Pantry Staples: 4 Types of Rice I Always Keep in Stock

You don’t need to be a professional cook to make great meals. The first step is stocking your kitchen pantry with good essentials. When you have the right foundations, throwing together a quick meal on a Tuesday night is just that much easier.

I keep it realistic with my pantry staples – I’ve got grains, dried goods, pastas, even tinned vegetables and tuna. I’m going to de-influence you here – I don’t buy everything organic or only stick to premium brands, because I try to keep it budget-friendly (like every average person). But, I do have some preferences like looking for pantry staples with less salt, additives and preservatives (where I can).

Now, let’s talk RICE. It’s one of my ultimate pantry staples!

Currently, I love having four types of rice – each one has their unique taste and texture, does something different for your body and gives its own vibe to a dish.

Here’s a breakdown of my rice staples and yes, one of them isn’t technically rice, but we’ll get to that…

1. White Rice

I don’t care what the health experts say – this one is non-negotiable for me. I grew up in an Asian household eating white rice and it’s a part of my life! In the video, I’m showing Long Grain rice, but I also love Jasmine rice. I know white rice gets a bad rap sometimes, but it’s a pantry hero for a reason. It’s comforting, it cooks fast, and it goes with literally everything. Plus, the smell of freshly cooked Jasmine rice coming out of the rice cooker just takes me back to my childhood.

Why it’s in my pantry:

• Texture: It’s light and fluffy. Sometimes you just don’t want the chewiness of a whole grain.
• Comfort: Let’s be real, sometimes you just need that soft, familiar carb hit.
• Speed: It cooks way faster than brown rice.
• Taste: Mild, Jasmine rice is a little sweet and aromatic, but doesn’t overpower flavours of your dishes like stir-fries.

Best used for:

• Soaking up all the sauce in rich curries.
• Pairing with stir-fries and clear Asian soups.
• Fried rice (using day-old white rice).
• Asian-style congees.

TIP: Psst! If you’re cooking fried rice but don’t have day-old white rice, just throw your freshly-cooked white rice into the freezer for 1-2 hours and it’ll do the trick. It just needs to be less sticky.

2. Purple Riceberry

I used to use Black Rice in a lot of mixed-grain salad bowls, but then I discovered Purple Riceberry (aka Purple Rice), which is a little softer and still nutritious. Purple Riceberry is great for making those weekday meals look immediately more impressive with zero effort.

Why it’s in my pantry:

• Texture: It’s soft and slightly chewy – a great in between white rice and brown/black rice.
• Speed: It cooks pretty fast around the same time as white rice in the rice cooker.
• Health: This Thai wholegrain rice is a hybrid between Jasmine Rice and a local purple rice variety. The great thing is it’s packed with antioxidants.
• Flavour: It has this distinct, nutty taste, but is also less ‘earthy’ than brown rice.

Best used for:

• Mixing a handful into white rice to create a pretty purple hue.
• Adding to salad bowls for a superfood-packed meal.
• Asian-style desserts like Purple Sticky Rice Pudding.

3. Brown Rice

Brown rice is a no-brainer in my pantry as a healthy, wholegrain option. While white rice is soft, brown rice feels substantial. It really depends on the meal you’re making, but I really enjoy brown rice with meals like Japanese curries on top of the salad bowls.

Why it’s in my pantry:

• Texture: Some people don’t love the extra chewiness to brown rice, but I really don’t mind it!
• Energy: Because it’s a whole grain, it keeps you fuller for way longer than white rice.
• Structure: It doesn’t get mushy easily, so it’s great for salad bowls because it stands up to dressing without dissolving.

Best used for:

• As a base for salad bowls and poke bowls.
• Healthy fried rice variations where you want more “bite.”
• Mixing with white rice for a healthier rice blend.
• Asian-style congees – but it takes a little longer to cook.

4. Quinoa

Okay, don’t come for me… 🫣 I know this is technically a seed and not a rice, but I treat quinoa exactly like a grain in my kitchen. I’ve currently got White Quinoa in my jar, but the Tri-Coloured version is also beautiful.

Why it’s in my pantry:

• Texture: It’s light and fluffy, and doesn’t feel as heavy as rice.
• Protein: It’s a great plant-based protein if you’d like to have a vegetarian or vegan meal.
• Speed: It cooks super fast – usually in about 15 minutes.
• Taste: It has a slight nutty and earthy flavour, but also doesn’t overpower your entire meal either.

Best used for:

• Bulking up leafy salads so you can stay full for longer.
• A base for “grain bowls” when you want a lighter option.
• Giving rice blends less of a starchy, carb-load with a lighter, fluffier feel.
• Breakfast porridge – if you don’t want to completely replace oats with quinoa, just mix them up!

How to store rice

I store my uncooked rice and grains in an airtight container inside my pantry cupboard. Make sure it’s in a cool, dry, dark place so there’s no moisture or little insects around. I usually use airtight glass jars and containers, but if you have an airtight plastic version, that’s ok too – at the end of the day, you can use whatever you’ve got on hand.

Where to buy different types of rice

I’m in Australia, so I go to my usual supermarket like Coles. To keep things budget friendly, it also doesn’t bother me what brand it is – so I still buy the Coles brand white rice. But if something is on special, why not! Of course, if you prefer to buy organic and locally sourced, that’s always a good way to go.

If you’re also curious about other types of rice or wanting to compare prices, be sure to explore your local Asian/Indian grocery stores! I’m very fortunate to live close to great Asian grocery shops in Sydney’s Inner West that have a massive variety of rice options at really good prices.

Prepping weekly rice blends

While I love all of these types of rice individually, my absolute favourite way to eat them is to mix it up!

Check out my next post, where I share my Weekly Healthy Rice Blend recipe. It combines the best traits of grains to create a base that tastes great with everything from curries to salads.

Do you have a favourite rice variety that I missed?

P.S. I also just bought a big bag of red rice, another great whole grain rice. Give that a try too!