How Rice is Grown in Thailand: From Paddy to Table

What an INCREDIBLE experience! I got a chance to go to Thailand to film a mini documentary about the journey that Thai jasmine rice takes before it ends up on your store shelves. It was an eye-opening trip, and I am so excited to share it with you!
I have cooked and eaten thousands of bowls of rice in my life, which is truly a lifeblood of Thai people, yet I had so little idea about how it ends up in front of me. I hope you will enjoy and learn a lot from this fascinating trip with me as I did! P.S. My brother Art was the cameraman for this video :)
Big thanks to the Thai Trade Center Vancouver for sponsoring this trip!
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About Pai:
Pailin “Pai” Chongchitnant is the author of the Hot Thai Kitchen cookbook, co-host of a Canadian TV series One World Kitchen on Gusto TV, and creator and host of the KZbin channel Pailin's Kitchen.
Pai was born and raised in southern Thailand where she spent much of her "playtime" in the kitchen. She traveled to Canada to study Nutritional Sciences at the University of British Columbia, and was later trained as a chef at Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in San Francisco.
After working in both Western and Thai professional kitchens, she decided that her passion really lies in educating and empowering others to cook at home via KZbin videos, her cookbook, and cooking classes. She currently lives in Vancouver, and goes to Thailand every year to visit her family. Visit her at hot-thai-kitchen.com
#ThaiFood #ThaiRecipes #AsianRecipes

[@PailinsKitchen]

HELLO LOVELY VIEWERS! Important Note: If you have questions about this video, you can post it here for the community to answer. But if you want to ask me, please get in touch via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or my website (all links are in the description above). If you leave questions in the comments I may not see them due to the large volume of comments I receive across the hundreds of videos on this channel. Thank you for watching!

[@stadi4594]

👍

[@dohn121]

And to be fair, just as much hard work and attention to detail was put forth by you Pai when creating this mini documentary. I'm sure that it was quite an undertaking. Thank you for sharing this with all of us and thank you for your efforts! I had fun on your field trip!

[@PailinsKitchen]

Thank you!

[@lonelyplanet79]

I live in The Netherlands and I work in the rice industry. We import rice from India, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Indonesia, Paraguay, Suriname etc., and this rice process is extremely accurate! I experienced it in Indonesia, Thailand and in The Philippines. Thanks for this, Pailin!

[@mahmoudabdulmaksoud7075]

لعن الله بلادكم التى تجرم الصناعه

[@saywhat7150]

I am amazed at this process. It also tells me Thailand rice is the best quality rice available. Impressive 🍚

[@violetviolet888]

Most mass scale rice processing plants work the same way. One is not necessarily better than the other. There are many different types of rice.

[@elsazamparelli1947]

I follow your cooking videos religiously, and busy cooking the recipes. These back ground documentaries are wonderful, and does make you appreciate each bite of rice or noodle. I was in the film industry for 40 plus years , so I know how hard you work to create all these videos. You are appreciated!

[@skrrrtskrrrrttt]

My mind got blown away! I never thought Rice Production is such a big deal! Thank you for educating us💕

[@cesarbattistini]

That Is incredible I will never complain about the price again.

[@ailawil89]

Wow. This was eye opening.

[@yanglu9555]

Pai, thank you for doing this vlog, it meant a lot to me since my family are rice plantation farmers and owners. I can vividly remember when I was young I used to help load bags after bags of rice on our big tractor trailers, tagged, and ready for export. However, the new generation and some people may not know the hardship that our ancestors have to overcome. As you found out by wearing boots in the rice patties are no match for the muddy waters. People who eat at a buffet and waste every grain of rice don't know the hardship that rice farmers have to overcome. Rice farmers depend largely on the weather (hot or cold, typhoons or drought), season, and if they are able to have enough of water source for the season before it's harvest. The obstacles and challenges that rice farmers have to face are paramount to those who can only put rice on their plate. One time there was a drought that hit all the farmers where we was not able to obtain water for growing rice for 3 months, where we was unable to grow any rice for our first harvest, but than it comes the rain. However, this rain was unusually warm and my grandparents decided to go ahead and plant the young rice anyways. So the young rice grew, we harvest it, dry it in the sun, than put the rice in the mill to process for its removal of yellow husks, and it's process, than bagged. After everything is done and loaded on the truck my grandfather came home from his regular job and to check on the rice before the truck ship it out. Well he was happy of the job we done, but than he ask "what is that smell and where is it coming from?" We all cannot find where it's coming from since we've been working in the plant and our nose done ran away from us with the smell of rice. My grandpa checked everywhere and the last thing that he look into was the husk hopper and needless to say we was not thrilled what he found and told us to do next. He found a flattened mouse in the hopper it is where we lost another 15,000+ lbs or rice that season. So I guess my family can relate to other rice farmers who knows and care a grain of rice is a grain close to reality.

