The intuitive understanding of rice nutrition among Chinese people can be summarized in two words: "nourishing." It contains various nutrients such as protein and vitamins. Although the amount of these nutrients is not very high compared to the starch content, the nutritional benefits are considerable due to the large quantity consumed, making it a staple food for supplementing nutrients. "In the fragrance of rice paddies, we speak of a bountiful year, listening to the chorus of frogs." This idyllic rural scene, witnessed by the Southern Song dynasty poet Xin Qiji on a moonlit journey, might be hard for many to experience today, but rice is almost indispensable in daily life. More than half of the world's population relies on rice as a staple food, and its cultivation ranges from temperate to subtropical zones.
Nutritious Rice
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) posits that rice is sweet and neutral in nature, with the effects of tonifying the middle and replenishing qi, strengthening the spleen and nourishing the stomach, benefiting essence and strengthening the will, harmonizing the five organs, promoting blood circulation, improving hearing and eyesight, and relieving vexation, thirst, and diarrhea. It is believed that frequent consumption can make one "strong and healthy with a good complexion." In simpler terms, the intuitive understanding of rice nutrition among Chinese people is, as mentioned, "nourishing." It contains multiple nutrients like protein and vitamins. While the quantity of these nutrients may not be high compared to starch, the nutritional benefits are significant due to the large amount consumed, making it a fundamental food for supplementing nutrients. With three meals a day, more than half of China's population consumes rice as their primary food.
Clever Chinese people, throughout their long history of eating rice, have invented countless delicious methods and pairings. It can be steamed, boiled, ground into flour, kneaded into dough, or pulled into noodles—the methods are incredibly imaginative.