Cooking Rice With This Liquid Can Be Good For Your Cardiovascular Health
Usually, we use filtered water to rinse and cook rice. But did you know there’s a healthier and recommended alternative? Cooking rice with green tea water is a nutritious option.
Instead of using regular water, try cooking rice with green tea water.
The ancient Chinese medical book, “Ben Cao Shi Yi,” mentions, “Long-term tea drinking can make the body slender and strong.” During the Tang Dynasty, rice cooked with tea water was also highly praised for its health benefits. This shows that cooking rice with tea has been a folk custom in China for thousands of years and is valued in Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Benefits of Cooking Rice With Green Tea Water
1. Heart Health
Green tea water helps remove grease, cleanses the mouth, breaks down food, and aids digestion. Additionally, green tea contains 70-80% polyphenol extract, which research shows can improve microvascular recovery and prevent capillary breakage and bleeding.
Moreover, polyphenols can lower blood cholesterol and inhibit atherosclerosis. Middle-aged and elderly individuals who regularly consume rice cooked with tea benefit from softer blood vessels, lower blood lipids, and a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.
2. Preventing Digestive Tract Cancers
Amine and nitrite, commonly found in foods, can easily form cancer-causing nitrosamines. The polyphenols in tea can prevent the synthesis of nitrosamines in the human body, thus preventing and treating cancers of the digestive tract.
3. Stroke Prevention and Anti-Aging
Tannic acid, a type of polyphenol found in tea and rice, can inhibit the formation of oxidized lipids and remove active enzymes, making blood vessels more elastic and helping to prevent strokes and aging.
4. Dental Health and Cavity Prevention
The fluoride in tea helps whiten and clean teeth. Cooking rice with a certain amount of tea water can increase tooth strength and acid resistance while preventing cavities.
Cooking rice with tea water offers multiple health benefits.
5. Improved Digestion
Tea can dissolve fat in food, and the phenols in tea help promote the production of digestive enzymes. Therefore, those with indigestion can use green tea to cook rice and improve their digestion.
6. Lower Blood Sugar
The polysaccharides in tea can reduce gluconeogenesis and glycogen production by enhancing the body’s antioxidant function and increasing the activity of the liver enzyme glucokinase, thereby lowering fasting blood sugar levels.
7. Reduced Blood Fat
Rice cooked with tea is rich in statins, which have an anti-peroxidative effect on lipids. This can effectively lower low-density lipoprotein, bad cholesterol, and triglycerides in the blood, reducing blood fat.
Notes:
– Avoid getting tea residue in the rice.
– Do not use excessive tea when cooking rice.
– Do not use overnight-steeped tea to cook rice.
– When eating rice cooked with tea, pair it with high-protein and iron-rich foods.
For delicious and nutritious rice, try these tips:
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Choose quality rice: Use Jasmine rice, sticky rice, or fragrant rice for delicious and fragrant results.
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Rinse the rice thoroughly: Wash the rice 2-3 times until the water runs clear to remove dust and excess starch, ensuring the rice doesn’t become sticky.
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Soak the rice: Soak the rice in water for about 30 minutes before cooking to allow the grains to absorb moisture and become softer.
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Water ratio: Use the right amount of water: typically 1:1 or 1:1.2 (1 cup of rice: 1-1.2 cups of water), depending on the type of rice.
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Use a rice cooker: Cook the rice in a rice cooker for even cooking and a softer texture.
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Add a pinch of salt: Season the cooking water with a pinch of salt to enhance the flavor of the rice.
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Add oil or butter: A teaspoon of oil or butter in the cooking water will make the rice grains separate and shiny.
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Let the rice rest: After cooking, let the rice sit in the covered pot for 10-15 minutes to allow the steam to redistribute and the rice to become softer.
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Gently fluff the rice: Use a spoon to gently fluff the rice without breaking the grains to maintain its softness.
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Add pandan leaves (optional): For a natural fragrance, add pandan leaves to the pot while cooking.
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