A different type of rice

Cooked rice is an important part of the stuffing for the famous Eight Treasures Duck, for example, or it could sit alone as a delicate package of savory glutinous rice.

Glutinous rice wrapped in lotus leaves is a dim-sum offering in yum cha restaurants all over the world, and it could be as large as a pillow-sized family serving or as dainty as a bite-sized portion for one.

The sticky rice is made from grains that are extra starchy and which tend to glue together after cooking. It is best known as the main ingredient of the dumplings served during the midsummer Dragon Boat Festival.

A well-made glutinous rice pudding is savory and sticky, with a topping of dried shiitake mushrooms, sliced Chinese sausages and pieces of boneless chicken or pork.

Rice can also be ground into flour and made into sweet or savory cakes.

There is a very famous Chinese dish simply named fenzhengrou, or meat in rice flour.

Raw rice is toasted in a wok till light golden brown, then crushed and mixed with salt, sugar and five-spice powder. Fatty pork slices are then rolled in the crushed rice, and steamed for an hour till the meat is cooked, and the rice coating soft and fluffy.

Even as a staple, rice is extremely versatile.

Fried rice may be as simple as adding a single beaten egg, or as luxurious as a seafood-studded jeweled platter.

Rice can be served simply boiled, or cooked down in water or stock and served as plain or flavored congee.

In its simplest form, a bowl of congee is nothing more than soft grains of barely bloomed rice in starchy rice broth. But flavored congee can be an elaborate meal by itself.

First, rice grains are soaked and washed in a little oil. Then they are cooked in top stock till the texture is velvety smooth. Choice cuts of meat, meatballs, liver, kidney, and intestines are then blanched in the hot porridge. Often, a raw egg is dropped into the piping hot mix.

A bowl of pork porridge is a satisfying one-dish meal.

There are also variations using raw slices of fish and tender marinated beef.

Even as solid rice, there are inventive ways to vary the cooking. The Cantonese are the experts in making claypot rice, a smoky pot of deliciousness.

Raw rice is cooked over an open flame till it dries out, then savory toppings of marinated chicken, chestnuts and mushrooms are added. Whole Chinese sausages are added for flavor and finally, a few strands of vegetables in the pot at the last moment add balance.

Other variations are limited only by the chef's imagination and favorites include marinated beef with an onsen egg, seafood mix, pork ribs in fermented black beans sauce and even fish paste stuffed tofu.

There are also regional dishes such as potatoes in rice and sweet potatoes in porridge. All in all, you could have rice 365 days a year, and never have it the same way twice.