The Ultimate Rice Cooker (4 page)

Machines without a Keep Warm cycle just turn off when the regular cycle is finished. You let the rice steam for the specified time after the machine shuts off. There is enough retained heat to accomplish the steaming. You can hold the rice in the machine for as long as it stays warm, certainly for an hour, but the exact time depends on the machine, its size, and how full it is. This is a place where you have to use your judgment.

CLICK TO SEE THE FACE OF THE RICE COOKER

CLICK TO SEE THE PORRIDGE CYCLE

RICE COOKER BASICS

Here are a few tips and basic pieces of information that will help you get the most from your rice cooker.

Our first bit of advice is to carefully review and read the manufacturer’s little booklet that came with your rice cooker. Brands do differ. Orient yourself to the parts of the machine and the list of safety precautions. Then review the manufacturer’s recipes for any that appeal to you. You can use the manufacturer’s recipes, a recipe designed for the rice cooker on a package of rice or one using our convenient rice charts, or recipes from this book.

Measuring Up

Measuring the rice correctly is of crucial importance to achieving success in your rice cooker. Please read this section carefully before making your first pot of rice.

1. Don’t throw away the little plastic measuring cup that came with your rice cooker. That measuring cup is the standard unit of measurement for your machine. When the little booklet that came with your rice cooker says to put in 2 cups of rice and add water to the “2-cup” level on the bowl, that means you are supposed to measure the rice
with that little cup
, not with one of your regular measuring cups. This is very important.
Throughout this book, we will refer to this unit of
measurement as a “rice cooker cup.”

We must say we were a bit surprised by these measuring cups. Even the ones that come with very expensive rice cookers are made from thin, translucent plastic and seem almost like an afterthought. Don’t be fooled. These measuring cups are essential. A rice cooker cup measures out to 180 milliliters (about 6 ounces or 3.4 of a U.S. cup) and a standard U.S. cup holds 240 milliliters, so there is a difference. Measuring with this special cup may seem awkward at first, but you will quickly get used to it.

2. In this book, many of our recipes, especially the Asian-style ones and the measurement charts for plain rice, use the rice cooker cup form of measurement. Other recipes use standard U.S. cups. We always specify the difference. But even when we measure rice with the rice cooker cup, we measure liquids using the U.S. standard cups and ounces. Why? We’ve found it most convenient to keep our rice cooker cups clean, dry, and ready to use with rice and other grains. It’s also difficult to measure liquids (especially larger quantities) precisely with the little cups.

3. Rice cooker directions are beginning to appear on the back of packages of rice, especially on brands that are marketed to Asian-American consumers. In all of the examples that we found, the directions were given in terms of rice cooker cups, even if the directions just said “cups”. This is frequently also the case for rice cooker recipes that you find on the Internet.

4. In case you lose your special rice cooker measuring cup, or prefer otherwise, you can measure both your raw rice and water with a standard U.S. measuring cup with excellent results. This is the case with many of the more complex rice recipes in this book.

5. If a friend shares a rice cooker recipe with you, it’s a good idea to ask, in the case of both solid and liquid ingredients, “Is this in rice cooker cups or regular U.S. cups?”

Making That First Pot of Rice in Your Rice Cooker

Your first look at the rice cooker can be a bit confusing, especially with the digital face on a fuzzy logic machine. But the procedure is exactly the same with all models: Choose a recipe, assemble your ingredients, measure and wash the rice, load the rice bowl, add the water, close the cover, plug it in, and press the button. Here are the details.

1. Measure the desired amount of rice. Don’t mound the rice in the measuring cup—level it off with a sweep of your finger or a table knife. For reference, 1 pound of raw rice is equal to a bit more than 3 rice cooker cups.

2. Some cooks swear by coating the rice bowl with a film of nonstick cooking spray or 1 teaspoon vegetable oil to prevent sticking and keep the rice grains a bit more separate (especially brown rices); while some of our recipes call for this step when applicable, it is purely optional.

3. If desired, rinse or wash the rice, or follow the instructions in each specific recipe for any presoaking, depending on the type of rice. Many cooks wash the rice right in the rice cooker bowl, even though the instructions that come with many machines say not to. (If you choose to do this, and we frequently do, we promise not to tell.)

4. Place the drained rice in the bowl of your rice cooker; if the rice is wet, you may need a rubber spatula to get all of the grains out of the bowl. Place the bowl into the body of the rice cooker machine. With your hand or your rice spatula, spread out the rice into a fairly flat layer over the entire bottom surface of the bowl. This helps it cook evenly.

5. Measure and add the required amount of cold liquid to the bowl. Use bottled or filtered water rather than tap water for the best tasting rice. You can use the lines on the inside of the rice cooker bowl as a guide. If you have put in 1 rice cooker cup of rice, add water to the “1’’ line. More elaborate rice cookers (especially the fuzzy logic models) often have several sets of lines on the bowl, indicating the amount of water needed for regular rice, “soft” rice, “hard” rice, brown rice, sushi rice, or rice porridge. Follow the correct line for the type of rice you are making. If you choose to measure the rice in U.S. dry measuring cups, of course the lines on the bowl will not apply. You will add liquid measured in a U.S. measuring cup according to the recipe you have selected.

Many people, especially those raised in Asian households, swear by the finger-measuring method. Plop in the desired amount of rice, smooth it out, and add water until the level comes to the first knuckle on your index finger, with your finger tip just touching the surface of the rice. Many experienced rice cooks measure in this manner, a relatively constant level (about ½ inch) of water above the level of the rice, regardless of the quantity of rice.

