The Ultimate Rice Cooker (2 page)
So, here is a book that fills that gap. How to use your rice cooker to make foolproof everyday basic rice, recipes for the new rices on the market, and beautiful pilafs make up the core of the book. But there is a host of other possibilities, from risottos and hot breakfast cereals to incredible desserts, made start to finish in your rice cooker. Dim sum and sushi rice, often intimidating, are within the grasp of even the novice cook. But if all you want is to make some good plain rice, this book is also for you. All instructions are presented as simply, but also as comprehensively, as possible, to be of practical use in every type and size of machine.
In every section there are plenty of step-by-step instructions, hints about the machine itself, and delicious recipes, from plain everyday “I don’t have time to think about it” to boldly seasoned. Your rice cooker is a versatile, convenient kitchen appliance that embraces a style of cooking that emphasizes health and natural ingredients. The basic principles of the venerable cooking centers of the world are represented—France, Mexico, and Italy, as well as India, Japan, and China. Rices from around the world, every one available on the market today, are covered in depth—where they come from, how to cook them, and ways to incorporate them into your meals.
Whether you are buying a new rice cooker or are an accomplished cook with an old model, may these recipes bring you as much gustatory pleasure as they have to us.
SCIENCE , MYTHOLOGY , AND THE ORIGINS OF RICE
The role that rice plays as an essential food in the Eastern Hemisphere, along with being one of the first gathered wild grains in the prehistoric Neolithic era, associates the grain with both powerful spiritual symbolism and physical nourishment. It has been postulated that the very act of planting the first seeds was a magico-religious act to appease the local reigning gods, although scientifically speaking, far less is known about the beginnings of rice than any other cereal grains. There is a romantic saying that rice was the first food plant cultivated after the loss of Paradise when heaven and earth became separate worlds. One scientific source has rice growing wild on the ancient supercontinent of Gondwanaland, which split into Africa, Australia, Southeast Asia, South America, and Antarctica. The first cultivation of rice is proven by archaeological remains in Southeast Asia between India and China, and in India.
The worship of food plants is known to have been an integral part of religions, coming down through the millennia to become an aspect of modern world formal religions, as well as folklore. Rice is intertwined with the powerful presence of Shiva, the ancient Indian god who is the father of the Hindu panopoly of deities. Failing to create the perfect food to tempt the Shakti (enlivening female force or consort) of his affections, she died a virgin and from the bowers of her tomb sprang the perfect food, rice. Whether the Indonesian Samyan Sri, Thai rice goddess Maeae Posop, Indonesian Dewie Sri, or Chinese-Taoist Tou Mu (the Mother of the Rice Measure, keeping the divine records of life and death), all rice goddesses are virgin deities, their gift to mankind, associating the grain with fertility, abundance, and purity. The mysteries associated with cultivating rice have existed for so many centuries (archaeological discoveries in the Indus River valley have unearthed rice dating back to 4530 B.C.) that these mythological stories have become interrelated with the actual grain right up into our present time.
The Indian cultures of antiquity were all built around rice-growing areas, and rice, the ideal plant for the humid tropics, is still the most extensively cultivated of any food grain. Rice is mentioned in ancient Chinese scrolls (there are recipes and references to
fan
from the eighth century B.C.), and is known as “the good grain of life.” It is the staple food of over half the world’s population from India throughout Indonesia and the Philippines to China, Korea, and Japan, and all the islands from Taiwan to Madagascar. It can be planted in aquatic paddies, our most familiar vision of rice, but also as an upland crop called hill paddy rice, in tropical areas with lots of rainfall.
The traditional rituals that accompany every step of the cultivation and harvest acknowledge a belief system that a soul lies within each and every grain. Rice is always considered female in Eastern cultures, and while men can prepare the land and irrigation system, it is the women who plant seedlings, harvest, and winnow. Harvests were not considered joyous, but were often accompanied by lamentations as the body of the “spirit” was reaped. In ceremonial plantings, seeds are returned to the gods via the soil. Even today, there are hand-carved “demons” dotting the rural Indian countryside positioned to guard the life-giving fields of rice from invisible forces. Rice dolls, fashioned from the sacred first cuttings, give the precious spirit of the rice a home until the next planting. In Sri Lanka, astrologers a the heavenly logistics of when to plant the rice.
Although the Japanese culture is intertwined with the importance of rice as a basic food, rice did not reach Japan until the second century B.C. The emperor, regarded as a direct descendant of the sun, planted his own personal paddy field of rice on the palace grounds. In Japan the rice deity is Inari, the rice-bearer, and miniature shrines to him are scattered throughout the rural countryside and villages. On February 12, the Japanese celebrate a popular folk festival, Hatsuuma, in the presence of the Inari shrines to pray for a good rice crop.
Congratulations on your purchase of an electric or electronic rice cooker. It’s versatile and reliable, a very nifty little bit of technology. It can make perfect rice and, as you are about to find out, much more. The electric rice cooker is a kitchen appliance that was born in the climate of postwar Japan. Available since the early 1950s, when the first machines were manufactured by Toshiba, the rice cooker is a contemporary of the electric blender, part of the surge for faster, more convenient food preparation with the aid of the widespread availability of electricity as a relatively cheap power source. The current variety available is astonishing: The smallest, simplest models can be had for about $15; large, sleek, technologically advanced versions easily run into the hundreds of dollars.
