Rice cookers
Rice cookersI'm no master at cooking rice but have managed okay with the odd packet of savoury rice (dry rice and seasonings which I've cooked with vegetables and then fried it) I've tried the microwaved rice - considering the range of microwavable rice in the shops seems to have overtaken the dried savoury rice range, I haven't found them that palatable. The only thing you can say is that they are convenient (2 minutes in the microwave compared to 20 minutes on the hob) rather than tasty. And then there's plain rice (white, brown or whatever specialist rice) Now I'm not fond of a plate of plain rice with a curry or whatever sauce over the top but the first time I made a Biryani, I discovered you cook the rice in the same pan with the other ingredients. (i) It saves washing a pan and (ii) It isn't a plate of plain rice, and is now the basis of most of my "rice and whatever dish" cooked together.
So why on earth did I decide to buy a rice cooker? Maybe I felt inspired after buying the air fryer and my new interest in cooking, or was I persuaded by others who think all you need to cook food is an air fryer and a rice cooker? It would seem the name rice cooker is a bit of an understatement and they do a lot more. Similar in construction to a slow cooker with a bowl that sits inside a casing with a heating element (but also with a spring loaded button in the base) and a glass lid on the top, rice cookers don't just cook rice (or other grains like barley, oats or quinoa) They come in various sizes - some so tiny that even someone living on their own with an appetite would be buying a bigger one, and some that cater for large family gatherings. Surprisingly there aren't a large selection of rice cookers on the market especially for those who can't afford the more expensive range. I did look at reviews and comparison sites before buying but even so, the one I got doesn't cook a portion of rice as the minimum for it to cook properly needs 2 portions. I decided to try it out yesterday and added chopped veg (onion, garlic, green pepper, butternut squash and a few flakes of dried chilli) to the rice. I followed the instructions to the letter - successful cooking is very dependent on thoroughly washing the starches coating off the uncooked rice - and careful measurement of both the rice (it comes with a measuring cup which has to be filled to the top and levelled not heaped) and water. The rice cooker doesn't have an on / off switch (you do have to remove the plug from the mains socket when not in use) but a "heat" and a keep "warm" switch. To cut a long story short, soon after switching it on, I went into the living room and got engrossed watching tv when I suddenly remembered! The instructions were very precise with the cooking times for the various rice and portion sizes. In my case, the rice cooker was in full steam so I decided to leave it another 10 minutes. It would seem that the rice cooker automatically switches to keep warm when the rice is cooked ... amazing, but how on earth does it know when it is cooked? I'm guessing it has something to do with the spring loaded button in the base - when the water turns to steam, the weight will reduce before it is then absorbed by the rice? The rice isn't cooked then but needs just over 10 minutes more in the "warm" mode - and all this time you are advised not to take the lid off otherwise you lose the steam / water. So how did it do? First, the rice WAS cooked but what I would consider al dente and too firm for my liking. Next time I'll add just a little extra water. Secondly, cooking the veg and chilli flakes added lovely flavour (and a little bit of heat) and was perfect for the meal I was making. And finally, after taking a serving out, I now have another serving ready cooked and all it will need is reheating. So, all in all, I'm very pleased with my early Christmas present Re: Rice cookersBeing married to a Chinese we have always had a rice cooker. We regularly eat rice. By trial and error the amount of water to add is soon fine-tuned. Best not to serve the rice immediately the cooking switch clicks off and turns to keeping warm. Leave for about ten minutes. Your point about rinsing the rice first to remove dusty starch particles is spot on. Apart from the kettle, this is the most used 'kept on the work service' appliance have.
Re: Rice cookersOne of my sons was given one for his birthday earlier this month. He is very impressed with it.
Re: Rice cookers So far I haven't ventured from cooking just rice but I have been adding just a little extra water and the rice texture is spot on now. I really need to try the steamer next.
I ordered a couple of cook books using rice cookers from Amazon so that I could try out some "non-rice" dishes ... unfortunately Amazon have lost them in delivery. I did find some recipes online which I might try out.
Re: Rice cookersI'm still using the rice cooker to cook rice and have found adding extra water is definitely the key to how I like my rice cooked. The instructions say 2 cups (the measurement cup comes with the rice cooker) of water to 2 cups of rice, but for white rice (whatever sort), I add an extra half cup and for brown rice (again, whatever sort) a full cup of water extra. That is the minimum rice for this cooker so gives 2 very generous portions of rice (one for the meal, the rest can be used for something else later)
I do like using the rice cooker - I can add all the ingredients to the bowl while I get on with other preparations (for example, for a curry or spicy tray bake) and then just switch it on when everything else is cooking and just forget about it until ready to serve knowing it automatically turns the heating off (no more "OMG, the rice has burned at the bottom of the pan" scenario) I think Amazon are not prioritising book deliveries. I left the order in the hope the books might turn up but after 2 weeks into the New year, I eventually contacted Amazon for a full refund and also got a complimentary £5. I needed to get something from Amazon and decided to order 2 different books - the first item arrived 2 days later, the books are still being despatched (I decided to use my works address for deliveries) Meanwhile, I still haven't tried to use the rice cooker for non-rice meals - mainly because I don't understand the online instructions (something like wait x number of cycles and so on ... but my cooker is just an on / automatic heating off and straight into warm until I unplug it from the mains electric )
Re: Rice cookersWell, the books finally arrived but ... not at the address I specified (a university campus has multiple buildings so the driver just picked one at random and dumped my delivery while the address I gave actually supported deliveries ) Very inconvenient ... still, I got them in the end. One was titled "Mini rice cooker cookbook" and it really was a mini sized cookbook (I was expecting it to be about small portion sizes not actual book size) I had already decided on a chilli based chicken pieces tray bake for tea last night, and decided to try a simple method in one of the books for cooking bulger wheat. I added some sliced onion, chopped red pepper, some frozen peas and lots of garlic to the 1 part bulger wheat to 2 parts water and set the rice cooker to on. When it had finished and went into warm mode, I gave it 10 minutes and it was perfectly cooked (and tasted so yummy, it would make a meal in itself such as a portion for lunch) Okay, so it wasn't much of a stretch from rice to bulger wheat but surprisingly I feel a little more confident of what else the rice cooker might be able to do (outside of cooking rice only)
Re: Rice cookersWell, the cous cous last night was a bit of a disaster. My fault, I really should have thought about it a bit more - cous cous requires absolutely no cooking at all but just boiling hot water added and the lid put on to keep the heat + humidity in for a few minutes. As per usual, I wanted some vegetables cooking at the same time (like I have done with the rice and bulger wheat) so everything went into the rice cooker. Result, a rather stodgy mess which was more like porridge than cous cous. As meals go, I half rescued it by adding the juices from the spiced chicken tray bake but it was definitely not one of my best meals (the chicken was nice though).
I don't like throwing food away, so I'm going to try and do a rescue for the other half (as the rice cooker does 2 portions) I'm thinking of making fish cakes (using tinned fish - either mackerel or tuna in oil which is drained off and used to fry the fish) with it so we'll see how it goes. Found a couple of interesting recipes (not necessarily with cous cous but it might be okay to use instead of potato) to give me some ideas or, as per usual, I'll probably just end up making it up as I go along: ZESTY COCONUT CRUMBED FISH CAKES
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Easy Salmon Cakes
Re: Rice cookersAs I didn't have enough left over for a meal, I reheated the cous cous and had something else with it. I used some sunflower oil in a frying pan and added extra pepper (and a dab of butter) ... with the addition of vegetables cooked in the cous cous from the night before, the result had the consistency and taste resembling stuffing (as in, sage & onion) |
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