7 The Road to Rice

THE ROAD TO RICE by Shalini Vallepur

HOP IN THE RICE BOWL Welcome to my food truck, the Rice Bowl! My name is Mina, and I make the best rice dishes around. What would you like to eat? MENU Sushi White rice bowl Brown rice bowl Oh, no! I've run out of rice! I need some more. Hop in the Rice Bowl, and let's get on the road to rice! THE RICE BOWL

THE ROAD TO RICE Rice grows all over the world except in Antarctica. Rice is a grain that comes from a type of grass. THE RICE BOWL Rice grass There are over 40,000 types of rice! TYPES OF RICE Basmati Wild Jasmine Long brown Risotto Sushi Rice grains come in three different lengths: long, medium, and short. I use short-grain rice. It gets sticky when cooked, which makes it perfect for sushi!

PERFECT WEATHER Rice grows best in warm places that get a lot of rain and sun. Rice grows on a type of field called a paddy. Rice paddy, Thailand Paddies are fields that have been flooded with water. THE RICE BOWL First, a rice paddy is plowed. Then, the paddy is flooded. Seedlings grow in beds before being planted in the rice paddy. Plowing can be done with a machine or with the help of animals.

THE PADDY These workers are planting seedings in a flooded paddy. THE RICE BOWL We made it to the rice paddy! Rice seedlings are planted when they are 30 days old. It takes about three to six months for the plants to grow. The rice paddy stays flooded with water while rice grows.

HARVEST The paddy is drained before the harvest begins. Then, workers cut the rice stalks using tools called sickles. Harvesting rice by hand is very hard work. SICKLE Combine harvester Sometimes machines are used to harvest rice quickly. They make harvesting rice easier.