Do you use a rice cooker?
So my electric stovetop and I are slowly learning to get along (thanks in part to some reader tips!), but the one area in which my skills still need much improvement is the field of rice cooking. I am having a hard time finding the right settings that will help me avoid making a big mess in the form of boiled-over rice water or burned-on rice. I could employ two burners (one to bring to a boil, one to simmer), but I’m stubborn and firmly believe there must be a correct one-burner solution, if only I try enough times.
But sometimes I find myself wondering if my effort is misplaced, and I should just give up and get a rice cooker. We used to have one, but recently decided to ditch it because (1) it was ridiculously big (making up to 20 servings at a time, I think) for a 2-person household with a small kitchen, and (2) it had a US plug, and we’re slowly trying to get rid of the appliances we own that require a big heavy transformer to operate in our European kitchen. Now if only the blender would finally die…
I loved the ease and precision of a rice cooker, and I’m tempted to go shopping for a new one. On the other hand, our kitchen really is tiny, with way too little storage and counter space, so I’m trying to avoid acquiring unnecessary appliances. I’m torn. I usually make rice about once a week.
Do you use a rice cooker, or do you cook rice on the stovetop? Or do you just not cook rice? Let me know in the comments!
rice cookers are for suckers! (put it this way, when i think rice cooker, i think, jesus one more big appliance i’m going to have to carry down these stairs when i move next time, fuck no)
a tip i learned form my mom. it is meant for jasmine rice, but works for every kind i’ve ever tried to cook. so. put your rice in the pan. put the pan under the facet. gently place your pointer finger just on top of the rice, and fill pan with water up to your first knuckle. cook on high until there is no water covering the rice and little craters have formed on the top. lower the temp and cover, cooking for another five or so minutes, or until all of the extra water is gone.
im the last person for cooking advice, but my dad who is a great cook raves about his pressure cooker, for like everything, including rice. its fast, and as i understand it no messing with the temperature (basically you just want it hot).
and unlike a rice cooker it doesnt need to be plugged in, and can be used to make all kinds of other stuff so it works harder for the space it takes up.
i think he has some “cook everything vegetarian in the pressure cooker” cookbook, probably from amazon.
I love my rice cooker.
I’d never even heard of rice cookers until we spent some time in New Zealand, we bought one there, it came home with us (well after us in a crate on a ship). I missed it while it was floating across the world to us! I love it, it makes all rice wonderfully even my former nemesis, sushi rice! Although luckily we didn’t need a transformer, just a plug change
We use it a lot, a whole lot.
I think we would cook maybe 10% of the rice we do now if we didn’t have a rice cooker. I would consistently burn rice back before we had the cooker.
Sara – I had a pressure cooker a long time ago, but only ever used it for artichokes. It never occurred to me to put rice in it!
How funny you posted this today! I swear to the Lord above I JUST (as in less than one hour ago) said to myself “Man, I am glad I have this thing” as I set my MICROWAVABLE rice cooker in the zapper and set it to 9 minutes.
I LOVE the thing (it’s from Pampered Chef) and use it all the time. It was inexpensive and cooks my brown rice perfectly every time. Couldn’t live without it now.
I love my rice cooker, though I use it less now than when I first got it (didn’t have access to a stove back then). It’s completely mindless; I can prepare the rest of my food while the rice is cooking, with no worries about burning it, then once everything else is done, the rice is ready.
We have rice at least 5 times a week so I LOVE my rice cooker!! I can’t imagine not having one.
I gave up, I just don’t cook rice! I was never able to do it right when my old roommate had a rice cooker, and whenever I try to do it the simple way (in a pot) it just never turns out right (I always manage to over or under cook it). I stick to making other grains that are more forgiving and take less time, like quinoa… and I save my rice eating for when someone else is cooking
You won’t find a South Indian home without a pressure cooker and rice is the staple in southern India. An added bonus – the pressure cooker is also awesome at cooking the yellow lentils which is another staple. Pressure cookers are also fuel-efficient and convenient to clean. My Japanese friend has a 400 dollar rice cooker, which makes beautiful rice, but I am happy with my pressure cooker.
I haven’t had one for the last 5 years, so I have become good at making rice on the stove top. Growing up Cajun in La, I didn’t even know you could make rice WITHOUT one for a very long time! We don’t eat rice all that often here at home, a few times a week if that, but for now the stove works ok.
For long grain white and brown, a 1 to 2 ratio works well, and for Jasmine it’s a 1 to 1.5 ratio. I haven’t made Basmati for a while so I don’t quite remember the ratio for that. I just bring the rice to a boil, lower heat to med low and cover with room for the steam to escape. 15 minutes later, (well, brown is different on time) turn off, let sit 5-10, then you are ready to go.
I may get a rice pot again one day, I would really like one of the microwavable ones, but for now the stove top is easy enough (and doesn’t take up any more of my limited counter space!)
I agree with the first post…i lived with a bunch of crazy filipinos at uni that loved their rice…they did the first knuckle trick on medium heat and the rice was always perfect… regardless of whether it was on a electric stove or in a rice cooker.
I used to have a rice cooker and loved it. But I am also a big fan of Alton Brown, who hates “unitaskers” and threw a rice cooker out the window in one of his shows. (Although he did say that if you have space and eat a lot of rice it might be okay.)
I love the pressure cooker idea!
I use my rice cooker on a regular basis. And I understand the issue of having a small kitchen because I do too. But to me, it’s worth the space it takes up. FYI, I cook my brown rice with some sherry wine and onions. It’s delicious.
I use one and I really like it, but there’s no reason to stop cooking on the stovetop when you have limited space.
However, if you decide to get one, try to find one with a steaming basket so it can serve double duty.
I personally hate rice cookers. I make rice two or three times a week (depending of if there are leftovers or if I have any family members around to eat it all immediately). I had a rice cooker for about a year and it never managed to make good rice, maybe it was just a bad cooker, but its put me off them.
One thing that might help with cooking rice if you’re having trouble burning it on the electric cook-top is to soak it before hand. I started doing this when a friend suggested it for Japanese rice and do it most of the time now for all rices. Before you set it on to cook let it sit for 30-40 minutes in the cooking water (covered), the rice will absorb some of the water before hand which keeps it from burning and helps it cook more evenly. Depending on how slow your electric cook top adjusts temp YMMV, but it saved me a lot of blackened batches back when I was stuck with one.
Don’t know what I would do without my rice cooker.
Definitely rice cooker for me! I eat rice twice a day. Now if it’s only once a week, maybe a good pot on the stovepot is enough, or buy a 2-4 cup rice cooker.
I have a steamer that I use for rice, but I’m starting to give on that food altogether. Cous cous cooks so much faster – I don’t have the patience to wait 45 minutes for some brown rice! And it’s so hard to get it to the right consistency…
I have a Zojirushi rice cooker. It makes perfect rice (and you can tell it what time to be done making rice, so you can set it in the am, and have it ready just in time for dinner).
It is also excellent for making steel cut oats (add some dried fruit, which rehydrates and plumps up nicely–yum!) and now I make dried beans in it, which are tastier and of a better consistency than canned.
Most beans take two run-throughs of the rice cooker (lentils would be once, I am sure), and I cook them with onions usually, adding garlic and spices near the end of cooking time.
I only wish I bought a larger one, since I can only make 1/2 pound dried beans in my 5.5 cup machine (which incidentally can do either one serving or 6+ of rice).
Alton Brown hasn’t got a clue– check out Beth Hensperger’s Ultimate Rice Cooker cookbook and see how much you can do BETTER with a rice cooker.