The Ultimate Rice Cooker
Page 6
A basic guide when deciding how much rice to make is to remember that rice doubles or triples in volume after cooking, so 1 cup of raw rice cooks up into 2 to 3 cups of cooked rice. How much you need will be determined by how you will be eating. Will it be a side dish, part of the main dish with a topping, or the main dish itself ? Is it for a salad and do you want leftovers?
How to Use the Rice Charts
The most common use of the rice cooker is to cook plain rice, and most people, most of the time, will be cooking long-grain white rice, medium-grain white rice, or brown rice. Each of these types takes different amounts of water, and the amounts can vary based on the size of the rice cooker since rice cooks differently in every type of cooking vessel (depth and width of the pot, weight of the material the pot is made out of, and how tight the cover is are all factors). That’s why we put together these charts—to help you make perfect rice, whatever your favorite variety and whatever the size of your rice cooker.
In every case, we recommend starting out with the amounts of water and rice suggested by the manufacturer of your rice cooker. If you are dissatisfied, try the measurements here. In our testing, we found that those handy calibrations on the rice cooker bowls are not always correct, or at least they didn’t always correspond to the way we liked the rice cooked. If the rice is still not to your liking, continue to tinker, adding or reducing the water about ¼ cup at a time until your cooker is turning out rice that is perfectly suited to your tastes, jotting down the results. If your rice is too chewy, increase the amount of water; if it’s too mushy or soggy, decrease the water. Some do like it chewier, some like it softer. And in the end, your preferences are the ones that matter.
Also, please be aware that increasing and decreasing rice proportions is downright tricky. Short- and medium-grain rices always need less water than long-grain. And as the amount of rice increases, the proportion of necessary water or cooking liquid decreases. You will be able to use our charts to help determine correct proportions for the recipes in this book.
Looking at the chart, first determine how many servings of rice you want to make. The amounts of rice in the charts are listed first in rice cooker cups, with the equivalent measurement in U.S. cups shown in the next column, so you can measure either way. Then read across the chart to find the amount of water to add under the size of your machine. The water is measured in U.S. cups (8 fluid ounces = 1 cup). Please measure the water carefully, at eye level, in a liquid measuring cup (the kind with a handle and pouring spout and calibrations on the side, usually made of Pyrex rather than metal).
Notice that the amount of water differs based on the size of the rice cooker, because of the amount of surface evaporation, with the larger cooker obviously having the most surface area. Cooking small amounts of rice in the large machine is not advised; it will end up too dry and tough. Add the water to the rice in the rice cooker. Then close the rice cooker and turn it on. When the machine finishes cooking, be sure to let the rice steam for 10 to 15 minutes on the Keep Warm cycle (or in the closed rice cooker, if you have the on/off type) before opening the cooker, stirring the rice with the rice paddle, and serving. (In fuzzy logic rice cookers, the steaming period is built in, but a short rest on Keep Warm is still recommended.)
American Long-Grain White Rice
The Japanese-made rice cooker was developed specifically to cook the rices most often cooked in their cuisine: medium- and short-grain white rices. So long-grain white rice is sometimes a bit of a challenge to get just right in the rice cooker. Long-grain rice is preferred in Chinese diets, as well as most of the other rice-oriented cuisines, such as in the Philippines, India, and South America. American cooks also prefer long-grain rices.
American Long-Grain White Rice
american long-grain white rice
This recipe is for regular domestic long-grain white rice, brands like Mahatma and Pacific International, and the non-aromatic Indian extra-long-grain white rice (look for the finest grade, called Patna, for the region in which it is grown). The rice will indicate it is grown in Texas, Arkansas, or California, our main regions for growing the offshoots of our original Carolina gold strain of rice. Domestic long-grain white rice does not have to be washed or soaked before cooking, but the extra-long-grain Indian rice should have one rinse. (Note: This recipe is not for imported aromatic rices like basmati or jasmine.)
MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;
fuzzy logic or on/off
CYCLE: Regular
YIELD: Serves 3 to 4
1 cup long-grain white rice
1½ cups water
¼ teaspoon salt
1 to 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, margarine, olive oil, or nut oil (optional)
1. Place the rice in the rice cooker bowl. Add the water and salt; swirl to combine. Close the cover and set for the regular cycle.
2. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, let the rice steam for 10 minutes. Fluff the rice with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon. This rice will hold on Keep Warm for hours.
3. Before serving, stir in the butter or oil, if using. Serve hot.
chinese-style plain rice
Ancient Chinese cooks were given the same social rank as esteemed painters and poets, and one especially important dish they had to make was fan, or Chinese white rice, to be served alongside multiple savory dishes. Besides long-grain white rice, Chinese recipes can call for long-grain brown rice (as an alternative to white rice in stir-fries and as an everyday rice), glutinous sticky rice (for stuffings and dumplings), or short-grain white rice, for everyday eating and the savory breakfast porridge, congee. Beth loves this plain rice, for its consistency on the tongue and barely clumping in the bowl, perfect for fried rice of any sort. (Julie thought it had a bit too much bite at the core of the kernel for her palate.) It is always made without salt to properly complement the soy sauce and other complex flavoring condiments in the food. Please note that the rice is not finished cooking until after sitting for 15 minutes on the Keep Warm cycle.
MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;
fuzzy logic or on/off
CYCLE: Regular
YIELD: Serves 3 to 4
1 cup long-grain white rice
1¼ cups water
1. Place the rice in a bowl, rinse with cold water, and pour the water off, taking care to keep the rice in the bottom of the bowl. Rinse one to three more times, if desired.
2. Coat the rice cooker bowl with nonstick cooking spray or a film of vegetable oil. Place the rice in the rice bowl. Add the water, close the cover, and set for the regular cycle.
3. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, let the rice steam for 15 minutes. Fluff the rice with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon. This rice will hold on Keep Warm for hours. Serve hot.
chinese jasmine rice: Place the water in the rice cooker bowl. Add 1 teaspoon loose jasmine tea leaves and a dash of salt to the water; let stand for 3 minutes to steep. Add the rinsed and drained rice, swirl to evenly distribute, and cook the rice as directed. You could also use a jasmine tea bag and remove it before you begin cooking the rice, but the bits of tea leaves in the cooked rice are very nice. Great with soy-and-ginger-marinated chicken or fish.
chinese restaurant rice: Coat the rice bowl with 1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil. Substitute ¼ cup short-grain rice for ¼ cup of the long-grain rice (the ratio is 3 parts long-grain white rice to 1 part short-grain rice).
converted rice
Parboiling rice is a technique that was invented in ancient India (and still preferred in the humid areas of southern India and Bangladesh). Rice is boiled still in its husk, which keeps it from swelling, kills the microscopic larva in the germ of every grain, and pushes the nutrients in the outer layers into the center of the grain. The grain hardens slightly (making it easy to polish by hand) and is sterilized. The process even mends cracks in the rice (the starch glues broken rice back together), making for a higher yield. The rice is then dried unhusk
ed (known as paddy rice), and passed through a standard milling process to remove the hull and bran. Once milled, the rice can be safely stored for long periods without losing any of its inherent nutrition and is resistant to bugs.
In this country, parboiled rice is known as converted rice. Converted rice, under the trademark of Uncle Ben’s, is long-grain white rice that has been parboiled by steaming it under pressure, and then is refined by removing the hull, bran, and germ. It was developed for use in the overseas armed forces kitchens during World War II. It is the only type of rice that can withstand the harsh treatment of most industrial processes that involve cooking and then freezing, canning, or drying and, for that reason, it is the rice used in most boxed mixes. It has more nutrition than plain white rice, since it is enriched, and takes longer to cook than regular white rice because the starch is slightly hardened and needs more liquid to soften.