[@AdamHotThaiKitchen]

Argh! :)

[@kuyaleinad4195]

Great Documentary! My Grandfather owns a of Rice farm in my country and I've only ever seen the drying and milling process since we get our rice straight from the farm :P For those who's wondering, the drying process is when unmilled rice is basically layed in the cement floor to be sundried. We then use brushes and shovels to collect them since there's a lot! Then the rice is sent to a mill where the hull is removed and the rice is polished :)

[@sunny-dn1tk]

We love to eat jasmine rice from Thailand. That is the only type of rice we eat at home. Thanks.

[@vinitasandeepkumar4353]

This is really a good learning experience for all of us! Thank you Pai!

[@stpatrickschoir]

Wow! I really enjoyed this and have a new-found appreciation and respect for rice "makers" and rice itself! This was amazing! Thank you!

[@jameshue55]

Yes, i salute these farmers..Here i also want to register my respect to those farmers who sacrifice their crop in order to save the 13 soccer boys recently in Chiang Rai.

[@jessicajrollo]

Rice is the lifeblood of many southeast Asian countries. I remember growing up in the Philippines and seeing rice farmers working in the fields on my way to and from school every day. The huge rice paddies were actually cut into the mountains- so beautiful! I'm sure times have changed over the years, but they hand planted and used water Buffalo back then.

[@JoeMartinez_LA_LostSoul]

Thank you so much! This is by far the most in dept look at the process, in a mini blog, that I've ever come across! The sheer enjoyment on your face, the joy, the deep pleasure, and the appreciative nature of your heritage in the care and history all rolled into one that you show is amazing, and kept me interested second after second. I've often sat and wondered, knowing all the work that goes on in bringing rice from patty to table, on the steps taken and how things are what they are. There is so much about the food we simply take advantage of, daily, that goes on just to bring it to our tables, that makes one appreciate it tons more.. and know it's a hands on process, not just machines doing it. Amazing job, and thank you once again!

[@TheSprinkleCupcake]

I loved watching this! It really makes you appreciate your food. If you ever get the opportunity you should definitely make another video like this about fish sauce!

[@makebistro]

Thanks Pai - this was super fascinating.

[@franciscopartida4167]

can't believe how cheap rice is after watching this. sounds like a ton of work for just one pound.

[@doughtymqan]

Francisco Partida wanna get a philosophical view of the amount of work life requires read the essay “I pencil “ by Leonard Reed. It’s an eye opener.

[@bbthao]

Cheap? Where do you get cheap rice because a 40lbs (or is it 50 lbs?) bag costs anywhere between $39.99-49.99.

[@henrydickerson9776]

Right around $1/lb. is pretty cheap.

[@ntsegmuag3144]

Grown in US rice, white long grain rice, is cheap. Thai HOM Mali jasmine rice is not cheap. There is no comparison and if you say all rice taste the same, then try giving American rice to any country whose main grain is rice. They would throw it away. No joke

[@MidnightLadyCrow]

@@ntsegmuag3144 American rice has plastic in it I heard. That could just be conspiracy but eh.

[@philtang1942]

Your documentary presentation skills are fantastic...so natural in front of the camera, well done. :)

[@katiestegman8083]

I am completely blown away at how much work goes into getting a bag of rice on the shelf. Thanks for your hard work on this and for reminding us not to take our food for granted!

[@Laurienart]

Thanks for making this documentary! I had no idea how much work went into rice, it was really cool to see all the steps! I vote that you keep making these mini-documentaries, they're beautifully made (great camera work omg, so pleasant to watch) and really informative!

[@gustavomattos7669]

Ohhh wow! This was just amazing to watch! I am definitely watching the whole series! Thanks so much for sharing it and making such a great video!

[@maryleialoha2843]

Thank you for taking us with you on this wonderful and educational journey! I have an even more heightened appreciation for rice. I too will never again lose a single grain of rice when I clean it! Maika'i Pai!

