The Ultimate Rice Cooker (59 page)

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STEAMING IN THE RICE COOKER

Steaming, cooking with moist heat, is probably the oldest type of cooking. It is possible that it predates fire, which makes it the cooking method of choice in a cold world. Along with being cooked on hot sunbaked rocks, foods could be cooked over hot springs or steamed in pits. The ancient cuisines of the Asian continent all use steaming as a primary cooking method, since firewood was often in short supply and regular enclosed ovens were rare.

Rice, and many of its accompanying foods, were cooked in this manner and steaming is still a popular cooking method to this day. Carefully steamed vegetables are known for their color, texture, and flavor, far superior to methods like boiling and blanching. The tender outcome is the result of the food being exposed to gentle moist heat rather than intense dry heat. In the rice cooker, food can be steamed in a steamer basket or tray over boiling water or over rice while it is cooking in the rice cooker bowl below it.

The Chinese steamer basket has been in use for approximately 3,000 years; archaeologists have unearthed stoneware steamers in the Yunnan province to prove it. Around the eighth century, steamers were first made of thin strips of cypress, an evergreen wood noted for its ability to retain its shape as it absorbs water.

The steamer basket was later made from bamboo, a tree-like plant found in tropical and semitropical regions, which also has nonwarping properties. The round, multitiered woven and slatted bamboo design with a tight-fitting, solid woven cover, and bottoms that fit tightly into one another (in sets of twos and threes) is a classic design still in use today. It sets over a wok or soup kettle that is one to two inches wider than the base of the steamer and the food never touches the boiling water below. The evaporating hot water, building up in the cooking vessel to create moist steam, does all the work. In addition to the bamboo steamer, there is also the aluminum Chinese steamer, which has a chimney through the center, distributing the steam heat quickly through the multitude of tiers, and French gourmet shops boast tin-lined copper versions of the same. Italian stainless steel steamers are popular, as are ones made of Calphalon and enamel.

Ingenious rice cooker manufacturers have made a large 10-cup, 10-inch-diameter model, fitted with a double tier of plastic steaming baskets, specifically designed to mimic the two-tiered bamboo steamer with a thermostatically controlled heating element. A set of heat-resistant plastic steamer baskets set snugly set into the rice cooker bowl and there is a tempered glass cover, for easy viewing of the food while it cooks. The diameter of the basket is 9 inches, a size that makes cooking for one or eight a snap. Alternatively, you can steam in any of the on/off rice cookers using your own set of bamboo steamers set on top, as long as they fit properly.

Most of the models of on/off machines we tested came with a perforated metal steamer tray that fits into the top of the rice cooker bowl (this type of tray would not fit properly in a machine with a hinged cover). One model came with a small steamer plate that looks like a baking rack and fits into the bottom of the bowl. In lieu of the tray, you can use the folding metal or plastic expanding basket insert easily available in supermarkets and cookware stores; just set it in the bottom of the cooker on the round steamer plate to protect the bottom of the rice bowl. This is perfect for steaming vegetables for one or two people. While the basket setup is best used with a liner such as greaseproof cooking parchment, cabbage, chard, or corn husks to prevent the food from sticking, a heatproof shallow baking dish or Pyrex pie plate can also be set inside the basket if it has no center post. The metal or plastic steamer tray can be used with a simple coating of nonstick cooking spray or lined.

We use our steamer equipment not only for making little meals and steaming vegetables, but for tamales, dim sum, and dolmas, all of which are cooked with steam. For dessert, the rice cooker makes remarkably easy and delicious cup-custards and the best steamed puddings.

THE BASICS : STEAMING KNOW- HOW

Be sure you distinguish the difference among the three types of steamer equipment that may have come with your machine (some machines come with no steaming equipment, others with one or more of the following): One is a round metal trivet, called a steamer plate, that sits in the bottom of the rice cooker; this is for holding heat-resistant plates and pudding molds. The second is a steamer tray that fits into the top of on/off machines with a separate lid. This tray is good for steaming vegetables, a heat-resistant plate, and individual custard cups, but you will probably need to steam in batches. The third is a set of heat-resistant stacked plastic steamer baskets. The recipes that follow are specific about what type of equipment is best to use.

Use good-quality ingredients in perfect condition. Tainted vegetables and other foods get worse tasting, as steam accentuates the natural flavors. Use lean meats, such as chicken, and fish, which do not need lengthy cooking times. Use fully thawed food.

Make sure the cover fits tightly. If it doesn’t, the steam and built-up pressure from the moist heat will escape and the food will not cook properly.

Place very hot water in the rice cooker bowl, then turn on the cooker. Our cookers efficiently heat to a low boil and start filling with steam after about 10 minutes.

Place the food baskets over very hot to boiling water and
then
start the cooking time. If you place the food over the water, then turn the cooker on and have to wait for the water to heat up, the food will not start cooking immediately and that will change the cooking time.

Baskets and steamer plates need to be coated with nonstick cooking spray or lined with greaseproof cooking parchment, a layer of cheesecloth, whole cabbage or chard leaves, or corn husks to prevent the food from sticking or dripping.