Who Owns a Rice Cooker?

[carbon_made]

Hi all...not sure if this is EXACTLY on topic...but for those of you with rice cookers and looking for other things to do with them besides steamed rice...or who are having trouble with cooking red rice, black rice, etc. in them...I picked up a very nice cookbook a few months ago called "The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook" by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufman. It's very nice and recipes have an indicator to show if they work in the Fuzzy Logic type machine, the On/Off type machine, or both. One thing to note is that the book assumes that the Fuzzy Logic machines can't steam vegetables/meat but my 10 Cup Sanyo has a steaming basket and a Steam setting that is the same as the Quick Cook mode. Can't imagine why you couldn't just put a collapsible steaming basket in the Zoji and use it's Quick Cook setting as well.
Nico

 

[Corey123]

I was supposed to get mine yesterday. Maybe today.

 

[suzyQ3]

Hi all...not sure if this is EXACTLY on topic...but for those of you with rice cookers and looking for other things to do with them besides steamed rice...or who are having trouble with cooking red rice, black rice, etc. in them...I picked up a very nice cookbook a few months ago called "The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook" by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufman. It's very nice and recipes have an indicator to show if they work in the Fuzzy Logic type machine, the On/Off type machine, or both. One thing to note is that the book assumes that the Fuzzy Logic machines can't steam vegetables/meat but my 10 Cup Sanyo has a steaming basket and a Steam setting that is the same as the Quick Cook mode. Can't imagine why you couldn't just put a collapsible steaming basket in the Zoji and use it's Quick Cook setting as well.
Nico

I highly recommend the book as well (see my Post #7 on this thread). If you double-check the chapter on vegetables, you will indeed see that it discusses steaming -- and mentions the baskets -- at great length.

 

[Corey123]

My rice cooker came today!

Haven't used it yet.

 

[Corey123]

I tried out the Zojiroushi Rice Cooker yesterday for the first time, and it works great!!

Had hot cooked rice in less than 30 minutes! It's a quick efficient little unit. It can cook enough rice to feed up to six people! I love it!!

 

[suzyQ3]

I tried out the Zojiroushi Rice Cooker yesterday for the first time, and it works great!!

Had hot cooked rice in less than 30 minutes! It's a quick efficient little unit. It can cook enough rice to feed up to six people! I love it!!

Glad you're happy with it. Is that 30 minutes the "quick" cycle, because my Panasonic, which is very similar to your cooker, has such a quick cycle, but the regular cycle for white rices is 50 minutes, which includes some soaking time. I always use the full-length cycle.

 

[stinemates]

Some people really have a hard time prepping rice, but I have never had a problem. Whether it be boiled, pilaf, baked.. it always comes out perfectly. My sister, on the other hand, always over or undercooks it.

I can see the appeal, if you cook a lot of rice, though, since rice can take a lot of looking after.

Congrats on the rice cooker!

 

[Corey123]

SuzyQ3, thank you!

Yes, there ARE some models of certain brands that look like exactly like mine. I wonder if one co. makes them for other co's.

Anyway, I thought the soaking time was for brown rice. That was the regular cooking cycle that I used for the white (parboiled) rice. Remember, that if you want to do short or long grain rice such as River or Carolina, use slightly less water to avoid rice that's too soft or gummy.

Thanks also, Stinemates!

These units help avoid over or undercooking by precisely computing the cooking time just right.

Also, the thing that I like most is that you'll never have to deal with scorched or burned rice again!!

 

[biev]

I use mine a lot. I ordered it online from a place called koamart that I usually buy japanese food from. It wasn't expensive at all and it tends to cook the rice just a little bit too much but I add a little extra water to compensate. It takes around 20 minutes, that seems to be faster than the average here, maybe that explains it? I through some veggies in the steamer basket, I love it because I work at home, so by the time I take my dinner break my rice and veggies are done and I just need to reheat my canned eel : P

 

[Corey123]

It used to take me a little over 30 minutes to cook it on the stove. And I had to set the timer to prevent over cooking.

 

[Michael in FtW]

My "rice cooker" gives me perfect results every time .... a 4-qt pot with 2 cups rice and 4 cups water ... bring it to a boil, slap on the lid, reduce the heat to the lowest setting for 15 minutes - turn heat off and let sit for 10-15 minutes - then fluff with a fork.

I know it's not exotic and nothing to give me "my gizmo is better than yours" bragging rights ... but I didn't spend the extra $$ for something that what I already had could do.

And ... unless you are using a "pressure" rice cooker... how will it cook rice any faster?

And, oh my gosh - how did people in Asia cook perfect rice for several thousand years without your ultimate electric rice cooker????

 

[Corey123]

Don't think I heard of a pressure rice cooker. And I've never used any of my pressure cookers for rice.

