Perfect rice

[Clerkenwellian]

We received a Zojirushi computerized rice cooker as a wedding gift, from some Asian friends who are very serious about rice. Let me tell you, this thing is amazing.

Reviving this old thread about rice cookers, I wondered if anybody had advice on buying rice cookers in the UK.

There's a Zojirushi rice cooker here - is this the natty one Fat Guy described? It doesn't look much like any of the rice cookers on the Zojirushi website...

[ghostrider]

but i ask:  where's the challenge?  that feeling of pride of a job well done?  that nutty/burnt taste that only a screw-up in a saucepan can give?

;)

Fascinating thread! I have only one non-redundant comment to add:

When making brown rice, I sautee the dry grains in a very little butter (2/3 cup rice, 1-2 tsp of butter) till they get a bit translucent before I add the boiling water (4/3 cup).

Then I go full tilt for that nutty/burnt taste & deliberately overcook it (maybe 50 minutes total). You get a nice rich brown crunchy crust on the bottom & sides of the pan if you do it just right. I find it much more satisfying than so-called perfectly cooked rice.

Show me a fuzzy logic rice cooker that can do THAT!

Edited September 1, 2004 by ghostrider (log)

[Carlovski]

I don't know why, but i find if you start of by frying the rice (usually with some onion, maybe spices as well) it becomes more forgiving - the extra step actually makes it easier!

Might be nothing in it, but always seems to be true.

On saying that, I have never had the trouble with rice that some people do. My technique is to wash the rice well (Unless I want sticky rice) and use just enough water (Which I tend to do by eye). Bring to the boil, simmer for about one minute - quick stir and then put on a very tight lid (do the clean tea towel trick if your's aren't tight - I always use the smae pan which has a slightly buckled lid that you have to actually bang in, which works perfectly. Leave to steam for about 15 minutes. Good thing is you can leave it for longer while you cook whatever else you are having and don't have to worry about it.

[Stigand]

I was given a Tefal rice cooker a while ago. It worked OK (not as well as my pre-rice-cooker method), but gave up the ghost inexplicably after a few weeks of moderate usage. It's now sitting on a high shelf waiting for the day when I have the time and energy to take it down and work out what's wrong with it (possibly just a blown fuse or something).

In the mean time, I've gone back to my tried-and-tested method. Which, I'm ashamed to say, is using [hushed whisper] ...the microwave.

I don't rinse, saute or mess around with the rice in any way. I generally use Tilda basmati or a supermarket imitation (if I add wild rice or red rice it takes about 10 minutes more). I put (say) a mug-and-a-half of rice into a glass bowl, and add a slug of anonymous vegetable oil. Then in go the seasoning (which could be cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, salt, fried shallots, coconut milk, or whatever, depending on the type of thing I'm going for), and two cups of boiling water (or stock, or saffron-water - again, depending on what the rice is meant to be going with). Then I stick a plate on top nuke it on high for 7 minutes and low for 15 minutes.

As far as I can tell, this works as well or better than many of the more labour-intensive stovetop methods I've tried. The rice is fluffy but the grains are separate, and the flavour of any seasonings permeates the rice evenly. And you never need to give it a second look.

[irodguy]

For making short grain rice the secret is letting it rest. Wash until clean, let it rest for 30 minutes and then use the knuckle trick or just to with 1 to 1.

I make a Texmati rice:

1 Cup Texmati Rice (Washed)

1 Large Onion (Diced)

2 Cup Chicken Stock

1/4 Cup Sherry

1/4 Cup Almonds (Optional)

Salt

Pepper

3 saffron threads

Green Beans or Sugar Snaps etc.

1 T EVOO

Finish with a little Butter or Cream

In a Large Sauté add EVOO

Sauté Onions until soft

Add Rice Stir Fry Until all Liquid is gone

Add Sherry Stir fry for a couple of minutes

Add everything else

Cook for another 15 minutes

Finish with Cream or Butter (Optional)

[carp]

We received a Zojirushi computerized rice cooker as a wedding gift, from some Asian friends who are very serious about rice. Let me tell you, this thing is amazing.

Reviving this old thread about rice cookers, I wondered if anybody had advice on buying rice cookers in the UK.

