What is Pearl Rice?
Pearl rice is a short and long grain variety of white rice. Pearl rice is hard until cooked. When cooked, it is sticky, glutinous and starchy, making it an excellent sushi rice. It has a mildly sweet flavor and is often used as a filler, as well as main ingredient. The glutinous quality (which does not contain any gluten) makes it a good binding agent and its starch can be used as a useful additive. Pearl rice is used in the making of mochi, a stretchy Japanese sweet and works well in rice puddings. It is commonly used in East Asian cuisines.