While most cooks say, “No, thank you,” to converted rice because so many other long-grain white rices are available, we love it for certain dishes. It cooks up perfectly, with the most distinct grains and the least amount of stickiness of any of the rices. Because of this, converted rice is excellent for use in rice salads, absorbing dressings and not becoming mushy. It is the rice of choice of restaurateurs like Paul Prudhomme of New Orleans for dishes such as jambalaya. It is good in pilafs and, to our great surprise, is the most used rice in Paris after imported Thai jasmine.
Here is a guide to making converted rice in your rice cooker, from 2 to 22 servings, since the rice/liquid proportions vary so drastically and this is the perfect rice to make in quantity.
MACHINE: Small (4-cup) rice cooker ;
fuzzy logic or on/off
CYCLE: Regular
YIELD: Serves 2
½ cup converted rice
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons unsalted butter (optional)
Pinch of salt
MACHINE: Small (4-cup) or medium
(6-cup) rice cooker; fuzzy logic or on/off
YIELD: Serves 4
1 cup converted rice
2 cups water
1 tablespoon unsalted butter (optional)
⅓ teaspoon salt
MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;
fuzzy logic or on/off
YIELD: Serves 6
1 cups converted rice
3 cups water
1½ tablespoons unsalted butter (optional)
¾ teaspoon salt
MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) or large (10 cup) rice cooker: fuzzy logic or on/off YIELD: Serves 12
note: This is the largest volume of cooked rice that will fit in the medium rice cooker.
3 cups converted rice
5 cups water
2½ tablespoons unsalted butter (optional)
1½ teaspoons salt
MACHINE: Large (10-cup) rice cooker ;
fuzzy logic or on/off
YIELD: Serves 22
6 cups converted rice
9½ cups water
5 tablespoons unsalted butter (optional)
1 tablespoon salt
1. Place the rice in the rice cooker bowl. Add the water, butter, if using, and salt; swirl to combine. Close the cover and set for the regular cycle.
2. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, let the rice steam for 10 minutes. Fluff the rice with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon. This rice keeps perfectly on Keep Warm for at least 2 hours.
basmati rice
One taste and imported white basmati rice will become your favorite—we guarantee it. We have many friends who go from store to store looking for a brand they picked up on a whim, fell in love with, and want to find again. It can be packaged in boxes, plastic bags, even burlap sacks. Basmati is ever so delightfully delicate both in texture and flavor. It gives credence to the label “aromatic” rice. The best grades are Dehraduni and Patna basmati, but just look in the box: the rather small, needle-like grains should all be whole, rather than broken. Basmati is aged from six months to a year in burlap sacks layered with neem leaves—an ancient tree native to East India that is a natural insecticide—to dry it out and develop its flavor; basmati should never smell musty. As it cooks, the grain elongates up to three times its length, rather than plumping out. Basmati cooks in a very short time, around 30 minutes usually, depending on the freshness of the rice (older rice will take longer). This is also the recipe to use for domestic Della white basmati, Lundberg white basmati, and the lesser known imported Indian Tohfa and Kohinoor basmatis.
MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;
fuzzy logic or on/off
CYCLE: Regular
YIELD: Serves 4
1 cup basmati rice
1½ cups water
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
1. Place the rice in a bowl and fill with cold water. Swish it around with your fingers. Bits of grain will float to the top; the water will foam around the edges and become murky. Carefully pour off the water and rinse a second time. If the rice water is still murky, rinse and drain again; basmati usually takes two to four rinsings. Discard the rinse water. An optional step is to let the basmati air-dry in the strainer for 30 minutes or to soak it in a bowl, covered with cold water, for 30 minutes. Drain well.(Traditional recipes call for the basmati to be cooked in its soaking liquid. If you’d like, you can pour this off into a measuring cup and use it for cooking.)