[@xiaohanni]

Can’t believe just discovered your channel now. You’re inspirational and so enjoyable to learn from. People have say my praise in all your videos I’ve watched, but this one I really wanted to tell you about an old Chinese saying that went through my head for the whole experience. In China, we all grow up learning ancient poetry in school and throughout society. In a way the words of our ancestors and great writers are embedded in everything we do and is part of culture. One of the earliest is the poem about rice. It teaches us how strenuous and dedicated rice farmers are to put food, also alluding to basically rice, on our tables. Parents always quote it when talking to kids about food wastage, like “who knew that each grain of rice/food in our bowls came from hard work.” Thanks for showing us and doing what you do! You’re a staple now in my family

[@4thArmoredVet]

What a fabulous documentary! I have always loved rice but now that I've seen this video I have a great respect for the farmers and processors of this important food. Plus, I absolutely love your narratives. Your voice is so pleasant and full of passion when you talk about food. So glad I found your channel.

[@cafe80sarigachu]

WOW! Thai Rice is Safe and Clean from stone.

[@ireniic]

that's absolutely amazing. thank you so much for putting all that hard into showing the hard work that goes into something I eat every single day. really eye opening and just cool to watch! loved this video!

[@gilwong1968]

Well done!!! I could never of imagined the enormous scale of operation it takes to produce the final product. I will never look at a bowl of rice the same again

[@mariacecymorales1625]

I just loved it! Thank you very much! I really appreciate your efforts!

[@vijayabyrraju2276]

thank you so much for joining me with you on this wonderful journey of rice paddy trip 😍😍

[@rauldelcastillo4035]

Man, that was comprehensive Pai! Good job! Your curiosity leads you to that passion you have for good food and selfless sharing! You know what makes Thailand special? The quality of rice they export is the same quality you'll find on anyone's table...rich or poor! Thank you for your passion...its a gift... and your smile! Its as bright as the sun! Cheers!

[@joealgiere712]

I have more respect for rice now. holy cow! I didn't know it takes all that work to have rice on my plate for dinner.

[@skylark304]

COW IS HOLY ! SIMPLY WHITE MAN DIDNOT KNOW IT ! HINDU philosophy > there are 5 mothers before you are born and your sustenance ! first mother : your biological mother, 2) mother is the nurse who delivered you 3) the woman who brest fed you ( it could be yours or a wet nurse)4) the land(earth) where you are born 5) cow that gives you milk to grow sacrificing its own baby cow ....is your holy cow ! milk is a filtrate of blood ( did u know it mr. jack ?) 80% of your bone calcium is from COW ::: HOLY COW WHITEMAN'S IGNORNACE !

[@narisa1545]

wow..really fascinating...i've been eating rice my whole life and it never occured to me that it takes such a long working process until I can finally eat it 😱 thank you so much for sharing the information 😊

[@henrydickerson9776]

I know this was posted almost two years ago, but I just watched this and your channel for the first time. It's one of the coolest things I've ever watched.

[@elinkay4661]

I remember my grandma always said to me to finish my meal down to the last grain of rice, cause if the rice farmers see the leftover rice in the trash bin, they will cry. Since her parents used to be farmers, I think her parents must have told her how much hardships farmers had to endure for very little gain. Seeing this documentary made me realize that she actually had a valid point.

[@AnaSilva-wn5ib]

Great documentary Paillins, there was a lot of things i didn't knew👏🏼 Thank you!

[@EllaNchanted]

That was amazing Pai!! Thanks so much for doing this video and opening our eyes to what it takes and for reminding us why we need to respect the food we eat.

[@carrothuy]

Thank you for sharing this amazing experience with us! Growing up in Vietnam, I was taught to eat every single grain of rice in my bowl because it takes so much hard work to prepare them. I'm glad to see how technology has helped transform the principle sustenance of many southeast Asian countries into a major industry.

[@melissamaker6947]

This is such a great documentary, I loved seeing your journey here! So much work goes into one little grain, wow!

[@aimeesalgado8113]

loved this! thank you, this was such a great video. so very intresting and I am blown away by the history and process.

[@FinalElysion]

I really enjoyed this, I love your fun loving energy in all of your videos and this little documentary was a delight! Please do more!

