When a chef asks for jasmine rice, what they want is fragrance, separation, and a particular soft chew that holds up to a hot wok. What they often get — at the supermarket end of the market — is broken-grain blend, milled too aggressively, fragranced with pandan because the cultivar ran out years ago.
The real thing is grown almost entirely in north-east Thailand, in the Tung Kula Rong Hai plain. The harvest is once a year, and the better mills age the grain for at least six months before they release it. The longer the rest, the cleaner the boil.
We grade what we stock to AAA Thai standard — which means a minimum 92% whole-grain, less than 4.5% broken, no admixture from cheaper varieties. The same rice the bigger Thai restaurants in London buy, in the same 25kg sack, at trade prices.
Yes, you'll pay more per sack than the supermarket bulk bag. You'll also use less per cover (real jasmine fluffs harder, holds steam longer) and you'll stop hearing complaints about 'gluey' rice.