2. Place the rice in the rice cooker bowl. Add the water and salt; swirl to combine. Close the cover and set for the regular cycle.
3. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, let the rice steam for 10 minutes. Fluff the rice with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon. This rice will hold on Keep Warm for hours. Serve hot.
kalijira rice
Kalijira white rice is a cute baby basmati imported by Lotus Foods. It needs to be handled just like basmati, with multiple rinsings and a relatively short steaming period. While it can be made in 10 minutes on the stovetop, the rice cooker gives a short soak time and ever so slowly cooks the rice to perfection for a bit longer. We like a rest at the end also. Kalijira ends up with the dry, very separate soft grains marked by the distinct perfumey aroma that is so characteristic of basmati rice. The big difference is the tongue feel, which is so different because of the miniature size of the grains. Babies will love it. A wonderful daily or special occasion rice.
This is also the proportion guide to use for other miniature Indian white rices like Idli and Ponni, available in specialty Indian grocery stores.
MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;
fuzzy logic or on/off
CYCLE: Regular
YIELD: Serves 3 to 4
1 cup Kalijira rice
1¼ cups water
1 tablespoon unsalted butter or margarine
⅛ teaspoon salt
1. Place the rice in a bowl and fill with cold water. Swish it around with your fingers. Bits of grain will float to the top; the water will foam around the edges and become murky. Carefully pour off the water and rinse a few more times until the water is clear. Kalijira usually takes four full rinsings. Discard the rinse water.
2. Coat the rice cooker bowl with nonstick cooking spray or a film of vegetable oil. Place the rice in the rice bowl. Add the water, butter, and salt; swirl to combine. Close the cover and set for the regular cycle.
3. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, let the rice steam for 10 minutes. Fluff the rice with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon. This rice will hold on Keep Warm for hours. Serve hot.
american jasmine rice
American jasmine rice is exclusively grown for and distributed by Lotus Foods under the Lowell Farms label. We got this recipe from the company founder, Caryl Levine, who not only searches out exceptional imported and domestic rices, but eats rice every day out of her 10-cup rice cooker. The organic jasmine rice grown in El Campo, Texas, is a variety developed by the International Rice Institute in the Philippines and Texa
s A & M University. American jasmine is less processed than imported Thai jasmine, so it will take a bit more time to cook and, as you will note from the proportions, a bit more water. Caryl always likes a bit of salt. “It brings out the best in rice,” she says. A great everyday rice you just might end up liking better than the imported variety.
MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;
fuzzy logic or on/off
CYCLE: Regular
YIELD: Serves 6 to 8
2 cups domestic white jasmine rice
3 cups water
Large pinch offine sea salt (optional)
1. Place the rice in a fine strainer or bowl, rinse with cold water, and drain once.
2. Coat the rice cooker bowl with nonstick cooking spray or a film of vegetable oil. Place the rice in the rice bowl. Add the water and salt, if using; swirl to combine. Close the cover and set for the regular cycle.
3. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, let the rice steam for 15 minutes. Fluff the rice with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon. This rice will hold on Keep Warm for hours. Serve hot.
thai jasmine rice
The word for rice in Thai is kao and the type of rice found all over the country is a pearl white long-grain rice labeled Thai jasmine. It has a plump, elongated shape, not round like short-grain rice or thin and long like American long-grain. The rice cooks up fluffy and moist, with a delicate floral aroma that is a favorite with many cooks in many nations. Many brands are labeled Riz Parfumé. Considered the most delicate grain of all the rices, it is harvested in December during the dry months and is marketed fresh. Thai jasmine loses its fragrance as the raw rice ages, so often it is stored in the refrigerator.
Many cooks complain that their jasmine rice is too gummy after cooking; that is because they are cooking it in too much water. Thai jasmine is not the same as long-grain Thai sticky rice, kao neuw, which is eaten in the north of the country, steamed in a spittoon-shaped rice pot, and eaten only with the hands.