Rice

Overview

Rice is a crop in Starsand Island and one of the most important ingredients in the game's cooking system. It grows across all four seasons, making it available year-round, and matures in five days. Rice is unlocked at the Senior Farmer tier of the Farming profession and requires a Paddy Field to grow. Unlike standard crops that are planted in regular farmland, Rice must be planted in a flooded Paddy Field plot, which is created using the Powered Hoe tool.

As a foundational cooking ingredient, Rice appears in a wide range of recipes, from simple bowls to complex dishes like Yangzhou Fried Rice. It can also be processed into Rice Flour at the Grinder, opening up even more recipe chains. Its all-season availability and moderate growth time make Rice one of the most practical crops to keep growing at all times once you reach Senior Farmer.

Quick Stats

How to Obtain Seeds

Rice Seeds are purchased from Graminova at the Happiness Seed Shop for 260 Coins per seed bag. The seeds become available in her inventory once you reach the Senior Farmer tier. If you have not yet reached Senior Farmer, Rice Seeds will not appear in the shop.

An alternative way to obtain Rice Seeds without spending coins is to use the Grinder. The Grinder blueprint unlocks at Senior Farmer and allows you to convert harvested Rice back into Rice Seeds. This is particularly useful for self-sustaining farming cycles where you replant a portion of each harvest to avoid repeated trips to the seed shop.

Growing Rice

Rice cannot be planted on regular farmland. It requires a Paddy Field, which is a flooded planting area designed specifically for water-based crops. To create Paddy Field plots on your farm, you need the Powered Hoe tool. The Powered Hoe blueprint can be purchased from the Happiness Seed Shop. Once you have the Powered Hoe, use it on tilled soil to convert standard farmland into a Paddy Field tile.

After planting Rice Seeds in a Paddy Field, the crop takes five days to reach maturity. Water the crop daily for it to grow on schedule. If you skip watering, growth will stall until the next day you water it. Once mature, harvest the Rice to collect 4 units per plant.

Rice is a single-harvest crop. After you pick it, the plant is removed and you must replant from seed. This is different from multi-harvest crops like Peppers or Tomatoes that regrow on trellises. Because of this, many players set up dedicated Paddy Field rows with sprinklers to automate daily watering and streamline the replanting cycle.

Other Paddy Field Crops

Rice is one of four crops in the game that require a Paddy Field. The other three are listed below for comparison.

Rice and Sugarcane are the only two all-season Paddy Field crops, making them the go-to choices for year-round water farming. Sugarcane grows slightly faster and costs less per seed, but Rice has far more value as a cooking ingredient.

Rice Flour Processing

Harvested Rice can be processed into Rice Flour at the Grinder station. The Grinder blueprint unlocks at Senior Farmer and is one of the most important crafting stations for cooking. Place Rice into the Grinder to produce Rice Flour, which is used as a secondary ingredient in several advanced recipes.

It is a good habit to run the Grinder every morning to keep a steady stock of Rice Flour. Combined with regular Flour (processed from Wheat), these two processed ingredients cover a large portion of the cooking recipe book.

Recipes Using Rice

Rice is one of the most widely used cooking ingredients in the game. The following table lists confirmed recipes that require Rice as a direct ingredient.

Yangzhou Fried Rice is widely considered one of the best healing foods in the game, restoring 192 health in a single serving. Because it requires 4 Rice per batch, keeping a steady supply of Rice growing in your Paddy Fields is essential for anyone who relies on this dish.

For a full list of every dish in the game, see the Cooking Recipes page. Additional recipes that call for Rice Flour (the processed form) are also available and require using the Grinder to convert raw Rice first.

Everlasting Rice Seeds

Like all plantable crops, Rice has an Everlasting variant. Everlasting Rice Seeds produce a Rice plant that regrows after each harvest indefinitely, eliminating the need to replant. This turns Rice from a single-harvest crop into a perpetual one, saving both seeds and replanting time.

There are two main ways to obtain Everlasting Rice Seeds.

1. Eternal Blessings skill: At the Senior Farmer tier, you can upgrade the Eternal Blessings passive skill. This gives every regular harvest a small chance of dropping an Everlasting seed instead of a normal crop. The more you harvest Rice, the more chances you get.

2. Islandpedia and quests: Some Everlasting Seeds can be found as rewards from Islandpedia milestones or specific quests. Check the quest board and your Islandpedia progress for any that offer Everlasting Rice Seeds directly.

Once you have an Everlasting Rice Seed, plant it in a Paddy Field just like a regular seed. Water it daily and harvest normally. After picking the crop, the plant will remain in the ground and begin its next growth cycle automatically. If you accidentally remove an Everlasting crop, the game refunds the Everlasting seed to your inventory, so you cannot lose it permanently.

Everlasting Rice is especially valuable because Rice is consumed in so many cooking recipes. Having even a small block of Everlasting Rice plants guarantees a perpetual supply without any ongoing seed costs.

Tips

• Rice grows in all four seasons, so there is no off-season to worry about. Plant it alongside Sugarcane for a Paddy Field that produces year-round.

• Set up sprinklers near your Paddy Fields to automate daily watering. This is especially helpful because Rice is a single-harvest crop that requires frequent replanting and consistent water.

• Prioritize getting Everlasting Rice Seeds early. The Eternal Blessings skill turns every regular harvest into a lottery ticket for an Everlasting seed, so the more Rice you plant, the sooner you will get one.

• Keep a surplus of Rice in storage at all times. Between Yangzhou Fried Rice, pet food, and event recipes, demand for Rice spikes frequently.

• Use the Grinder to convert some of your harvested Rice into Rice Seeds. This saves 260 Coins per seed bag compared to buying from the shop.

• Run the Grinder daily to keep Rice Flour stocked. Along with regular Flour from Wheat, Rice Flour covers the majority of processed-ingredient requirements for cooking.

• The Merchant Ship at Starsand Port pays double the normal selling price for all goods. If you have excess Rice or cooked Rice dishes, sell them on Mondays when the ship docks for maximum profit.

• Rice is not a high-profit crop when sold raw. Its true value lies in cooking. Convert your Rice into dishes like Yangzhou Fried Rice or Fisherman's Rice Bowl to get significantly more coins per harvest.

Related Articles

• All Crops

• Farming

• Paddy Fields, Trellises, and Planting Boxes

• Happiness Seed Shop

• Grinder

• Cooking Recipes

• Cooking Ingredients

• Everlasting Seeds

• Sprinklers and Irrigation

• Merchant Ship

• Crop Profitability Rankings