Ubara Rice from Ibaraki

My Experience

This is quite an interesting rice. It is actually a relatively new cultivar called Niji no Kirameki (from 2018) that was developed specifically to be resilient against climate change. The bag comes vacuum sealed for locking in freshness.

Make sure you soak it in filtered or soft water for at least 30 minutes after washing for the best result. As you can see from my image, the transformation is huge. Once properly cooked, the rice has a really nice gloss and the grains plump up about 3 or 4 times their original size. You can tell just by looking at the pot that the grains are distinct and substantial rather than mushy.

As for the taste, it has a slight natural rice sweetness on its own but acts easily as a blank canvas for main dishes. It is quite firm and very mochi-mochi chewable. I actually use a little bit less water than recommended to get better separation whilst still keeping that firm mochi texture.

They are completely fine once cooled down too. It retains both texture and taste even when eaten cold. The fact you can get this for sub £20 on Amazon for such a versatile, high-quality Japanese rice makes it an easy 5 stars.