Rice cookers/steamers?
Discussion
I rinse my rice under a running tap - it bobs and bounces if you get the rinse flow right, then let it soak 20 mins. Drain it, add salt and garlic etc, just under twice the volume of water to the dry rice, pop it in a Pyrex bowl in the microwave, tight plate over the top, 5 mins full power 900w, 6-7 min half power. Gentle shake, let stand 10 mins. Perfect rice!
A sieve? what madness is this?
- Before cooking turn the kettle on to boil some water* (see note below)
- rinse rice until water runs clear.
- put rice in pot.
- parts rice & water from kettle to pot + additional water to first knuckle of finger**
- turn pot on high in order to bring to a boil, put the lid on to speed this process up.
- once pot has come to a boil stir once to ensure nothing's stuck to the bottom. turn heat down to low.
- simmer 15min
- after 15min turn off heat
- leave to sit for a further 10min
- open up, fluff, serve, enjoy
- Before cooking turn the kettle on to boil some water* (see note below)
- rinse rice until water runs clear.
- put rice in pot.
- parts rice & water from kettle to pot + additional water to first knuckle of finger**
- turn pot on high in order to bring to a boil, put the lid on to speed this process up.
- once pot has come to a boil stir once to ensure nothing's stuck to the bottom. turn heat down to low.
- simmer 15min
- after 15min turn off heat
- leave to sit for a further 10min
- open up, fluff, serve, enjoy
- the whole point of me saying use boiling water is to speed up the time it takes for the pot to come to a boil, you can help further by heating up the pan somewhat while you wait for that kettle to boil. but if you're cooking rice for 1-2 people you aren't using that much water (less than 1l) so it will have boiled by the time you're done rinsing your rice. if you threw in cold water into the pot it'd just take longer to come to a boil.
- in an ideal world rice and cook in a 1:1 ratio of rice:water. however the extra knuckle's worth of water accounts for water that's lost in evaporation whilst it's simmering.
Big Rig said:
Are you guys still happy with your purchases? I’m looking at getting one. Torn between a Zojisuishi or a YumAsia.
I eat a lot a rice of week and have gone through 2 £25 Argos/Tefal ones in 12 months now.
We have the same model, to the people saying microwave rice / boiling it is just as easy, that’s not the point - it genuinely tastes better with a good rice cooker.I eat a lot a rice of week and have gone through 2 £25 Argos/Tefal ones in 12 months now.
Since having ours we eat so much more rice we buy the giant bags, if you like sticky rice it’s a no brainer.
Kimchi fried rice is my favourite, with a fried egg, bibimbap sauce and Japanese pickles!
FWIW I have this rice cooker from ASDA.
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/9071786
Bought this 2 years ago. Gets used daily. At 2.2litres It's slightly bigger than your average one that's 1.5litres, so good if you find yourself making a large amount now and then.
I've always wanted one of those closed japanese style rice cookers, but I cannot justify spending £150+ on one. £80? then sure. Ontop of that it seems like many of these japanese ones can take 40-60min cooking the rice. These standard rice cookers do it in 20min or so.
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/9071786
Bought this 2 years ago. Gets used daily. At 2.2litres It's slightly bigger than your average one that's 1.5litres, so good if you find yourself making a large amount now and then.
I've always wanted one of those closed japanese style rice cookers, but I cannot justify spending £150+ on one. £80? then sure. Ontop of that it seems like many of these japanese ones can take 40-60min cooking the rice. These standard rice cookers do it in 20min or so.
My in-laws have one of these:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Reishunger-Digital-Cooker...
I like it because it reminds me of the helmets that Daft Punk wore. Makes good rice too. We don't have rice often enough to justify having one of our own though.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Reishunger-Digital-Cooker...
I like it because it reminds me of the helmets that Daft Punk wore. Makes good rice too. We don't have rice often enough to justify having one of our own though.
loggo said:
Boil water in saucepan.
Add a cup of rice.
Say "Alexa set a timer for twelve minutes"
Pour and drink another glass of red wine.
Say "Alexa stop" when timer sounds.
Pour contents of saucepan into sieve over sink.
Rinse with boiling water.
Oh fAdd a cup of rice.
Say "Alexa set a timer for twelve minutes"
Pour and drink another glass of red wine.
Say "Alexa stop" when timer sounds.
Pour contents of saucepan into sieve over sink.
Rinse with boiling water.
king hell don't let Uncle Roger find out.....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53me-ICi_f8
prand said:
He's just Roger to me, he is not my uncle.prand said:
Ohh that is BRILLIANT. Split my sides.I only ever fry cold firm rice - but I'm not going there!
Ken Figenus said:
Ohh that is BRILLIANT. Split my sides.
I only ever fry cold firm rice - but I'm not going there!
Sounds like that's the best way, and Uncle Roger would approve (as he also approves highly of the rice cooker with the elephant on, with the dinky tune it plays at the end of cooking too) - typically use the rice from last nights meal for stirfries.I only ever fry cold firm rice - but I'm not going there!
Edited by prand on Friday 14th May 11:27
Big Rig said:
w00tman said:
LeadFarmer said:
I ended up buying the Zojirushi NS-TSQ10 micom fuzzy logic rice cooker from yumasia.co.uk and it makes lovely rice everytime.
https://www.yumasia.co.uk/5-cup-capacity/zojirushi...