There's a Zojirushi rice cooker here - is this the natty one Fat Guy described? It doesn't look much like any of the rice cookers on the Zojirushi website...

I also have a Zojirushi rice cooker and I can wholeheartedly recommend the product. Mine is a 5.5 cup fuzzy logic model that does an amazing job of consistently turning out perfect rice. I only wish I had purchased a larger model.

I purchased the Zojirushi at the recommendation of a very helpful rice enthusiast I happened to meet while shopping for a rice machine in an Asian grocery store (99 Ranch Market… they have a HUGE selection of rice cookers and decent prices).

I will admit that I don’t use it to cook many different types of rice… just plain white rice. I use butterfly brand jasmine rice from Thailand, which was also recommended by the very helpful rice enthusiast and it is now the only white long-grain rice I use. It is strikingly clean, flavorful, and aromatic.

As FG mentioned, these machines aren’t cheap, but I think they are worth every penny. I am completely amazed at just how perfectly every single grain of rice is cooked by these things. There is no waste whatsoever as was the case with a lesser rice machine that would always form a crust of dark crunchy rice at the bottom. If you like that sort of thing you can save yourself a lot of money and buy a $14 rice machine with Martin Yan’s endorsement.

[Carlovski]

I was given a Tefal rice cooker a while ago. It worked OK (not as well as my pre-rice-cooker method), but gave up the ghost inexplicably after a few weeks of moderate usage. It's now sitting on a high shelf waiting for the day when I have the time and energy to take it down and work out what's wrong with it (possibly just a blown fuse or something).

In the mean time, I've gone back to my tried-and-tested method. Which, I'm ashamed to say, is using [hushed whisper] ...the microwave.

I don't rinse, saute or mess around with the rice in any way. I generally use Tilda basmati or a supermarket imitation (if I add wild rice or red rice it takes about 10 minutes more). I put (say) a mug-and-a-half of rice into a glass bowl, and add a slug of anonymous vegetable oil. Then in go the seasoning (which could be cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, salt, fried shallots, coconut milk, or whatever, depending on the type of thing I'm going for), and two cups of boiling water (or stock, or saffron-water - again, depending on what the rice is meant to be going with). Then I stick a plate on top nuke it on high for 7 minutes and low for 15 minutes.

As far as I can tell, this works as well or better than many of the more labour-intensive stovetop methods I've tried. The rice is fluffy but the grains are separate, and the flavour of any seasonings permeates the rice evenly. And you never need to give it a second look.

No shame in that.

I think a Microwave is great for doing rice. In my old house I used to always nuke my rice, mainly because only two of the rings on our cooker worked.

I basically used the same technique as my stovetop method - microwave until the water is boiling plus a minute or two more, then leave to cook in its own steam.

Main reason I don't do it anymore is I left the glass casserole thing I used in the house, so haven't got anything to do it in any more!

[Lactic Solar Dust]

This past spring I visited my girlfriend's mother, who is Dominican, in Manhattan. Her mother prepared this wonderful traditional Dominican meal: roasted pork shoulder, beans, fried plantains, stuffed cabbage rolls, flan, rice, and it was all good. But her rice stood out the most, because it was so damn tasty. Especially the rice that was slightly browned on the bottom of the pot. That was the treasure that everyone was fighting for, but me being the guest I was fortunate to be given the first opportunity. They loved that browned rice with the cooking liquid that they cook the beans in. Well after dinner I asked her mother how she made the rice. This is what she told me:

If your going to cook 1 cup of rice then set one and a half cup of water to boil in a pot. At salt and a couple drops of oil to the water. When the water comes to a boil add your rinsed rice, stir, while the water still boils and continue to boil until their is just a little bit of water left on top of the rice. Turn the heat down very low, cover, and cook for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, turn the heat off, and keep the cover on for an addtional 15 minutes. After that your good to go.

Edited September 2, 2004 by Lactic Solar Dust (log)

[JosephB]

If your going to cook 1 cup of rice then set one and a half cup of water to boil in a pot. At salt and a couple drops of oil to the water. When the water comes to a boil add your rinsed rice, stir, while the water still boils and continue to boil until their is just a little bit of water left on top of the rice. Turn the heat down very low, cover, and cook for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, turn the heat off, and keep the cover on for an addtional 15 minutes. After that your good to go.