Some people like their rice a little bit softer; some, a little bit harder. As you become an experienced rice cooker owner, you will develop your own preferences. If you want softer rice, you’ll add a bit more water; for firmer rice, you’ll add a bit less.

Add salt, if called for in the recipe, give the mixture a swirl with your finger or a rice paddle, and close the cover.

6. Plug in the unit and arrange the cooker on your counter away from the wall and out from under the cabinets so the steam can escape the vent without hindrance.

7. On fuzzy logic machines, choose the regular White Rice/Brown Rice cycle, then press Cooking/Cook. On the cook-and-keep- warm or cook-and-shut-off machines, simply press down on the switch. No peeking, please! The hot steam inside the machine is what is cooking the rice; open the cover and the moisture is lost as the steam evaporates, and the moderate pressure and heat that have naturally built up will dissipate in an instant cloud. The rice cooker uses the same principles and process of cooking as a covered pot on the stove: You boil the mixture until all of the water is evaporated or absorbed. The main advantage of a rice cooker is that it knows when to stop cooking automatically, thanks to a sensitive built-in thermostat rather than your judgment, and prevents the scorching normally associated with stovetop methods.

8. The steaming period at the end of the cooking cycle is
crucial
to your success. It is the time when the rice “rests” and any extra liquid is absorbed. In fuzzy logic cookers, this period is often automatically programmed in. When the finish “beep” sounds, the rice is really done, steaming and all. In on/off cookers, you must listen for the “click” when the machine switches off the cooking cycle and into its Keep Warm cycle. (In very inexpensive on/off cookers, there is no Keep Warm mode. The rice will rest, covered, for the specified time in the machine.) Set a timer or note the time on a piece of paper. For the best textured rice, it is advisable to let the cooked rice rest for 10 to 15 minutes after the cooking cycle has ended with a small or medium rice cooker, 15 to 20 minutes with a large one. This rest period gives the rice time to settle and absorb a bit more moisture, softening the starch a bit further.

9. When the “resting” period is over, open the cooker cover and stir the rice thoroughly but gently with a wooden or plastic rice paddle, or a wooden spoon. If you are not ready to serve the rice, re-cover or close the lid immediately to keep it warm on the Keep Warm cycle, if your model has one.

10. Enjoy eating your perfectly cooked rice!

Cleanup

It is recommended that all parts of the rice cooker be washed by hand, not in a dishwasher. Even with cooked-on rice, a quick soak in cold water has always been all that is needed to quickly clean the bowl. The most simple machines have an uncoated aluminum bowl. If your bowl has a Teflon or SilverStone nonstick coating, use a sponge or plastic scrubber that will not scratch its surface. The machine housing only needs a sponge-down after unplugging; it should never be immersed in water.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

This is a book dedicated to recipes that can be made in electric rice cooker machines. It is important to note that there are many models of rice cookers but just two basic styles: the on/off and fuzzy logic machines. Many of the following recipes can be made in either type of machine, but some can be made only in one or the other. If you are not sure what type of machine you have, Before starting a recipe, please check to make sure you have the type of machine recommended for that recipe. For more information on the cycles.

CLICK TO SEE KEEP WARM CYCLE

A note about machine sizes: In addition to information about machine type, each recipe is labeled with a size of rice cooker: small (4-cup), medium (6-cup), or large (10cup). The size given is the one that works best for the recipe. In many cases, though, you can adjust the recipe for a smaller or larger rice cooker by increasing or decreasing ingredients. However, do not exceed the manufacturer’s stated capacity for your machine.

The Regular Cycle

In the recipes, the regular cycle refers to the basic cooking program for the on/off and fuzzy logic machines. To begin the regular cycle in the on/off machine, you press or flip the switch to the Cook position. To begin the regular cycle in the fuzzy logic machines, you program for the regular/Brown Rice cycle by pressing that button. The Quick Cook program is an abbreviated cycle of the regular cycle on the fuzzy logic machines.

The recipes in the following chapters can be made in both types of machines, but for the best results, be sure to check the key information at the top of the recipe regarding the machine size and Keep Warm limits.

The Perfect Pot of Rice

Simple Everyday Rices and Little Meals

The Family of Pilafs

The Whole-Grain Cooker

Sushi

Beans and Legumes

The Porridge Cycle

The Porridge cycle is an exclusive feature of the fuzzy logic machines. While we have found that many of the recipes in the chapters listed below can be made in the on/off machines using the regular cycle on the Cook position (check each recipe), the results are not as satisfactory as on the Porridge cycle. This is because the on/off machines run at a higher temperature that maintains a full rolling boil and, if there is a lot of liquid in the recipe, such as for risotto, the machine will not automatically turn off. The Porridge cycle has a longer, more gentle simmer. For the best results, be sure to check the key information at the top of the recipe regarding machine size to avoid boilover.

Risotto

Polenta, Grits, and Hominy

Hot Breakfast Cereals and Porridges

Sweet Puddings and Fruit Desserts

Steaming in the Rice Cooker

Unless foods are placed directly on top of the rice, steaming is a feature that works best in the on/off machines. We recommend the large (10-cup) cooker fitted with a steamer plate in the bottom of the bowl, an insert tray, or a set of stacked steamer baskets for most of these recipes.

The fuzzy logic machines with their attached covers do not have the wide range of steamer capabilities of the on/off machines. For the best results,
please carefully read the hints for successful steaming on
before making the recipes in the following chapters.

Vegetables in the Rice Cooker

Whole-Meal Steam Cuisine

Dim Sum, Dolmas, and Tamales:

Little Bites

Custards and Steamed Puddings