One of the challenges I have encountered in my work
with texture modified diets is simple cooked rice, the staple cereal food for
millions of people. Unless eaten as a thick rice pudding it tends to separate
in the mouth and requires multiple chews to enable safe swallowing. My
successful efforts so far have been with a Congee rice, a traditional easy to
eat and swallow meal from Chinese cuisine and a fish kedgeree (smoked fish, rice
and egg in a white sauce) that originated in India.
Imagine my surprise when I had a visit from a
friend from Thailand who described rice eaten by small children from the age of
1 year called sticky or glutinous rice.
My understanding is that toddlers of one year tend
to eat meals that can be cut into pieces <0.5cm and served in a thick sauce
i.e. minced and moist texture.
Cooked sticky rice is soft and moist, easily
forming a ball, lumps can be broken up in the mouth with the tongue, as opposed
to needing the teeth and the lumps in the food are soft within a cohesive
consistency product.
Sticky rice is available in Australia as part of the SUNRICE® range and the cooking instructions on the packet are easy to follow. I will not pretend that the product is as good as the traditional steamer version with bamboo that imparts a particular flavour, but it is good enough.
Sticky rice is available in Australia as part of the SUNRICE® range and the cooking instructions on the packet are easy to follow. I will not pretend that the product is as good as the traditional steamer version with bamboo that imparts a particular flavour, but it is good enough.
The traditional Thai way is to serve it for the
child to eat with their fingers and wrap small pieces of meat around a portion
to pick up. Obviously for a minced and moist standard the meat/fish would need
to be very soft and cut very thinly.
As a finger food I believe it would be a useful
addition to a nursing home menu particularly for an Asian population who love
their rice. Finger bowls would be used under supervision for any finger food
version.
The chemistry of the rice is such that it digests
easily, being an amylose chain that starts digestion in the mouth and is
completed in the small intestine. It has a high glycaemic index if served alone
but as part of a meal of meat and vegetables this would be lowered.
Finger Food Sticky Rice with Shaved Ham or Smoked Salmon |
No comments:
Post a Comment