[@cdavid6437]

I'm a San Francisco North Bay Area boy that's now living in Khon Kaen for four years now and loved it. Everyday is a new experience and I so much the love to watch the rice grow. The shades of green are awesome as the plants go through the growing process. Your video was great!!! It really shows people all the backbreaking effort it takes to grow rice. The poor farmers work so hard to bring us rice, so we really need to be grateful to the farmers. I can't wait for your next video.

[@Boogley87]

Wow! This was so informative and fun to watch. I would have never known how much work goes into each bag of rice. Thank you so much for making this!

[@FilbieTron]

This is amazing!! What a cool experience!

[@LindasFavorites]

Omg!!! I loved this!!! I love rice and I'm such a sentimental person that I'll appreciate every grain forever!!! I'm soooo sharing this!

[@aquarius1000]

Very insightful Pai! Thanks for sharing!

[@Fedron987]

Thanks Pailin for taking us with you to the wonderful Journey of rice. I now really appreciate each an every grain of rice.

[@jacksnedden8161]

Your energy and joyful way of teaching is infectious and captivating!! By far my favorite chef!!! Thanks for the great videos😊

[@pv2803]

Pai, I can't express how much I love your channel! I especially love all the episodes where you take us with you on your trips toThailand. Thank you :)

[@davidwatherton]

Great documentary. First time seeing how rice is processed. Very impressive. Love your show. Sumotha from Deer Park, WA

[@zacchie]

Great Mini documentary! It's so fascinating to see what's behind the everyday staple of our meals. That we often take granted for.

[@shashalee6364]

what an amazing video! I will be sure to share it with my children. hopefully one day we can take the family and enjoy the wonderful experience you had. keep up the great work Pai! sending you much love. 👍❤

[@rizqinurulnurulatika5641]

This is super great video as we said that rice is the biggest part of our lives especially for meals. This is really eye opening. Thank you Ms Pai.

[@annie808286]

Fascinating! Thank you for posting this educational video! I had no idea the extent of work required to put out a bag of rice! Awesome!

[@lisabyx]

This was so informative and so fun to watch! You really made this such a wonderful video! Easily one of my favorite videos! Thank you so much!😁

[@CanadianProud77]

i really enjoyed this video so much, sure does give you appreciation for the food we eat... i am loving all of your videos.....i am learning so much about Thai cuisine and think that you are so talented , intelligent, and so sweet..my favorite part of each video definately has to be you trying the dish that you prepare... i love your "love of food reactions, epic ) Like you.I am so in love with jasmine rice, the fragrance is amazing and taste delicious..... i also live in Canada, but on the other side of the country ... little island furthest east, Newfoundland.... Happy Cooking , look forward to your videos every week xo

[@phatsmurf575]

this was an awesome rice documentary. how cute are those water buffalos! my family had one that we used to ride on. it was awkward but so fun. watching you try your hands at old school rice planting brought back childhood memories.

[@Gigagerl]

Love this educational rice trip of yours! Its useful knowledge & informative.thank you for sharing & bringing us along with you Pai! 🤗❤

[@mariebrumit5613]

Thank you Pai for sharing this video ❤️❤️❤️

[@Queenread82]

This is wonderful thank you! I’ve gone down a rabbit hole on your channel - so many interesting videos and yummy recipes. It all started with an online search for a recipe for Pad Prik King - tonight’s dinner!

[@SuperMeat83]

That was an amazing episode. Thanks Pai, I love you.

[@mbrez4271]

The corpus of contributions tp popularizing Thai cuisine made by this woman is staggering! Well Done my dear!!

[@iandawton6586]

I love you "out and about" mini-tours. Super informative and so funny in places. I've got to admit that there was a part of me praying that you fell over in all that mud !!! 😂😂😂😂🇹🇭

[@leerobbins5636]

That was so interesting. I had no idea about the process and how clean rice was. thank you for the opportunity to learn and give thought to the old ways and new ways.

[@ikansusu]

truly amazing documentary, kudos Pai

[@le96g]

You look so happy! :) You've been working so hard on your channel to give us great videos. You deserve more subscribers, Pai! :3

[@nl1318]

Very cool! Thanks for sharing this!

[@jesuisrobert808]

This is by far my favorite video of yours.

[@lart80207]

A terrific documentary on Thai rice production. Thank you for bringing this to us who consume the rice but have not the slightest idea of what goes on between the farm and our grocery store!

