Rice or Potato

Yes i know, i have not experienced rice shortage as well; however, there are news of it. Well, at least so i heard. Maybe in the rural areaS? oh yeah, i remember now. Yes, we do have rice shortage here; it's just that instead of being an exporter of rice (as we were before), we are already importing rice from our neighboring countries. I do not know exactly how much rice we are importing, but we are supposed to be the ones who does the exporting, not the importing because of the vast fields we have here in the Philippines. But one thing is for sure, if rice were scarce, what would happen to us rice-loving Filipinos? Would we settle for potatoes? Mashed potatoes? french fries? How about an out of the box idea, potato-rice? would we be able to settle for it? Would it even come close? I do not know. and i am not prepared to find out.

Last time I checked, it was a lie created by the government to cover up gloria's mess ups in the recent years. And I don't think we'll ever run out of rice. really. No matter how high they jack up the prices we're going to buy it. And actually in the rural areas because rice is expensive, they usually eat corn meal that's boiled like rice if they can't afford it. and this isn't recent, they've been doing it for ages.

If you would bother to research on the internet or at least LISTEN to the news, you would know that there is no rice crisis. It's been identified as fraud many many months ago, so don't worry your head off. Really now, this was an issue HOW long ago? It's not affecting anyone now. The real issue at hand is POVERTY and CORRUPTION.

yes, i think that would be the case. But, unless im mistaken, what's really imported there are their meat?am i right? since you there have more grazing farms than fields..i don't know, im not quite sure with that. anyways, thanks for the wonderful insight. Just hoping that there won't be any shortages of rice and potatoes, both here and there.

Part of it depends on what type of rice. I nearly always use brown rice because there isn't as much food value in white rice. Brown rice is processed slower because there is more fiber in it.

Both are quick-energy foods Ay, although you notice more energy from the potato than you would rice, rice tends to break down easier than a potato leaving you feeling full for a lesser amount of time than a potato (which usually leaves you feeling full for most of the day).

thanks for sharing your insight. yes, they are both carbohydrate-rich foods because they are starch? i just forgot which of them is easily broken down by the body, meaning one of them is metabolized faster.

One of the best ways is to slice them french frie style, sprinkle your favorite spice and then bake until tender on a greased sheet in the oven. Tasty. Not sure what else you wanted to know.

thanks for that wonderful recipe. maybe i'll try that one of these days. but, most Filipinos will disagree with you there with what you said about the potatoes because here, rice is "god". No arguments, just opinions. btw, how do you crush and eat your potatoes? boil them or through the oven?

anything you could spare..:) maybe just message it to me because i think posting of recipes is equivalent to spamming here. anyways, its really good. i'll try what you suggested the day after tomorrow. thanks for the tip.;)

Well, planting rice is not as easy as we plant another vegetables or fruits (for example). And we have to bear in mind that planting rice is something which takes a lot of time ALSO with high risk, either success or failure. I strongly agree that in some of western countries, potato is much much more eaten rather than rice. Having such a big big field doesn't mean planting rice is an easy thing to do. Again, it also depends on the weather and so on.

yeah, i agree with what you've just said. it doesn't matter if the field is vast, there are a lot of factors present too. climate, type of rice, variety, soil fertility, and proper irrigation. So i guess we really cannot assume those things unless we conduct a study of our own on the subject, which can be really really hard.

is that true? i don't know, but i think it is ideal to grow rice there because of the vast fields you have, unlike here in the Philippines, we cannot afford to have those fields because we are an archipelago, so there is a lot of islands, small islands and big islands, so if we dedicate a huge portion of the land, there won't be cities and regions here. but, if we do not have rice, what would halso happen to us? what a predicament we are in..

yes, i agree. here, there are also a lot of varieties sold, and for different prices too. Oh, your from spain. hola! i really became a fan of the Spanish culture because of a language elective i took when i was in college. say, how do you cook your paellas there? i would like to know since the Philippines was once colonized by Spain so some traditions still do exist. and one of them is the paella. And yeah, they are cheaper than other products. But, prices are getting higher every now and then, so there really is no cheap things for sale anymore, just as what i read.

actually, i have never been there before. But my professor stayed there frequently and told us numerous stories there. Having four seasons, the way people live, talk, work, and many other things. I'm not good with Espanol because i was only able to study the basic ones and already forgotten most of them because of no practice. Yeah, listing them here would be endless, and illegal? im not sure if that's the term but in the rules of myLot, posting of recipes are not warranted and could be a cause for warning, i think. correct me if im wrong here. anyways, to answer your question, soy bien (i'm good?) hehe..i forgot which verb to use already. y tu? espero que esta bien tambien.

Hiya aylim, Hola que tal? yes I live in Spain. I´m English with double nationality Spanish and English. Many ways to make Paella for example the Paella from Valencia is made with shellfish, chicken, and red and green peppers, Paella from Barcelona is mainly seafish, lobster and shrimps and cods head and also the green and red peppers. Rice has so many variations as you know. Glad you enjoy Spain maybe you can get to come over again. Meantime there are plenty of Rice dishes Paella all over the Internet. As listing them here would be never ending don´t you agree? Bueno Chica que aproveches la cena. Enjoy your supper take care now.

i wouldn't want ti think that you meant anything negative with what you said that potatoes is the most common things to have along meals in the civilized countries. I would really appreciate it if you would clarify that. anyways, yes, it really depends on the majority of the people who wants to eat the food.

