Rice Cooker

[Italiancook]

After our discussion that led to rice cookers, I bought one. Over the years, I've cooked very little rice, because it never turned out as I wanted. Today, I made Basmati rice in the rice cooker. I thought about making it with chicken stock, but decided the maiden voyage should be with water. The instruction booklet taked about water not stock.

Wow! It really worked. I didn't time it, but it seemed quick enough to suit me. The rice is not sticky. It's actually quite lovely. My question to all of you is: How do I get more flavor into the rice?

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[Mike Nolan]

You can try adding a little stock, even a little salt might help. I've been known to throw a pat of butter in the rice cooker, but I think it makes cleanup harder.

Some varieties or brands of rice seem extremely bland to me. I like jasmine rice, but my wife doesn't like the odor, so even though she seldom eats rice these days, I don't buy it.

You could also try adjusting the water-to-rice ratio slightly, overcooking rice a little (by having too much water in the rice cooker) can cause it to lose flavor. Undercooking it is more obvious, the rice is chewy if not crunchy.

Is your new cooker one of the 'one button' cookers or does it have multiple settings?

[BakerAunt]

I have used chicken stock in place of water in the rice cooker, and all was fine. I usually cook rice to have with something else, so I don't usually worry about flavor. However, there are various kinds of rice around (brown, red, black) that all give a great flavor. Sometimes I mix them.

Welcome to the world of rice cookers--what Roger Ehbert called "The Pot" in his book on the rice cooker. He used his for all kinds of cooking. I also like it for steaming broccoli.

[RiversideLen]

You can drizzle a little sesame oil on the rice once it's cooked.

[Mike Nolan]

I often eat rice with a little butter and Parmesan cheese, while a dash of rice wine vinegar and soy sauce adds a nice piquant flavor. I know people who put balsamic vinegar on rice, but I think balsamic is overused in cooking these days, rather like truffle oil was 10 years ago.

[Italiancook]

Thanks to all for your responses. They certainly give me flavors to which I can look forward.

Mike, I bought a Zojirushi rice cooker. I think it has 5 settings, one of which is sushi that I'll never use.

For the most part, I'm like BakerAunt and like rice to go with other foods. So pre-rice cooker, I wasn't in the game for lots of flavor. Now that I can have decent rice, I want to optimize the flavor.

To you experienced rice makers, please allow me to pose another question. I made white basmati rice today. I had a pot of chicken broth in the refrig when I learned a friend was ill. So I offered Chicken & Noodle with Rice Soup. I made the rice in the morning then refrigerated it. Late afternoon, I placed the chicken in a quart container, added the noodles and rice, then broth. I noticed the rice has clumped together. Is that normal for refrigerated rice?

[Mike Nolan]

Are you saying the rice is in the broth but clumped up or that it clumped up before you put it in the broth? It should come apart when heated.

Rice is mostly starch and starch binds to starch as it cools, so it will clump together.

[Italiancook]

I hadn't thought about the rice being starch, Mike. Thanks for reminding me of that. Yes, the cold rice had clumps. We had the Chicken Noodle with Rice soup for dinner, and yes, the clumps fell apart.

[BakerAunt]

If you re-heat the rice in the microwave, it won't be clumpy.

[luvpyrpom]

Welcome to the world of rice cookers, Italiancook! My family has always used a rice cooker and we all have different sizes of cookers. My sister just purchased the Aroma multipot cooker from Costco. I guess it's a rice cooker, slow cooker, and saute's too. Anyway, I usually cook my rice with water only as I use it as a side. You can cook it with chicken broth, my family has a dish where you put the rice, liquid, meats and mushrooms into the whole pot and let it cook. The rice does get clumpy when it's cold. You can sprinkle with a little bit of water before microwaving and it's just like new. One thing I advise to make your rice cooker have a longer life span is not to wash the rice in the liner that it cooks in. Too many times I've seen rice cooker's "nonstick" surfaces become scratched and then the rice sticks to the pot. Hope you have fun experimenting with all the different rice dishes out there. 🙂

[Italiancook]

luvpyrpom, thanks for the tip about washing the rice.

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