[@tessbolella8743]

Thank you Pai for another great video! Your presentation is always excellent no matter what the subject. You are a natural in front of the camera and easily connects with your audience.

[@AnzanHoshinRoshi]

Thank you, Pailin. Fascinating.

[@floraguilar60]

I just watched few of your old videos and you have become very confident and professional... and this mini documentary is amazing...!!!! Love from North Carolina ❤️

[@wasantube]

this is awesome. great work!

[@lorenzodavolio5341]

Was amazing Pai. Thanks you very much

[@sureshpariyar8718]

It was a great learning experience. Thank you

[@nonaubiz8939]

WOW, that was so fascinating. Thank you so much. I can see why you have almost 600k subscribers! I am now a subscriber and I hit the bell icon, always a thumbs up. Great job, Pai.

[@FilbieTron]

What an amazing thing Here Chai did to share all his knowledge and leverage all the success he enjoyed. I would love to go there someday.

[@HiroKawazu]

This was fun :), you did a documentary kind of video very well! I hope to see more!!

[@0612iloveyou]

Wow! Thanks for the trip, Pai

[@davidh7104]

Wow! It does make one appreciate their food so much more when understanding the effort which goes into taking it from farm to table! Thanks so much for a great educational video!

[@ParanaSlim52]

Wow Pai that was one of your most interesting videos. I have fond memories of working on a rice farm in my younger days. I have never seen this side of the rice business before so it was particularly interesting for me. I usually tell people that working in the rice fields was the best job I ever had but also the worst paying. It was hard work but at the end of every day you could look behind you and see exactly how much you had accomplished which I found very satisfying. We usually ate rice at least once a day and my vehicles always had an "Eat More Rice" bumper sticker. It's rather sad to pass the old rice farm now as it is covered by a very large shopping mall now. I suggest that if you ever get the chance to visit a modern rice farm (perhaps not the correct term) that you do so to see the level of precision that is used to to prepare the fields, cut the levees, and control the water. I think you'd find it as fascinating as your Thailand rice lesson! Thanks again, Will

[@knp4356]

Very eye opening and informative. Thanks Pai!!!!

[@rajtash]

Thanks Pai for the wonderful video. 😊

[@syedhussainzaidi502]

This is really a good learning experience for me! , this was super fascinating & a great art of documentary, Thank you Pailin

[@hymnslullabies776]

This was just beautiful. How amazing to know so much about our delicious rice now! xox

[@RC-bl2pm]

Wow Pai this was great! I love rice but have never seen anything but rice in the bag. Lotta fun, informative. Thanks.

[@beverleyellis6358]

So interesting! thanks for the documentary, it has really opened my eyes.

[@billmiller5741]

Fascinating I enjoyed! Thank you

[@therichtersvacationlog6411]

Just wow! Thank you for sharing!

[@alwayssearching1882]

Having lived in Thailand for 15 years I can appreciate the hard work that goes into the production of Jasmine rice. Great vid Pai!

[@OrchidFlower2012]

Love the mini documentaries! Please create more.

[@akesq01]

Wow! I really enjoyed that, particularly the quality control on the rice processing. I did not think there was that much QC done overseas. Very confidence inspiring. Thanks!!!!

[@julieuhc2241]

Oh wow! wonderful and very interesting video! I can't imagine ... that is so sophisticated ... !!! Thank you so much for your... sharing !

[@lindajnichols1455]

Fantastic experience! I will never eat another bowl of rice without remembering all the work that went into that bowl. Thank you Pailin.

[@sleepcenterbedsgoldcoast8616]

pai - this is the best and most heart warming presentation you have done - i m never going to throw old rice out ever again

[@billm.1911]

Good documentary. Thank you for sharing.

[@noomwa]

Simply fascinating! Thank you for educating the world of one of our main staples.

[@dancewithethan]

I do like the modernization of how rice grow, sorts and export. However, speaking from my own family who used to grow rice in Thailand and some of our families still do. Most of rice farming in Thailand, I believe still being done by hands. Perhaps you should do the second episode on how the actual real Thai's farmers are growing their rice.

[@KangrussoBITCH]

Yes ma'am!!! Always coming with QUALITY content, even if it's not a cooking episode!

[@benjapeterson6132]

Thank you,Pai, I truly appreciated your efforts to let us know about this, thank you 🙏