I prefer rice than potato as a Filipino I'm not satisfied if I don't eat rice. I can easily get full if I ate rice than any other source of carbohydrates like potato or bread. My meal is not complete if there's no rice. It is a bad news for us that we depend on import unlike before that we are the one exporting rice to other neighboring countries.

yes, i do agree. whenever i eat with my friends or family, rice should be present; otherwise, i wouldn't have that sense of satisfaction of getting full. like when i eat pasta as compared to the same volume of rice, i won't feel that i am full despite eating a large portion of the pasta; but still need to eat rice. and yeah, potatoes by itself is already good. so if you can just prepare it in another way so as to make it look more delicious-looking and mouth-watering, that would be really a great dish.

to get over the bad habit is not really easy, but we still need to do it. just do it beginning from ourselves and the ones around us. and then, i believe it will be better and better slowly.

yes i agree that we should find a substitute to rice. Though there are a lot out there that already exist, it is hard to really get over a habit that has been there from generations to generations.

thanks for the response. yes, i think that potatoes can be eaten by itself while rice cannot. But i think rice cooks faster if the potatoes are boiled or baked. Im not sure though, haven't tried boiling potatoes yet, only fried and baked them.

yup, its true that you have to save yourself. We do not have the luxury of choosing what we eat or what we can eat, especially during those hard times. thanks for your comment too. and btw, did you like it? back then when you were still younger, when your mom substituted potatoes with rice? that's nice, she must be a great cook to have thought of that alternative.

yes, very delicious!

Yes i definitely agree. Its better to bake potatoes than to fry them. Just that, sometimes, convenience matters more than what is supposed to be or what is healthier. Since frying it only takes at most 10 minutes, while baking it would normally take at least 30-40 minutes just to make it soft.

well, there are other ways to cook rice too. there is the one using the rice cooker. Another would be the conventional pot which you subject to heat either through charcoal or stove. You can also steam rice inside a bamboo to give it a bit of smokey flavor. And of course, a rarely used method call the pilaf where you cook the grains with the solids (e.g. spices) first before adding the liquid (e.g. stock). Lastly, porridge (or "lugaw" in the Philippines) is one of the most popular type of cooking. Although it is somewhat similar to the pilaf method, it is still another type of cooking since it (unless i'm mistaken) originated here in the Philippines. Not to mention all the different things you can partner with rice. Garlic either roasted or simply cooked goes perfectly with rice; thus, the garlic rice. There are also popular Filipino style rice product called the "bagoong rice." Other end products using rice would be the fried rices of the Chinese people that includes numerous vegetables including peas, corn and many more. They would also include shrimp, pork, beef, fish, and anything else you can think of. btw, correct me if i'm wrong here, but aren't croquets a type of cocktail (small finger food) made with bread? not sure though.

yeah, but putting too many soysauce in your foods can cause you gallstones and that's not good. So everything in moderation. Sorry for the unsolicited advice. btw, what do you mean with the cream sauce?what are its ingredients?

yeah, thanks for that insight. although i cannot really verify which among the two is healthier and has more benefits, but one thing i do know. We are not choosy people. We can eat whatever is there in front of us, whether it be a rice meal, a potato meal, or both. Now, that's what's great about food.

hi there. Yeah, and i gues it won't really be a problem for us FIlipinos anyway, because we can easily adapt to any situation that is presented to us. plus, there are other ways in which we can sustain our life. It is not limited to eating rice only. We were just used to eat that is why it is very very hard to change that. From time immemorial, rice has been our staple food and i think it will still be for many more years. Unless, God forbid, something really drastic happens to the rice supply here in the country and all over the world.

yes i know. fries and mashed potatoes are the most popular forms of potato dishes here in the Philippines (at least in my opinion). That's why if you would read at the top portion of this discussion, i was shocked when one member said they could do at least 15 dishes from it. well, maybe that's just how the way it is. we have our own specialties and different products that we are really good at. Like here, since rice is our staple food, there have been already a lot of rice dishes that can go alone by itself, even without a protein serving(or ulam in Filipino). Sinangag (or fried rice), bagoong rice, yang chaw fried rice (chinese style, at least one way to prepare it), and the ever popular lugaw (porridge, am i right?) and many other dishes. There are also different methods of preparing it. One would be from a rice cooker. Next would be the conventional pot subjected to heat. There are those which are cooked inside a bamboo stalk. And pilaf is another way of preparing it.

Nice answer. Yeah, in the end, it really boils down to having something to fill our stomachs and get the nutrients that our body needs.

isn't that punishing yourself? hmm..how long did it take before you get used to this kind of eating habit? because, cravings are not even the question when you're used to it. it's the mindset of the brain that every time you see a plate, there should be a white thing there, which is rice. So, you could share us how you did it.