Puffed rice and popped rice (or pop rice) are types of puffed grain made from rice commonly eaten in the traditional cuisines of Southeast Asia, East Asia, and South Asia. It has also been produced commercially in the West since 1904 and is popular in breakfast cereals and other snack foods. Traditional methods to puff or pop rice include frying in oil or salt. Commercial puffed rice is usually made by heating rice kernels under high pressure in the presence of steam, though the method of manufacture varies widely. They are either eaten as loose grains or made into puffed rice cakes. Commercial popped rice was developed by American inventor Alexander P. Anderson while he was ascertaining the water content of starch granules.
Description While the terms "puffed rice" and "popped rice" are used interchangeably, they are properly different processes. Puffed rice refers to pre-gelatinized rice grains (either by being parboiled, boiled, or soaked) that are puffed by the rapid expansion of steam upon cooking. Puffed rice retains the shape of the rice grain, but is much larger. Popped rice, on the other hand, refers to rice grains where the hull or the bran is intact. When cooked, the kernel explodes through the hard outer covering due to heating. Popped rice has an irregular shape similar to popcorn. There are various methods, both modern and traditional, for making puffed and popped rice.
Traditional versions by region
East Asia Puffed rice or other grains are occasionally found as street food in China (called "mixiang" 米香), Taiwan (called "bí-phang" 米芳), Korea (called "ppeong twigi" 뻥튀기), and Japan (called "pon gashi" ポン菓子), where hawkers implement the puffing process using an integrated pushcart/puffer featuring a rotating steel pressure chamber heated over an open flame. The great booming sound produced by the release of pressure serves as advertising.
China
The earliest mention of puffed rice in China is in Zhejiang Province, from a book by Fan Chengda written in the Song dynasty (c. 1100). It was part of the rituals of the Spring Festival and was made in large cooking pots known as fǔ (釜) which was heated with woodfire. Puffed rice, known as bào chǎo mǐ huā lou (爆炒米花), is still a traditional street food in Shanghai where it is made by frying rice in oil and sugar.
Japan
Traditional puffed rice cakes in Japanese cuisine are known as kaminari-okoshi (雷粔籹) 'thunder cakes' or simply okoshi (おこし). In Edo Japan, the name okoshi was related to good luck, as the similar word okosu means to establish or set up. It is made by deep-frying sun-dried rice grains until they pop. It is then mixed with syrup (and other ingredients like peanuts or sesame seeds), pressed into trays, and dried. They are cut up into squarish or rectangular blocks before being sold. Traditional okoshi boxes feature images of Raijin, the Japanese god of thunder and lightning. Its earliest attestation was during the middle of the Edo period, when it was sold as a snack outside the Sensō-ji of Asakusa, Tokyo. Modern okoshi can use a variety of other ingredients and flavors and are usually factory-made. Another type of Japanese puffed rice snack is ninjin (にんじん), which are loose puffed rice grains. Its name literally means "carrot" because it is sold in a carrot-shaped cone. Puffed rice is also used in genmaicha (玄米茶), "brown rice tea", a traditional Japanese tea beverage consisting of green tea mixed with roasted puffed brown rice.
Korea
In Korea, puffed rice is known as twibap (튀밥) and is used to make yeot-gangjeong or to coat gangjeong. Korea also has a tea beverage made with puffed rice called hyeonmi-nokcha (현미녹차, literally "brown rice green tea"), which is made with green tea and roasted puffed brown rice.
Taiwan In Taiwan, puffed rice is known as Bí-phang or pōng-bí-phang (磅米芳, the word "pōng" is the sound of the explosion when the pressure furnace is opened) in Taiwanese and Mi-hsiang (米香) in Mandarin. This snack gained popularity during the postwar period, especially in the 1950s and 1960s, when mobile puffed rice vendors were common sights in Taiwanese neighbourhoods. These vendors would travel with portable puffing machines and prepare the snack on the spot, attracting children with the dramatic sound and the distinctive aroma of toasted rice. In recent years, Taiwan’s traditional puffed rice, which once found only in classic peanut-flavoured versions, has undergone a modern revival across the country. In Keelung, a once-struggling puffed rice shop has reinvented its product line by introducing over twenty new sweet and savoury flavours. These include coffee, cranberry, seafood, and sakura shrimp varieties, wrapped in innovative packaging that earned its place among Keelung’s top ten souvenir gifts—especially popular with wedding banquets.
Southeast Asia
Philippines
In Filipino cuisine, traditional puffed rice is known as ampaw or ampao (a term which also became applied to popcorn). It is made with cooked white rice (usually leftovers). It is dried in the sun for around four hours. They are then fried in hot oil to make them puff up. The oil is drained thoroughly after frying. The sugar glazing is cooked separately using muscovado sugar or molasses (or corn syrup), salt, butter, and vinegar or calamansi juice. The glazing is poured onto the puffed rice and mixed until the grains are evenly coated. It is then allowed to cool and shaped into the desired form before it fully hardens. They are usually cut into square or rectangular blocks or molded into balls.
Thailand In Thai cuisine, a traditional popped rice snack is krayasaat (กระยาสารท). It is associated with the Buddhist Saat festival, which is celebrated in autumn. It can be made with regular rice or glutinous rice. It is roasted directly in a dry pan like popcorn until it pops. It is mixed with caramelized palm sugar, coconut milk, peanuts, sesame seeds, and khao mao (pounded green rice).
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