Most of the higher price rice cookers, and even the low priced ones, there is no temp control, since the thing automatically computes that for you on its own.

How DID the people in Asia do that? Hmmm, I wonder.

 

[suzyQ3]

My "rice cooker" gives me perfect results every time .... a 4-qt pot with 2 cups rice and 4 cups water ... bring it to a boil, slap on the lid, reduce the heat to the lowest setting for 15 minutes - turn heat off and let sit for 10-15 minutes - then fluff with a fork.

I know it's not exotic and nothing to give me "my gizmo is better than yours" bragging rights ... but I didn't spend the extra $$ for something that what I already had could do.

And ... unless you are using a "pressure" rice cooker... how will it cook rice any faster?

And, oh my gosh - how did people in Asia cook perfect rice for several thousand years without your ultimate electric rice cooker????

Jeez, man, way to rain on the poor guy's parade.

I don't think anyone who finds a fuzzy logic rice cooker to be extremely useful is bragging. Sure you can cook rice in a pot; I did it for years. But I never had the consistently perfect rice that I get with my "gizmo" rice cooker. It automatically adjusts to different grains. There's no bringing water to a boil, then adding rice, them making sure you have just the right simmer. You just throw it in and turn it on. It keeps rice warm for several hours, if need be, and if you have the nonstick variety, it's a breeze to clean. And as I mentioned in a couple other posts, there are myriad other uses for the cooker. I find I use this one appliance at least a couple times a week. So it was well worth the money.

No, it doesn't cook rice any faster. I wasn't aware that anyone thought that it did. In fact, my cooker actually takes longer because it has a built-in soaking cycle, although it does also have a "quick cook" option.

As for how Asians managed before, well, that's a bit of a Luddite argument. Anyway, I do believe that Asians are particularly fond of these appliances now.

So each to his own. Right?

 

[Ron W.]

I hadn't even thought about getting a rice cooker until Ming Sai made the statement that almost every body in Asia used electric rice cookers.

My Zoji isn't fuzzy logic but it takes about 25 min to make 3 of thier cups/scoops of rice.

 

[Caine]

And, oh my gosh - how did people in Asia cook perfect rice for several thousand years without your ultimate electric rice cooker????

I don't know, I wasn't in Asia for the last several thousand years, but I can tell you how they do it now. WITH A RICE COOKER! In fact, rice cookers are the largest selling countertop appliance in Asia.

 

[Corey123]

Jeez, man, way to rain on the poor guy's parade.

I don't think anyone who finds a fuzzy logic rice cooker to be extremely useful is bragging. Sure you can cook rice in a pot; I did it for years. But I never had the consistently perfect rice that I get with my "gizmo" rice cooker. It automatically adjusts to different grains. There's no bringing water to a boil, then adding rice, them making sure you have just the right simmer. You just throw it in and turn it on. It keeps rice warm for several hours, if need be, and if you have the nonstick variety, it's a breeze to clean. And as I mentioned in a couple other posts, there are myriad other uses for the cooker. I find I use this one appliance at least a couple times a week. So it was well worth the money.

No, it doesn't cook rice any faster. I wasn't aware that anyone thought that it did. In fact, my cooker actually takes longer because it has a built-in soaking cycle, although it does also have a "quick cook" option.

As for how Asians managed before, well, that's a bit of a Luddite argument. Anyway, I do believe that Asians are particularly fond of these appliances now.

So each to his own. Right?

They ARE quite fond of these, but they use the giant ones that cook up to 20 cups or more of white rice.

I guess, because the stove is used mainly for the large woks that allows the cooks to stir fry and boil foods in large quantities.

And like the home units, these also keep the rice warm. Because I'm limited to the amount of salt I can use, and I've done this for years, when ordering Chinese food with rice, I always ask for the plain boiled rice. There's no salt or fat in it.

 

[suzyQ3]

Don't think I heard of a pressure rice cooker. And I've never used any of my pressure cookers for rice.

Most of the higher price rice cookers, and even the low priced ones, there is no temp control, since the thing automatically computes that for you on its own.

How DID the people in Asia do that? Hmmm, I wonder.

I finally took a look at the link you provided to your rice cooker. I think it is a bit different than mine in that the one I have (a very large Panasonic fuzzy logic cooker) doesn't require that you soak brown rice separately. Both the white and brown rice settings include that automatically. The "quick" cycle skips it.

Whatever the differences, though, I'm sure you'll enjoy yours.

 

[Corey123]

Thank you!

I'm quite happy with mine. It's small, but it does the job quite well.

You must have a 10-cup cooker.

 

[Dina]

Has anyone ever made Spanish rice (fried in oil with added peppers and spices) in a rice cooker? Will it work well?

 

[Corey123]

The recipe booklet that came with mine has a recipe for Red Rice, which I think IS Spanish Rice. But I haven't made any in the cooker yet.