The Ultimate Rice Cooker (20 page)
3. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, let the rice steam for 15 minutes. Fluff the rice with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon.
4. Serve immediately. Spoon the rice mixture into a deep serving bowl and sprinkle with the cilantro and then the sesame seeds.
Here is another super-simple, delicious meal. There are many brands of lowfat gourmet smoked sausages on the market; we use the locally produced Aidells (the smoked duck sausage and the smoked chicken and turkey with artichokes are also favorites). Laying the ingredients on top of the rice to steam is a Chinese technique developed when rice was cooked in a wok and the meat or vegetables cooked at the same time. If you double the recipe to feed four, adjust the proportions to 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons rice and 2¾ cups water.
MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;
fuzzy logic or on/off
CYCLE: Regular
YIELD: Serves 2
1 cup long-grain white rice
1½ cups water
2 smoked chicken-apple sausages (about 8 ounces total)
1. Place the rice in a fine strainer or bowl, rinse with cold water, and pour as much of the water off as you can, taking care to keep the rice in the bottom of the bowl.
2. Place the rice in the rice cooker bowl. Add the water; swirl to combine. Close the cover and set for the regular cycle. Set a timer for 15 minutes (or for 30 minutes if your rice cooker has a soaking period built in).
3. Cut the sausages into ½-inch-thick slices (slice completely through; you want separate pieces), leaving the sausage shape intact after slicing for easy transfer to the pot. When the timer sounds, open the cover and, holding the sausage at both ends, place the entire sausage on top of the rice, letting the slices fall open (sort of a fan design across the rice, but any way is okay). The sausages will cover the surface of the rice; press them slightly into the partially cooked rice. Close the cover and let the rice finish the cycle.
4. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, let the rice steam for 15 minutes. Serve immediately.
This fantastic recipe is from talented food writer and TV chef Martin Yan. It is a lovely dish redolent of his love for and expertise in Chinese cuisine. Rainbow rice gets its evocative name from the array of colors that will be apparent when you serve this dish. Be sure to use a medium-grain rice; you want the slightly moist texture so it is easy to eat with chopsticks. We also like this with edamame instead of peas.
MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;
fuzzy logic or on/off
CYCLE: Regular
YIELD: Serves 3 to 4
3 dried shiitake mushrooms
1½ cups medium-grain white rice
4 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons diced Smithfield ham
¼ cup diced carrot
¼ cup frozen peas
1¼ cups water
1¼ cups reduced-sodium chicken stock
2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine (available in Chinese markets) or dry sherry
1½ tablespoons soy sauce
½ teaspoon salt
1. Place the mushrooms in a small bowl, cover with hot water, and soak for 30 minutes. Or partially cover the bowl with plastic wrap and microwave on high for 2 minutes. Drain the mushrooms, remove the stems, and cut the caps into thin slices.
2. Place the rice in a fine strainer or bowl, rinse with cold water, and drain.
3. Coat the rice cooker bowl with nonstick cooking spray or a film of vegetable oil. Place the rice in the rice bowl. Add the remaining ingredients; stir just to combine.Close the cover and set for the regular cycle.
4. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, let the rice steam for 15 minutes. Serve immediately.
japanese rice with mushrooms and chicken
In Japan, there is an entire category of dishes called
takikomi gohan
, or ingredients cooked together with rice. One of the simplest is rice and peas, a combination that is a favorite in many parts of the world (
risi e bisi
, anyone?). Rice with chestnuts and rice with bamboo shoots are Japanese seasonal favorites: bamboo shoots in the spring and chestnuts in the fall. The category continues to grow today, as inventive cooks combine Eastern and Western ingredients with rice in new ways. With an electric rice cooker,
takikomi
gohan
are easy, flavorful, and reliable one-dish meals—casseroles, essentially.
This recipe, from Julie’s friend Atsuko Ishii, is a traditional-style
takikomi gohan
. It contains one ingredient that may be un familiar:
konnyaku
, sometimes translated as devil’s-tongue jelly. As the name implies, it’s gelatinous and gray in color. It has little flavor on its own but a nice, chewy texture, and it gains flavor during cooking. Made from yams, it is usually sold in small blocks in plastic pouches. It must be boiled briefly before using. The day Atsuko shopped for
konnyaku
, she found only
tama konnyaku
, or
konnyaku
shaped into little balls. We just sliced the balls and they worked out fine.
Konnyaku
is very low in calories and Atsuko says it’s a favorite of dieters in Japan. Sweetened, it’s a popular low-calorie dessert. If you can’t find
konnyaku
in your local Asian market, just make the dish without it.
MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;
fuzzy logic or on/off
CYCLE: Regular
YIELD: Serves 4 to 6
2¼ cups (3 rice cooker cups) Japanese-style short- or medium-grain rice
½ pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2½ tablespoons soy sauce
4 medium-large dried shiitake mushrooms
1 medium-size carrot
About 4 ounces (125 grams)
konnyaku
(optional)
4 fried tofu puffs (
abura age
; optional)
2 tablespoons sake
1 tablespoon mirin (sweet rice wine)
¼ teaspoon salt
2 to 3 cups Sharon’s Dashi or ½ packet instant powdered dashi
1. Wash the rice. Place the rice in a bowl (or use the bowl of your rice cooker) and fill the bowl about half-full with cold tap water. Swirl the rice in the water with your hand. Carefully pour off most of the water, holding one cupped hand under the stream to catch any grains of rice that are carried away with the water. Holding the bowl steady with one hand, use the other to rub and squeeze the wet rice, turning the bowl as you go, so that all the rice is “scrubbed.” The small amount of water in the bowl will turn chalky white. Now, run cold water into the bowl, give the rice a quick swish, and carefully drain off the water as before. Repeat the scrubbing and pouring-off process two more times. By the third time, the water you pour off will be nearly clear. Place the drained rice in the rice cooker bowl.
2. Trim any fat from the chicken and cut it into small bite-size pieces, about 3.4 inch square. Put the chicken in a small bowl with the soy sauce. Mix well, using your fingers to gently but firmly “massage” the soy sauce into the chicken. Spend at least 1 minute doing this. It is an important step that ensures that the chicken will not give off the objectionable odor that sometimes results when chicken is cooked in water. Leave the chicken marinating in the soy sauce.
3. Place the dried mushrooms in a micro wave-safe dish just large enough to hold them in a single layer. Add water to the dish, 3.4 to 1 inch deep. Cover the dish tightly with plastic wrap and micro wave it on high for 2 minutes. Remove from the microwave and allow it to cool. (Alter natively, you can soak the mushrooms in cold water for several hours or in hot water for about 30 minutes.)
4. Slice the carrot into thin strips about 1½ inches long by ¼ inch wide, sort of like a fat julienne. Set aside.
5. Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. While you are waiting for the water to boil, slice the
konnyaku
into pieces similar in shape to the carrot. If you are using
konnyaku
balls, slice them about ¼ inch thick. When the water boils, add the
konnyaku
and boil, uncovered, for 1 minute. Drain and set aside.
6. Rinse out the saucepan, refill it with water, and bring it to a boil again.
7. By now, the mushrooms should be cool enough to handle. Remove them from the liquid (reserving the liquid) and gently squeeze out any excess liquid. Cut off the stems and discard. Slice the mushrooms thinly and set aside.
8. When the water boils, add the tofu puffs and boil them for 1 to 2 minutes to remove any excess oil. Drain the puffs in a colander. When they are cool enough to handle, slice them in half crosswise, then stack the halves and cut into thin strips.
9. Add the sake, mirin, and salt to the rice in the rice cooker. Add most of the mushroom soaking liquid to the rice, pouring slowly and carefully and discarding the last bit, which always contains some grit from the mushrooms. If you are using the dashi powder, add it now, and then add water until the liquid reaches the 3-cup level on your rice cooker bowl. If you are using homemade dashi, add it until the liquid reaches the 3-cup level on your rice cooker bowl. Stir to combine. (Or use a U.S. measuring cup and combine the sake, mirin, salt, mushroom liquid, and dashi to equal 3 U.S. cups. Add the liquids to the bowl and stir to combine.)
10. Add the chicken, mushrooms, carrot,
konnyaku
, and tofu strips to the rice cooker. Stir gently but thoroughly to combine, but do not stir them down into the rice. Close the cover and set for the regular cycle.
11. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, let the rice steam for 15 minutes. Stir the rice thoroughly with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon to incorporate the chicken, tofu, and vegetables with the rice. Serve the rice immediately or hold on the Keep Warm cycle for up to 1 hour.
note:
Abura age
, or deep-fried tofu puffs, are sold fresh or frozen in Japanese markets or are available canned; fresh or frozen are preferred. If you buy fresh ones, you can keep them in the freezer so they’ll be ready for
takikomi gohan
,
inari zushi
, or other uses. One variety of frozen puffs is already seasoned; this is best for
inari zushi
. For this recipe and other rice dishes, use the unseasoned variety.
From one of the Bay Area’s favorite food writers, backyard gardeners, and seed pur veyors, Renee Shepherd, comes this satisfying one-dish meal adapted from her book
Recipes from a Kitchen Garden
(Ten Speed, 1993). This is a great recipe to use up leftover chicken. The popular peanut sauce is one of the definitive tastes of the Southeast Asian and Thai cuisines. This simplified version of the
rijsttafel
table, a popular full-rice meal in Indonesia, looks incredibly festive served with all the condiments.
MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;
fuzzy logic or on/off
CYCLE: Regular
YIELD: Serves 4
RICE
1 cup Thai jasmine rice
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons water
2½ cups fresh or frozen petite peas (2 pounds fresh unshelled)
2½ cups shredded poached chicken breast
½ cup hot chicken stock
SAUCE
⅓ cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup chicken broth or water
1 tablespoon dry sherry
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons peeled and grated fresh ginger
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
2 green onions, white parts only, minced (chop the green tops for garnish)
½ cup chopped roasted peanuts, for garnish
CONDIMENTS
Separate small bowls of chutney, sliced bananas, raisins, unsweetened shredded coconut, minced fresh cilantro leaves, mandarin orange segments, chopped apples, plain yogurt