kg and 10kg.
    Nearly 1,000 people placed an order last month, and six tonnes of the rice had been sold since August, a Yuan Ce sales manager said.
    “Our sales revenue target is 10 million yuan by the end of this year,” he said.


    A Chinese scientist at the Qingdao Saline-Alkaline Tolerant Rice Research and Development Centre shows rice last month that can survive high levels of salinity. Photo: Imaginechina

    The seawater rice was grown on virgin land where no crops had been planted before.
    The rice grains have a unique texture and pleasant flavour, according to the company. Consumers pay a high premium not just for the pleasurable eating experience, but also for some potential health and safety benefits.
    Professor Huang Shiwen, the leader of the rice disease research team at the China National Rice Research Institute in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, said salt was a disinfectant that could reduce or cut off the transmission of some diseases caused by bacteria.
    “To survive in the harsh environment, these species must have some ‘diehard’ genes which may enable them to better resist the attack of certain diseases or bugs, especially those happening at the root or lower stalk,” he said.


    China’s ratio of ‘wasteland’ to arable land. Graphic: SCMP

    This could reduce the use of pesticides and lower the risk of exposure to harmful chemicals in the food chain, he said.
    The seawater rice developed by Yuan and other research teams is not irrigated by pure seawater, but mixes it with fresh water to reduce the salt content to 6 grams per litre. The average litre of seawater contains five times as much salt.
    Researchers said it would take years more research to develop a rice species that could grow in pure seawater.
    Professor Zhu Xiyue, an economics and policy expert at the national rice institute, said the seawater rice project would help secure China’s food supply by turning “waste land to green fields”.
    “The output may be low and price high, but they can increase China’s total area of arable land, which can be used and save many lives in hard times,” Zhou said.


    Rice growing at the Qingdao Saline-Alkaline Tolerant Rice Research and Development Centre in Qingdao, Shandong province, last month. Photo: Imaginechina

    China is already the biggest of importer of some major agricultural commodities, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute last year.
    Zhou said the land area of some coastal provinces was increasing, as big rivers such as the Yangtze and Yellow River dumped enormous amounts of sediment into the sea.
    “The seawater rice can be the first settler on this new land mass,” he added.
    But the project also has its critics.
    Liu Guangfei, a wasteland treatment expert at Beijing-based Eagle Green Technology Development, said Yuan’s rice could not be planted in inland provinces such as Heilongjiang and Xinjiang, which had more than 90 per cent of the saline and alkaline soils in China.
    Hybrid rice crop falls short of super-sized target
    The chemical composition of inland soil varied significantly from that on the coast, he said. Yuan’s rice was mainly resistant to sodium chloride, but waste land in inland areas had high levels of sodium sulphate, which could be detrimental to the rice.
    He also doubted whether planting rice would be of long-term benefit in treating waste land.
    “Planting this rice will keep the land salty forever,” he said. “It cannot be used to grow other crops.”
    Liu said there were other commercial plants that could survive in such soils, such as jujube and wolfberry, that could significantly reduce salt water levels in fields after a few year’s of fresh water irrigation.
    But the biggest challenge to the seawater rice project was that China now had a surplus of rice.
    “China is not in food shortage any more,” he said.
    GMO rice. When there's a surplus even.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,907

    7"+ rice

    More GMO rice.

    Scientists claim to have invented 'giant rice' that stands over SEVEN FEET tall as they look for ways to feed growing population
    Experts in China claimed they had cultivated new grain in an experiment
    The yield of the 'giant rice' is said to be 50 per cent higher than ordinary rice
    It's expected to greatly benefit the nation which faces a shortage of farmers
    Scientists also introduced 'sea rice', which could grow on saline-alkaline land
    By Tracy You For Mailonline
    PUBLISHED: 07:47 EDT, 17 October 2017 | UPDATED: 08:00 EDT, 17 October 2017

    A new kind of rice that can grow as tall as 2.2 meters (7ft 2in) has been introduced.

    The so-called 'giant rice' is expected to feed more people as scientists claimed its yield could be 50 per cent higher than ordinary rice, according to a report on China's People's Daily Online today.

    Experts from the China said they had spent 10 years cultivating the new grain, which was unveiled on October 16.


    A researcher in China poses with the new 'giant rice', which could grow up to 2.2 meters

    A team of researchers from the Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, have planted and harvested the 'giant rice' on an experimental field, according to the People's Daily Online report, citing Xinhua News Agency.

    The experimental field is located in Jinjing Township of Changsha County, central China's Hunan Province.

    The new type of rice is said to be 1.8 metres tall on average (5ft 10in), with the greatest ones reaching 2.2 metres.

    Xia Xinjie, a researching involved in the project, expected the yield of the 'giant rice' to surpass 11.5 tonnes per hectare. Mr Xia said the per-hectare yield is 50 per cent higher than the ordinary rice.

    Mr Xia added that experts had harvested more than 500 grains from a single 'giant rice' stalk.

    The Chinese scientists are said to have used a series of new technologies to cultivate the new rice, including mutation induction and hybridisation between different kinds of wild rice.


    A Chinese farmer harvests Xiangliangyou 900, the hybrid rice that has set the world record for its high per-hectare yield. The new rice was invented by a team led by renowned Yuan Longpin

    The 'giant rice' is due to greatly benefit China which is facing a shortage of farmers and a growing population.

    'It is expected that 60 per cent more rice will need to be produced in 2030 compared to 1995,' Yuan Longping, a renowned agricultural scientist, told People's Daily Online, in an interview last month.

    Mr Yuan added: 'Currently, one hectare for rice production provides food for 27 people. By 2050, one hectare will have to support 43 people.'

    CHINA'S 'FATHER OF HYBRID RICE'

    Chinese scientist Yuan Longping (second left), known as the 'father of hybrid rice', surveys the growth of hybrid rice in a field in Hebei, China, on October 15

    Yuan Longping, 87, has been billed as the 'father of hybrid rice' in China for his constant contribution in breeding high-yield grains in the past 60 years.

    Last month, the scientist announced he and his team had successfully cultivated a new type of rice, called 'sea rice', which could grow on saline-alkaline land.

    On an experiment field, four types of rice were said to register an estimated output between 6.5 to 9.3 tonnes per hectare.

    China has 100 million hectares of saline-alkaline soil, according to Mr Yuan. Among them, 18.7 million hectares have the potential to grow rice.

    This week, another new type of hybrid rice, also cultivated by Mr Yuan, become the highest-yielding one in the world.

    The rice has been named Xiangliangyou 900.

    The pilot rice fields in Handan, Hebei province, were harvested on October 15.

    The three plots yielded 17.2 tons per hectare on average. Of the three plots, the one with the highest yield reached 17.7 tons per hectare, which is a new world record.

    Source: People's Daily Online
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •