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Sticky rice, grown in the mountainous regions of nothern and northeastern Thailand, come in both long-grain and short-grain varieties. BOth are prevalent throughout southeast Asia, but it is is NOT regular rice that's steamed; it's a different kind of rice altogether! It's also called glutinous rice and sweet rice. I must be steamed for many hnours in a large steamer; you cannot boil it. It's often served sweetened with cane sugar and fruit (most often mango).
Jasmin Rice is grown in the lower regions throughout Thailand, and is slightly sticky as compared with most other rices (including Basmati), but not nearly so sticky as is the glutinous rice. Jasmine rice is boiled, but you must be careful to cook all of the liquid out of the rice before serving it! It naturally has a slightly sweet, floral scent and taste that is reminiscent of faint jasmine blossoms. Best sserved with Thai surries and dishes, and Vietnamese dishes.
Basmaati rice, Indian, grows only at the foot of the Himalaya mountains, where the Rivers Yamuna and Ganga feed the rice fields. Fragrant and with a slightly nutty flavor, over the centuries, it has traveled a lot, and is a staple of the cuisines of India, Pakistan, the Arabic countries. It is a non-glutinous long-grain rice which must be boiled, and you ought to add a little ghee to the water to enhance/maximize the nuttiness of flavor. Very often, chopped dried fruits, nuts, vegetables, meats, spices, and/or beans are added to Basmati rice to make a main dish.
Black Rice comes from Indonesia and the Phillipines. It is a glutinous, black-colored, very nutty-flavored rice that requires overnight soaking and many hours of cooking (first boiling, then streaming). But ... it IS WORTH the trouble!! Black rice is usually used in puddings... and sometimes cakes.
Louisiana Wild Pecan Rice grows only in the bayous of southern Louisiana. Also, it is technically, not really, truly a rice, but a grain that is avery close relative to rice (as close as a "kissing cousin"). It has a very nutty flavor, and also tasts similar to Basmati rice, but besides that taste, it tastes of pecan flavor as well. (Imagine pecan-flavored Basmati!) Easy and quick to cook, your boil it first, then steam it for a few minutes right before serving. GOes best with a variety of Indian and Middle Eastern dishes.
Arborio is the medium-grained white-ish rice that is used to make Risotto. You must cook it... and cook it... and cook it... and cook it... and cook it... Also, you must stir it... and stir it... and stir it... and stir it... stir it... and stir it... and stir it... and stir it... and stir it... and stir it... and stir it... and cook and stir it some more... and more... and more... and more... and more... and more... and cook and stir... and cook and stir... and cook and stir...
And, did I tell you yet how much you must COOK the damn stuff, STIRRING it constantly all the while?!!
All your hard work pays off, however, when you acheive that sweet creaminess that porperly made Risotto is so famed for. 
There are two other, lesser used, rices that bear mention:
China Black Rice, a non-glutinous 'black' rice with a wonderful nutty taste, a very soft texture, and it has a beautiful rich
deep purple-black color. It is best used as a pilaf, with curries, with sweet-and-sour dishes, and/or with simple stir-frys.
Wild Rice, which is not really a rice at all, but another close-relation grain. WIld rice was the staple food of the Native American Sioux and Chippewa peoples. IT has a very smoky, nutty, heavenlyflavor, and it's very chewy (far more than any of the other rices mentioned). It is also the ONLY grain native to North America. It's cultivated in many places, these days, but the native/original natural river-siode bogs where it first grew still yield the best (by far) wild rice. Best used in pilafs, side dishes, soups & stews, casseroles, and stuffings.
Jasmin Rice is grown in the lower regions throughout Thailand, and is slightly sticky as compared with most other rices (including Basmati), but not nearly so sticky as is the glutinous rice. Jasmine rice is boiled, but you must be careful to cook all of the liquid out of the rice before serving it! It naturally has a slightly sweet, floral scent and taste that is reminiscent of faint jasmine blossoms. Best sserved with Thai surries and dishes, and Vietnamese dishes.
Basmaati rice, Indian, grows only at the foot of the Himalaya mountains, where the Rivers Yamuna and Ganga feed the rice fields. Fragrant and with a slightly nutty flavor, over the centuries, it has traveled a lot, and is a staple of the cuisines of India, Pakistan, the Arabic countries. It is a non-glutinous long-grain rice which must be boiled, and you ought to add a little ghee to the water to enhance/maximize the nuttiness of flavor. Very often, chopped dried fruits, nuts, vegetables, meats, spices, and/or beans are added to Basmati rice to make a main dish.
Black Rice comes from Indonesia and the Phillipines. It is a glutinous, black-colored, very nutty-flavored rice that requires overnight soaking and many hours of cooking (first boiling, then streaming). But ... it IS WORTH the trouble!! Black rice is usually used in puddings... and sometimes cakes.
Louisiana Wild Pecan Rice grows only in the bayous of southern Louisiana. Also, it is technically, not really, truly a rice, but a grain that is avery close relative to rice (as close as a "kissing cousin"). It has a very nutty flavor, and also tasts similar to Basmati rice, but besides that taste, it tastes of pecan flavor as well. (Imagine pecan-flavored Basmati!) Easy and quick to cook, your boil it first, then steam it for a few minutes right before serving. GOes best with a variety of Indian and Middle Eastern dishes.
Arborio is the medium-grained white-ish rice that is used to make Risotto. You must cook it... and cook it... and cook it... and cook it... and cook it... Also, you must stir it... and stir it... and stir it... and stir it... stir it... and stir it... and stir it... and stir it... and stir it... and stir it... and stir it... and cook and stir it some more... and more... and more... and more... and more... and more... and cook and stir... and cook and stir... and cook and stir...
And, did I tell you yet how much you must COOK the damn stuff, STIRRING it constantly all the while?!!
All your hard work pays off, however, when you acheive that sweet creaminess that porperly made Risotto is so famed for. There are two other, lesser used, rices that bear mention:
China Black Rice, a non-glutinous 'black' rice with a wonderful nutty taste, a very soft texture, and it has a beautiful rich
deep purple-black color. It is best used as a pilaf, with curries, with sweet-and-sour dishes, and/or with simple stir-frys.
Wild Rice, which is not really a rice at all, but another close-relation grain. WIld rice was the staple food of the Native American Sioux and Chippewa peoples. IT has a very smoky, nutty, heavenlyflavor, and it's very chewy (far more than any of the other rices mentioned). It is also the ONLY grain native to North America. It's cultivated in many places, these days, but the native/original natural river-siode bogs where it first grew still yield the best (by far) wild rice. Best used in pilafs, side dishes, soups & stews, casseroles, and stuffings.
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