I have the exact same one and it's genuinely the best thing I've purchased, kitchen-wise, in years. Had it over 18 months now, hundreds of cups of rice - including 2 tonight (Japanese nishiki rice, cooked and cooled ready for fried rice tomorrow).https://www.yumasia.co.uk/5-cup-capacity/zojirushi...
Worth every penny
I eat a lot a rice of week and have gone through 2 £25 Argos/Tefal ones in 12 months now.
RInse rice until clear
Boil hard in plenty of water for around 7 mins, until outer of each grain is beginning to feel soft, but still not cooked.
Drain water off
Return rice to empty hot pan
Cover with two T-towels and leave off the heat for 10 - 15 mins
Perfect for me
LeadFarmer said:
I've stopped using mine, instead I have discovered a simple way of boiling basmati rice in a pan that actually works, and cooks nicer rice than the Zojirushi.
RInse rice until clear
Boil hard in plenty of water for around 7 mins, until outer of each grain is beginning to feel soft, but still not cooked.
Drain water off
Return rice to empty hot pan
Cover with two T-towels and leave off the heat for 10 - 15 mins
Perfect for me
Mine is simpler, do as you do to prepare the rice, boil until I hear crackles and can see no water in the pan (usually steam holes have formed in the rice at this point too) and the switch off heat put a lid on and leave for 10 minutes or so.RInse rice until clear
Boil hard in plenty of water for around 7 mins, until outer of each grain is beginning to feel soft, but still not cooked.
Drain water off
Return rice to empty hot pan
Cover with two T-towels and leave off the heat for 10 - 15 mins
Perfect for me
I imagine this is pretty much what a rice cooker does anyway, with their clever timers, thermostats and whatnot...
prand said:
Mine is simpler, do as you do to prepare the rice, boil until I hear crackles and can see no water in the pan...
Does that rely on having a measured amount of water in the pan? Too much water and the rice is overlooked by the time its disappeared, and too little water means your stop cooking too early?prand said:
I used to do that, now use the Uncle Roger/Chinese traditional "first knuckle of index finger" water depth measure. Seems to work fine.
Indeed, it's what it's the method I've always used and what i was shown since a child. It really boggles me how some people find rice so hard to make, I learnt how to make rice before I could fry an egg!Love that video.
BTW - the knuckle method for water - surely that depends on the size of the pan and the amount of rice? Personally I measure
- also my rice cooker came with separate rice and water measures - the latter with different markings for long and short grain rice, though I found that for non sushi Japanese rice (which is one of the three I always have in the house, alongside basmati and jasmine scented Thai) I've found I need an average of the two.
Must admit I grew up doing the dirty to rice - boiling salted water, pour the rice in, cook for 10 (?) minutes, drain and rinse. I learnt the proper way while I was a student and actually through experimentation not through books or being taught as at the time there was a local place that sold weight your own basmati at a price we could only now dream of. Think the reason for the boil/drain/rinse method is because that's what's on the side of US long grain packets, which used to be the most common source of rice in the UK. Having said that the last few times I've looked at the side of bags of Basmati they've just said to boil and drain, no washing - meep.
BTW - the knuckle method for water - surely that depends on the size of the pan and the amount of rice? Personally I measure
- also my rice cooker came with separate rice and water measures - the latter with different markings for long and short grain rice, though I found that for non sushi Japanese rice (which is one of the three I always have in the house, alongside basmati and jasmine scented Thai) I've found I need an average of the two.Must admit I grew up doing the dirty to rice - boiling salted water, pour the rice in, cook for 10 (?) minutes, drain and rinse. I learnt the proper way while I was a student and actually through experimentation not through books or being taught as at the time there was a local place that sold weight your own basmati at a price we could only now dream of. Think the reason for the boil/drain/rinse method is because that's what's on the side of US long grain packets, which used to be the most common source of rice in the UK. Having said that the last few times I've looked at the side of bags of Basmati they've just said to boil and drain, no washing - meep.
prand said:
LeadFarmer said:
I've stopped using mine, instead I have discovered a simple way of boiling basmati rice in a pan that actually works, and cooks nicer rice than the Zojirushi.
RInse rice until clear
Boil hard in plenty of water for around 7 mins, until outer of each grain is beginning to feel soft, but still not cooked.
Drain water off
Return rice to empty hot pan
Cover with two T-towels and leave off the heat for 10 - 15 mins
Perfect for me
Mine is simpler, do as you do to prepare the rice, boil until I hear crackles and can see no water in the pan (usually steam holes have formed in the rice at this point too) and the switch off heat put a lid on and leave for 10 minutes or so.RInse rice until clear
Boil hard in plenty of water for around 7 mins, until outer of each grain is beginning to feel soft, but still not cooked.
Drain water off
Return rice to empty hot pan
Cover with two T-towels and leave off the heat for 10 - 15 mins
Perfect for me
I imagine this is pretty much what a rice cooker does anyway, with their clever timers, thermostats and whatnot...
People buy rice cookers as you can press a button and then get on with other things. It will beep when done, and will keep warm for many hours if needed. and it tastes good enough.
Ken Figenus said:
prand said:
Ohh that is BRILLIANT. Split my sides.Gassing Station | Food, Drink & Restaurants | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff