Well, yes - but also no. Rice naturally contains a high starch content, especially the rice here. You wash it to get rid of most of it, so that when you cook it, the rice is less likely to stick together and make a mess of things. There are some species of rice that come in different colours - red, black, brown etc., so on and so forth. White rice is very popular; I know some vendors back in Sumeru would colour their rice with chalk in order to be able to sell them for a higher price, but I don't think they do that here. In any case, you ought to wash it. You'll see the rice turns a little more translucent. That's when you know that it's ready to be steamed, or boiled.
no subject
Rice naturally contains a high starch content, especially the rice here. You wash it to get rid of most of it, so that when you cook it, the rice is less likely to stick together and make a mess of things.
There are some species of rice that come in different colours - red, black, brown etc., so on and so forth. White rice is very popular; I know some vendors back in Sumeru would colour their rice with chalk in order to be able to sell them for a higher price, but I don't think they do that here.
In any case, you ought to wash it. You'll see the rice turns a little more translucent. That's when you know that it's ready to be steamed, or boiled.