Perfect rice - fast! (Uncle Ben's Express Rice)

Member Name: i_am_joy

Product:	Uncle Ben's Express Rice
Date:	02/10/09 (71 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Delicious, the white and wild rice are well combined

Disadvantages: ----------

I would usually boil my own rice as, for myself, I don't honestly see the point of this type of 'quick' rice as this is one food that is easy enough to cook without the aid of Uncle Ben! However, I had a voucher for £1 off a pouch of Express Rice so decided I might as well buy one and keep it in the cupboard for quickness.

I bought the Long Grain & Wild Rice variety but was shocked to see at least 15 different varieties of this rice on the shelf in Sainsburys; foolishly I had imagined the Express Rice range would basically cover white and brown rice but in reality there is every type you could imagine.

Cooking the rice couldn't be simpler, just squeeze the pouch to separate the rice and put in the microwave for around two minutes. You serve the rice immediately after the microwave has pinged so no waiting around with a rapidly cooling curry because you've forgotten about 'standing time'!

I must say I was very impressed with the flavour and texture of the rice, I thought it was a little lacking in salt despite the fact that Uncle Ben reassured me it was perfectly seasoned but this was nothing I couldn't rectify myself when the rice was on the plate.

The combination of white and wild rice was perfect, there was actually more wild rice than I had been expecting but that was fine by me as I adore wild rice when it's cooked properly. The long grain rice is soft and moist and honestly cooked to perfection, surprisingly as I had been expecting it to be a little sloppy considering it's basically pre-cooked and preserved in the pouch ready for reheating.

The wild rice is well cooked too, it retains that slightly stalky texture which all wild rice has but it has a much nicer consistency than when I try to cook this particular variety myself. I love the softness of the white rice and tougher texture of the wild rice and found they went absolutely wonderfully together.

After pouring my curry over the rice I was impressed with how well it soaked up the juices without going soggy, which was the one thing I had been concerned about. It provided a delicious and very filling base for my meal that was both flavoursome and wonderfully bland at the same time. How can something be 'wonderfully bland' I hear you ask, well for me the whole point of rice is to take the heat out of a curry a little as well as provide a filling component to the meal - and this one fits the bill perfectly.

I cannot fault this rice and am quite surprised to be awarding it a full five stars as I sat down to eat and, knowing I would be reviewing the rice, fully expected it to be a tasteless one star product that I could vent my spleen about. Not so, it's delicious and I envisage many people who struggle to cook rice buying and eating many pouches of this.

Personally I shall only buy this variety as I have perfected the art of rice cooking, but the wild rice in this pouch is so delicious that I can justify the £1.61 price tag here and there. The other varieties available include Pilau Rice, Mushroom Rice, Chinese Rice, Mexican Rice and so many others that I fear my review would turn into one long list should I tell you about all of them.

They are currently on special offer in both Sainsbury's and Tesco, with the Sainsbury's offer being better at three pouches for £3 which is excellent value if you buy these regularly.

Summary: A delicious pre-steamed rice that even the most hapless cooks could manage!