Q. Is there any way to reduce the starch in rice?

The question in full:

Q. Our family likes rice and we eat a lot of it. However, rice has a high content of starch. Is there a way to reduce the starch? Are there types of rice that have less starchy content?

A. Like all grains, rice is high in starchy carbohydrate with around 30 per cent starch when cooked. One cup of cooked rice contains some 45 grams of carbohydrate. However in its favour, it is very low in fat and offers B vitamins, with brown rice giving a much better nutrition profile than white milled rice.

I don't think you can significantly reduce the amount of starch from rice. Some cookbooks suggest rinsing your rice once it's cooked - using hot running water to ‘wash off' any residual starch that may be clinging to the grains - but this doesn't remove all that much.

Most varieties of rice have a similar starch content - you can ‘dilute' it down by mixing your rice with non-starchy vegetables such as mushrooms, zucchini, asparagus so you end up with less rice and more vegetables.