Picture by ElinorD, Creative Commons

Heartier, tastier, and healthier than brown rice, it makes incomparable stir-fries.

I tried black rice for the first time this week. Katherine cooked it with some sugar snap peas, broccoli, and English peas in a stir fry with a simple soy and teriyaki sauce. I wished I’d taken a picture. Green vegetables swam in a mountain of purple-black grains like little Scrooge McDucks.

(Exactly like that, including the striped onesie)

Yum! I’m getting hungry just thinking about it.

In addition to literally being the best tasting rice I’ve ever put in my mouth, black rice is one of the healthiest. Studies at LSU found that black rice is comparable to blueberries in its antioxidant content (that’s what gives it the purplish black color). It has a low glycemic index and has tons of protein.

And I didn’t have to seek out a specialty store and spend big bucks on it, either. I found it at the Picayune, MS, Wal-Mart, right above the white and brown rice.

I highly recommend you give it a try. Use it anywhere you’d use brown rice. Use it in stir fries or other Asian-inspired cooking. Or just make yourself a bowl and go. You won’t regret it.