The Truth Behind Blue Rice, Instagram’s Newest Craze

By and large, Instagram is a platform meant for exchanging, sharing, and uploading photographs that are considered visually striking. Whether it’s a selfie, a picturesque landscape, or a snapshot of one’s colorful lunch, people are constantly racing each other to post the most aesthetically pleasing pictures on the Internet.

Blue rice is one of the recent standouts in the online foodie scene, becoming a hit all over the globe thanks to its unique color.

Whereas white rice and even its healthier counterparts, brown rice and red rice, are less likely to cause a scene, the deep hue of blue rice makes a statement. Plenty of its consumers attest to it tasting wonderful, too.

But perhaps the most surprising fact about this rice is that the color is completely natural.

In Thailand, the rice is called Nasi Kerabu and is quite a common food in the country as well as its neighboring South Asia nations. The secret to the colorful dish? The butterfly pea flower.

The edible flower might look familiar to those who know the tea or perhaps its presence in cocktails and mocktails. Apart from its beautiful color, it also gives the rice an aroma that makes it more appealing to consumers.

This common South Asian dish is popular not only for its hue but for the antioxidant properties it carries. It’s known for its wide array of health benefits that keep our immune system strong.

The cooking process typically favors jasmine rice. It is best paired with curry or vegetables as a fried rice dish.