I've cooked rice in many different ways. The method of adding rice to boiling water described here (I don't know about the oil in the water) is the Indian method I learned, except basmati should be well-rinsed and soaked for one-half hour in the water in which it will then be cooked. As described, the rice is boiled at a moderate pace until pock marks appear on the surface. The rice is then covered and steamed at a very low temperature, but NOT for 45 minutes! It's more like 15-20 minutes, with 10-15 minutes to rest.

[KarenS]

I have to laugh a little, cause most of your rice would be rejected in Hawaii (except yours Alanamoana!). In Hawaii, where rice is offered at every meal- it is VERY important. We don't go in for the "haole style"- each grain separate kind of rice. It needs to be moist and sticky- but not too sticky. You always wash the rice. The rice of choice is medium size calrose (never long grain- though often jasmine).

i have never used a rice cooker, I am fine with just a pot and water. Wash your rice- 1c rice to 1 1/2c water, bring to a boil. Turn down to low and steam until finished, do not stir, and add nothing else.

[chromedome]

I tend to go through more rice than most white guys, considering a family of four and no ethnic pre-disposition. I mainly buy Indian or Thai long-grain rice in a 20kg sack, and Pakistani Basmati in a 10kg sack. I've been meaning to get into some of the sticky rices, but haven't as yet. American rices are widely available in the supermarkets and are generally aggressively-priced, but I find them much harder to cook successfully. I am assured that there are numerous premium American rices, so perhaps it's just a matter of which ones are available to me here. At any rate...

I always rinse my rice thoroughly, which I find is one of the biggest keys to making it non-sticky. With basmati, because of its longer, more delicate grains, I soak it for at least 30 minutes and preferably 2-3 hours. This makes it less prone to breakage.

I make rice in several different ways, depending on what I plan to do with it (leaving aside risottos, which are a whole different thing entirely). I generally cook rice on the stovetop, in a 4L pot with a nice, tight lid. For long-grain rice cooked plain, I'll go with about 3 cups of water/2 cups of rice. For basmati, because I soak it, I'll cut back the water to 2 1/2 cups. This seems adequate to properly hydrate the rice without turning it to mush. The 2:1 ratio given on the label of many rices is just asking for trouble.

If I am cooking an elaborate meal and need my stovetop space, I'll throw the rice into my oven once it's come to a boil. Rather than take the lid off to stir, I just give the whole pot a good swirl with the lid on; then into the oven it goes. I find that a 250F oven does the job nicely, and it won't have to cool off very much if I need to use it as a platewarmer.

When I'm making a pilaf-style dish, I invariably fry the rice in my cooking fat for a few minutes first; then add the water/stock/whatever. Generally the rice gets added to whatever aromatics and spices I'm using, and stirred until it's well coated with the flavourful oil.

The business with a towel between the lid and the rice is widely used; I came across it in Najmieh Batmanglij's Persian cookbooks. When I'm making Iranian food I do the rice her way: cook the basmati uncovered at a full boil for just a few minutes; then drain and rinse. Place it back in the pot, gently mounded into a cone-shaped pile; add some saffron-infused water, then cover with a towel and lid and let it steam. In Iran, as well, the crusty layer at the bottom of the pot is highly prized; their rice pots are designed specifically to ensure a crust.

When cooking large quantities of rice, it is important to reduce the amount of water used. This sounds counter-intuitive, and I have no idea what the mechanics of it are, but I can assure you that it's a factor. Even stepping up from two cups of rice to four means that I need to reduce the water I use. I find that omitting about 1/4 cup of water for every two cups of rice is a good rule of thumb, but bear in mind that I don't have a pot capable of dealing with more than 6 cups of uncooked rice. I'd have to dig up one of my textbooks to see what the recommendation is for larger batches.

The cool-down period, as noted above, is also important. Your rice may be cooked perfectly, but if you pop the lid off of just-cooked rice and start plopping it onto plates it's going to be sticky. That's just the way it is. Leaving the rice rest for 10-20 minutes allows the starches time to "set up" nicely, ensuring that the individual grains regain their firmness. Duguid and Alford used the analogy of a loaf of bread fresh from the oven, which will always seem damp and doughy compared to the same loaf after it's had time to cool.

Allow yourself adequate time for the rice to sit, and your problem is half-solved.