Scorched rice, also known as crunchy rice, is a thin crust of slightly browned rice at the bottom of the cooking pot. It is produced during the cooking of rice over direct heat from a flame.
Varieties
Cape Verde
In Cape Verdean Creole, the burned, scorched, or otherwise crunchy rice at the bottom of the pot is referred to as kokorota. It is traditionally cooked outside, or in a semi-enclosed cooking space in a three-legged metal pot over burning firewood. In modern times, butane-powered stoves and store-bought pots are more commonly used in Cape Verde; however, the three-legged pots are still frequently used in the rural areas and when making food for parties, festivals or any occasion where large quantities of food are required.
China
Guōbā (), sometimes known as mi guoba (, ) is a Chinese food ingredient consisting of scorched rice. Traditionally guōbā forms during the boiling of rice over direct heat from a flame. This results in the formation of a crust of scorched rice on the bottom of the wok or cooking vessel. This scorched rice has a firm and crunchy texture with a slight toasted flavour, and is sometimes eaten as a snack.
Guōbā is also used as an ingredient in many Chinese dishes with thick sauces, since the bland taste of the scorched rice takes on the flavour of the sauces. Guōbā is also served in soups and stews and prominently featured in Sichuan cuisine. Since demand for guōbā outstrips traditional production and modern ways of cooking rice (in electric rice cookers) do not produce it, guōbā has been commercially manufactured since the 1980’s.
In Cantonese-speaking areas of China, scorched rice is known as faan6 ziu1 (, ).
Ghana
Scorched rice is referred to as kanzo or ɛmo ase (bottom of rice) in Twi. It is made by mistake or by chance since it happens when the rice burns while cooking. Some people choose to discard it. However, kanzo has been rebranded as a staple and is now being either sold or made.
Indonesia
In Indonesia, especially Central Java, scorched rice is called intip. It is a specialty of the Wonogiri Regency area and served as a cracker. The rice cracker is made from the hardened semi-burnt rice that sticks to the inner bottom of rice-cooking vessels. These cooking vessels are filled with water to loosen up the stuck rice. After it is separated from the cooking vessel, the stuck rice is sun-dried until it loses all of its liquid contents. The dried sticky rice is later deep-fried to create a crispy rice cracker.
In Indonesia there is a similar rice cracker called rengginang. Unlike intip, however, it is not made from scorched rice salvaged from the bottom of a rice cooking vessel, but created separately from steamed sticky rice, boiled, seasoned, made into a flat and rounded shape, and sun-dried prior to deep-frying.
Iran
In Iran, scorched rice or tahdig is a necessary part of every kind of rice cooking and is prepared in 8 different ways. by placing thin potato at the bottom of the pot after the oil is boiling. by placing thin bread at the bottom of the pot. by mixing rice and yogurt and saffron and putting on the oil of the pot before adding all the rice. by placing thin layer of lamb fat at the bottom of the pot.
Rice, bread or potato crust or some vegetables from the bottom of the pot is called tahdig in Iran. Tahdig (, tah "bottom" + dīg "pot") is a specialty of Iranian cuisine consisting of crisp, caramelized rice taken from the bottom of the pot in which the rice (chelow) is cooked. It is traditionally served to guests at a meal. Ingredients commonly added to tahdig include yogurt and saffron, bread, potato, tomato, and fruits such as sour cherry.
Variations of tahdig include placing thin bread or vegetable slices at the bottom of the pot, so they crisp up instead of the rice; these vegetables include potato, carrots, and lettuce. Iranians almost always apply this cooking method to spaghetti as well, providing a hardened base.
Iraq
Iraqi rice cooking is a multi-step process intended to produce tender, fluffy grains of rice. A prominent aspect of Iraqi rice cooking is the hikakeh, a crisp bottom crust. The hikakeh contains some loose rice as well. Before serving, the hikakeh is broken into pieces so that everyone is provided with some along with the fluffy rice.
Japan
is Japanese food, usually rice, that has been scorched or blackened.