Chef Arnold Myint Lives, Laughs, Loves Thai Rice at ICE NYC Cooking Demo
Last week, Chef Arnold Myint hosted a cooking demonstration centered on a single ingredient: rice
Specifically, the ICE Culinary Arts program alum and former Chef-Instructor faculty at ICE culinary's LA campus, shared culinary insights to four grains that are prolific in Thai cooking: brown rice, glutinous rice, jasmine rice, and riceberry.
Among his many hot takes: “Day old rice is always the best.” (Because, he explained, old rice that’s dried out a day or two stays firm. It doesn’t get mushy.)
The demonstration, which was presented by the Department of International Trade Promotions and The Royal Thai Ministry of Commerce — Thailand’s Minister of Commerce and Consul General to New York both attended — was both a love letter to Thai food and a promo opp for Chef Arnold’s first cookbook, The Family Thai (which is fantastic and available for pre-order now.)
Who is Chef Arnold Myint?
Centering the conversation on a single ingredient allowed Myint to share insights specific to his lived experience.
That lived experience includes graduating from ICE Culinary Arts program (and later teaching at ICE’s LA campus); receiving a 2024 James Beard Award nomination for Best Chef Southeast; competing on cooking shows like Top Chef + Food Network Star, as well as contributing to food publications including Epicurious, Eater, and Saveur; and cooking and co-owning Nashville’s International Market, a beloved restaurant that his family opened and ran for nearly 45 years before he and his sister reopened it in 2021.
Myint is also the man behind drag icon, Susie Wong, a dazzling persona crowned Miss Gay America 2017 who combines “glamorous performance with culinary creativity,” thus embodying Myint’s belief that “life and food should be lived with boldness, beauty, and heart.”
That heart was on full display throughout Myint’s culinary demonstration, wherein he cooked three dishes to highlight each of the four rice varieties' versatility, flavor profile and health benefits.
Thai Rice 101: 4 Prolific Rice Varieties
To start, Myint pointed out that there are more than 100,000 rice varieties; that 90 percent of that 100,000 are from Asia; and that much of that 90 percent is from Thailand.
Given the volume of rice varieties available to highlight, Myint settled on four, and offered insights and cooking tips for each.
Hom Mali: Jasmine rice (mali means jasmine in Thai)
- Nutty flavor with popcorn essence when steamed
- Long grain, like Indian Basmati
Brown rice
- Similar to jasmine rice, but with a nuttier flavor and chewier texture
- Considered more nutritious than white rice thanks to its bran and germ layers, which contain fiber, vitamins, and minerals
Riceberry
- Subtly sweet flavor with a chewy texture
- Use like farro, quinoa, and cous cous
- Good for diabetics owing to its relatively low glycemic index and high fiber content
Glutinous rice
- Labeled “sweet rice” or “glutinous rice” on supermarket shelves, this “sticky rice” is neither sweet nor glutinous. (It’s also not sushi rice.)
- Soak this short, fat grain overnight in warm water then steam in a basket.
- Consume it like a biscuit (i.e. eat it with your hands).
Rice Is Life
Noting rice’s importance to Thai people, Consul General Somjai Taphaopong said, “rice is life,” adding, “I have to eat it every day.”
She was in for a treat, as Myint went on to make Chicken Laab, Sticky Rice with Stone Fruits and a Thai Mediterranean mashup starring riceberry as the base.
Let's Talk Laab
Myint had much to say about Laab, one of four salad types in the Thai salad canon. Laab is made with minced meat — the other three Thai salads are yam (mixed), tam (pounded), and pla (lightly cooked protein) — and is distinguished by its copious herbs (primarily mint) and toasted rice powder.
Myint makes his Laab with “half stuff,” by which he means at least 50 percent grains, legumes and plants. For his demonstration, he made Chicken Laab comprised of the below ingredients, offering tips and swaps for each as he went:
- Shallots, thinly sliced – No shallots? No problem. Use red onion instead.
- Mint – Leave this out (toasted rice powder, too, as it gets mealy when wet) until ready to serve
- Scallions – Rinse thoroughly before slicing.
- Fresh lime juice – Always fresh. Never from the bottle.
- Dried chili flakes – These lend smoke and nuttiness that blend well with toasted rice.
- Fish sauce – The “gateway to Thai cooking,” says Myint.
- Sugar – To balance the laab’s spicy, salty, sour flavors. Thai cooking has four signature tastes created by four key ingredients:
- sour – lime
- spicy – chili
- sweet – sugar
- salty – fish sauce
- Toasted rice powder – Acts as a binding agent. (Rice expands when it mixes in, making your laab less loose. Your laab dressing also adheres to the rice powder, locking in flavor.)
- Minced pork – Swap for ground turkey, chicken, or beef if pork isn’t your thing.
The result was a beautifully balanced, intensely flavored laab made with heart, heritage and humor.
Never , Never, Ever Do This When Making Thai Food
In short, these four things are dead giveaways that your Thai food isn’t adhering to classic form:
- Peanuts in everything
- Limes in soups
- Coconut in peanut sauce
- Sesame seed garnishes
Regarding the latter, Myint says Thai dessert garnishes should be lightly boiled then toasted mung beans.
‘When people make sticky mango rice, I watch to see if they’re truly committed to the gospel of Thai desserts. If the last garnish is a sesame seed, I just can’t like it.”
