The porous grains are packed with beef muscle and fat cells, grown in the lab.
The rice was first coated in fish gelatine to help the beef cells latch on, and the grains were left in a petri dish to culture for up to 11 days.
The researchers say the food may serve as “relief for famine, military ration, or even space food” in the future.
It remains to be seen whether consumers would take to it if it gets to market.
The hybrid rice is apparently a bit firmer and brittler than regular rice, but packs more protein, Matter journal reports.
According to the team at Yonsei University in South Korea, it has 8% more protein and 7% more fat.
And, compared to regular beef, it has a smaller carbon footprint, since the production method eliminates the need to raise and farm lots of animals.
For every 100g (3.5oz) of protein produced, hybrid rice is estimated to release under 6.27kg (13.8lb) of carbon dioxide, while beef production releases eight times more at 49.89kg, they say.
Researcher Sohyeon Park explained: “We usually obtain the protein we need from livestock, but livestock production consumes a lot of resources and water and releases a lot of greenhouse gas.
“Imagine obtaining all the nutrients we need from cell-cultured protein rice.
“Rice already has a high nutrient level, but adding cells from livestock can further boost it.”
She said: “I didn’t expect the cells to grow so well in the rice. Now I see a world of possibilities for this grain-based hybrid food.”
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