I don’t know who spread the rumor in the west that rice cookers are simply ‘unnecessary single use gadgets for foodies who eat a lot of rice’, I think of them more as ‘versatile device for depressed people with no (emotional, not literal) spoons’
Put rice (don’t even need to wash it), water, place vegetables, meat, tofu, eggs. Add soy sauce. Close the lid. Walk away.
And if you get a nice one: cook rice and eat off the cooker even 3 days later.
@julieofthespirits@skinnylatte Zojirushi also makes these countertop fish grills that I have been vaguely thinking about getting, that mimic the ones which are typically in a drawer in a Japanese kitchen. I love the concept but my main thing is I worry it might be difficult to clean. I've been meaning to go to Uwajimaya and see if they have any that I can look at in person.
I don't have a rice cooker, but I have a small electric pressure cooker that is basically a rice cooker with extra features. It is so useful. I use it for quinoa, rice (both East Asian and Persian), chili, tamales, etc. It is so useful I gifted one to my parents in Mexico, who now use it almost daily. The entire family is a big fan now.
@skinnylatte Ahhhh! That makes sense! I've always been baffled by the concept of a rice cooker because rice is so quick and simple to cook. I didn't realise they can do other things WITH the rice! That sounds really useful!
@skinnylatte (To be clear, there are lots of interesting and more complex ways to cook rice that require genuine skill; I don't know how to do that thing with the yogurt base that goes all crispy, for example. But I always got the impression that rice cookers can't do that either, that they're just for boiling & steaming - maybe I was wrong, though!)
@CaptainJanegay depends on the type of rice and the rice cooker. You can do slightly burnt rice at the bottom if you just keep it going past done. you could hold down the button. In Iran, they have rice cookers with a ‘tahdig’ function that turns the bottom to a completely burnt and tasty layer. You can even do cheesecake in a basic rice cooker. They’re really made with ingenuity and has been a tool that’s freed up a lot of female labor in East Asia
@CaptainJanegay the advanced ones from Japan and Korea let you cook to clearly defined textures, like congee, and can cook all types of grains perfectly including mixtures of grains
I've had a rice cooker for at least 15 years and don't know that I've used it more that a couple of times. I guess I should dig it out and try it again.
My flatmates recently started cooking rice in the pressure cooker and it is just the worst. They think they save energy but I am not even sure thats true. @skinnylatte
@tanyakaroli I had a european acquaintance who swore by his tiny one for breakfast oatmeal.. he would press the button, then shower, and come back to oatmeal
Congee is another (with some fancier models), but people have even made bread and cakes in the basic ones. Staple of Asian dorm room cooking without a hot plate or burner!
@skinnylatte I am definitely not a chef by any means, but I needed a rice cooker for sure. I swear I have a legitimate curse, and rice refuses to cook properly for me.
Even Minute Rice. The only thing I can do is throw it in and gtfo the kitchen or it won't cook right.
If you’ve ever lived in a dorm in a SE and E Asian country you’ll know that lots of people feed themselves all kinds of creative things with only a one person rice cooker available as a cooking tool
Last bit on rice cookers: if you’re cooking unseasoned, plain rice, you’ll get perfect rice so long as you do the knuckle method
If you’re seasoning rice, taste the liquid before you start cooking to see if it’s salty enough. Like, would you think ‘this is good’ salt levels if you got served that? That helps me get the salt levels right. You can always tweak after, but it helps to get it right before cooking too. It feels more ‘infused’
Something I also do when I cook seasoned rice: plop some butter or sesame oil into the pot, turn ‘on’, add whole garlic (skin off), ginger (skin on fine but crush it), add uncooked rice, and ‘toast’ it (almost like making a risotto), then pour in the liquid (broth or water or even coconut milk and water mix). Taste for salt. Add herbs or spices (I like pandan leaves). You can even throw in chicken thighs at this point on top of it. Pretty nifty.
@skinnylatte Dang, GREAT thread, thank you! I probably use my rice cooker pretty much 2 days out of 3. But I usually just cook the rice in it and cook something else (vegetarian) to put on top (or something premade). Definitely checking these links out.
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