Parboiled rice

Parboiled rice — also called converted rice — is rice that has been partly pre-cooked in its husk before milling: the paddy is soaked, steamed under pressure and dried, then hulled and polished. That hydrothermal treatment drives some of the bran's vitamins and minerals into the starchy endosperm and gelatinises the starch, so the finished grain is more nutritious than ordinary milled white rice yet cooks up firm, fluffy and remarkably separate — the classic "non-sticky" rice that resists clumping and overcooking. It keeps a pale amber tint from the treatment and has a faintly stronger, slightly toasted flavour than plain white rice. Per 100 g cooked it supplies about 123 kcal, mostly starch, with a little more fibre and B vitamins than polished white rice.