At its simplest, the rice cooker machine is a round, removable, aluminum bowl that sits atop a metal heating element. The heating element looks like a solid metal spring the size of a quarter. It automatically can “sense” when the water is boiled off by the temperature inside the pot (the amount of water added determines the length of the cooking time, not the amount of rice) and automatically shuts the unit off. It has a round metal or glass lid with a knob handle.The bowl has a rim or handles for lifting it in and out of the appliance ousing. There is a switch to push down for turning on the appliance. The switch pops up when the machine turns off. Today’s models are remarkably similar in style to those first ones made by the major Japanese companies still in business today: Hitachi, Zojirushi, Sanyo, Toshiba, and Panasonic/National. Newcomers include Aroma, Rival, and DuPont.
The shape of the rice cooker bowl was designed to mimic the shape of the
okama
, the traditional Japanese metal pot for cooking rice, with a curved bottom and wooden lid (dlightly curved bottom is well known as an efficient heat conductor as far as cooking pots are concerned. It enables food to be cooked efficiently within the confines of the pot using the least amount offuel. The
okama
was used for many centuries over an open fire or on top of a wood-burning stove. With the gradual modernization of Japanese homes, first in the cities and then in the outlying rural villages, housewives adopted cooking in the electric rice cooker as a simple alternative to using up limited space on their new electric or gas stoves. Half a century later, the electric rice cooker is a commonplace appliance in every Japanese home.
If you eat rice more than a couple of times a week, a rice cooker is a sensible investment. It does an exceptional job of cooking rice and other whole grains, as well as being very durable.
TYPES OF RICE COOKERS
There are two basic categories of rice cookers available on the market today: on/ off and fuzzy logic. Within these categories there are five types of machines: cook-and-shut- off, cook-and-reduce-heat, deluxe electronic, basic fuzzy logic, and induction heating. These range from simple to sophisticated, each reflecting a step in the evolution of the rice cooker. You can recognize the types not only by the range offeatures, but by the price. Choose your rice cooker by first analyzing what type of cooking you want to do with it. If you make only white rice and steam a few vegetables, go for a simpler machine. If you want the full range of timing and cooking capabilities, from porridge to brown rice, go for a more elaborate model, but realize that you won’t be able to use it as a steamer. Models are labeled for what the cooker will do, such as Rice Cooker/Warmer or Rice Cooker/Steamer/Warmer. If you do a lot of steaming or make multicomponent steamed meals, look for a model with a large steamer tray or a set of baskets; this feature is not included in fuzzy logic cookers. We are not going to recommend any particular models since technology is constantly being updated and model numbers change often. Just stay with one of the reliable brands and shop for the features you desire.
Rice cookers come in standard sizes: the 3- or 4-cup capacity (small), 5- or 6-cup (medium), and 8- or 10- or 14-cup (large) models. Many manufacturers have models that can hold up to 20 cups for home use. The jumbo rice cooker, or deluxe cooker, has a capacity of 15 to 30 cups. This is a cook-and-reduce-heat type machine that is great for large families, entertaining, and small cottage businesses. It is available in restaurant supply stores.
Look for safety features such as thermal fuse protection and an automatic cord reel. All models come with a 6-ounce measuring cup (
see Measuring Up,
) and handy heat-resistant plastic rice paddle. Many come with a small steaming plate insert. If the model is designed to be portable, there will be a conveniently designed carrying handle.
On/Off Rice Cookers
The two most basic types of rice cookers are the cook-and-shut-off cooker and the cook-and-reduce-heat cooker/warmer. Each has a round metal housing with a removable aluminum rice bowl; the carrying handles are on the outer housing and there is a switch on the front of the machine. This on/off mechanism, while seemingly simple compared to the newer fuzzy logic machines, contains the same efficient heating elements without the digital options. In addition to making rice, it is a superior machine for steaming purposes. The cook-and-reduce-heat cooker/warmer models can keep rice hot and ready to eat for several hours.
The third type of on/off rice cooker is the deluxe electronic model, which is fitted with an electronic sensor unit and retains the round housing style of the other on/off cookers.
Some manufacturers also have a model called the Persian-style rice cooker, designed specifically for making
chelo
with
tahdig
and
kateh
, the slow-cooked Middle Eastern daily rice preparations that create their own bottom crust.
Cook-and-Shut-Off Rice Cooker
The cook-and- shut-off cooker, marketed simply as a rice cooker, is fast and safe. Toshiba Corporation of Japan invented the first cook-and- shut-off rice cooker in 1955. Matsushita Corporation introduced its own model soon after and brought the rice cooker to the U.S. market in 1957. You push down the switch and the machine turns on. It automatically shuts off when the rice is done (when the water boils off or if the pot is removed). If you are nearby, you will hear the switch pop up.