Enjoying my new rice cooker
By Canellita
@Canellita (12029)
United States
August 13, 2012 12:43am CST
For some time now I have been thinking of buying a rice cooker. I don't cook rice so often that I would use it every day so I wasn't sure I should get it. Recently I purchased a cup meal that was brown rice with edamame and other vegetables on top. It came with a delicious carrot-ginger dressing and I realized I could easily make something like this at home. I had a Walgreen's gift card so I used that to purchase a small rice cooker to try out.
The first day I read the directions very carefully, added the rice and water and turned it on. I left the room for a while and when I went back the cooker was spurting water all over! There is a small hole in the top of the lid to let steam escape only the rice cooker had turned into a kitchen sprinkler!
The next time I used it to steam broccoli which came out perfectly. Made a pilaf after that and more rice. Today I used it to heat up soup. I am looking forward to discovering what else I can make with it.
Has anyone ever used their rice cooker to make pasta?
1 person likes this
7 responses
@se7enthbird (8307)
• Philippines
13 Aug 12
i love rice cookers too. when we need to go somewhere or sleep somewhere we always bring a small rice cooker. we can cook a lot from there. sometimes we stayed in a friends house but slept in a far place far place far there house of course we all enjoyed the fire, roasting and BBQ but we still used the cooker to cook soup. its a multi purpose cooker for us specially when we go out.
@Canellita (12029)
• United States
13 Aug 12
My electric rice cooker is small enough to travel with, but I think if I were to go to visit a friend who did not have one, I would just purchase another since the one I have was not at all expensive. Many people here have them because they are so convenient. I have still not made perfect rice yet, but I am going to keep at it. It seems to require slightly more water than indicated, but I am sure I will figure it out.
@se7enthbird (8307)
• Philippines
13 Aug 12
I agree. Asian countries love rice cookers because it is affordable, very handy, convenient and a big help for us parents. I also have a hard time when it comes to cooking rice at its perfectness LOL. It depends on the type of rice though, that is what my wife says though. My daughter loves it when it is slightly more water than usual. It all depends on us though 
@Canellita (12029)
• United States
13 Aug 12
I don't want it to be too moist, or too sticky, or too hard, so I will just have to keep practicing. For now I am making brown rice so maybe that is why it seems the water cooks out too soon. I will have to experiment with adding additional amounts until I get the rice just right. I am also thinking I could change the switch from cook to warm when the water gets low. I just have to remember to check on it while the rice is cooking and not forget it.
@Raine38 (12257)
• United States
13 Aug 12
A rice cooker is a must in every Asian household for, as you guess, mainly cooking rice. We eat rice 2 meals a day in my family so you can say that our rice cooker is a heavy duty one and always on the go.
We do cook other stuff on the rice cooker like soups and even use it as a steamer for dumplings and veggies. But like 95% of the time, it's rice.
We eat rice 2 meals a day in my family so you can say that our rice cooker is a heavy duty one and always on the go.
We do cook other stuff on the rice cooker like soups and even use it as a steamer for dumplings and veggies. But like 95% of the time, it's rice.@Canellita (12029)
• United States
13 Aug 12
So far I am using my rice cooker to make brown rice, but I would like to try to make Jasmine and Basmati and even sushi rice. The book that came with the cooker says it can be used for other grains as well such as barley. I like barley, but have never cooked it myself.
At which of your two meals during the day do you have your rice? Do you eat it plain or put something on top?
@Raine38 (12257)
• United States
14 Aug 12
Most families here have it breakfast, lunch and dinner. We have it during lunch and dinner. We cook it plain and eat it together with other dish, what we commonly call as viand. Sometimes we also cook fried rice topped with leftover meat and cold cuts and scrambled eggs.
@Canellita (12029)
• United States
2 Oct 12
I don't know why I never received notification of your last response... Thanks for the update. I have used my rice cooker quite a bit and now I am ready to upgrade to a better one. I have cut back on eating rice though, because of all of the discussion about arsenic. I've decided to start having more couscous instead of so much rice.
@youless (112123)
• Guangzhou, China
13 Aug 12
Today the rice cooker have many features. Besides making the rice, you can also bake a cake, steam chicken, make the congee or soup etc. It is not only a rick cooker actually. So you shall buy it and then take advantage of it to make different dishes.
I love China
@Canellita (12029)
• United States
13 Aug 12
My rice cooker is small, it only makes 6 cups of rice. I love that I can also use it to steam vegetables, but I had no idea I could use it to make a cake! How do you do that?
@LetranKnight25 (33121)
• Philippines
13 Aug 12
Hello Canellita, my word of advice here is that don't close the lid that much since the boiling of it why cooking the rice is overwhelming. maybe i should start using that other stuff to steam other food beside rice. that reminds me, i better cook before mom comes home. i don't cook rice immediately as it decay early.
@Canellita (12029)
• United States
13 Aug 12
Hi LetranKnight! I thought of leaveing the lid completely off until some of the water cooks out, but second time I made rice I didn't cook as much so it didn't happen again. Now I just have to keep an eye on it so it doesn't scorch or stick on the bottom.
@Bhebelen14 (5194)
• Philippines
13 Aug 12
I tried to cook some pork stew and chicken dishes using rice cooker but I never tried to cook pasta on it. I love my rice cooker because it help me to lessen my cooking time in terms of cooking rice and without worrying from getting burn or half-cooked. There are times also I used rice cooker to steam vegetables, fish and some native rice cake and I like the result. I think rice cooker is very useful in the house and very affordable.
@Canellita (12029)
• United States
13 Aug 12
My rice doesn't burn, but the first time it did scorch. The thing for me is remembering to go back and check the cooker. One time I set a timer so I could go back and check on it to be sure the water did not all cook out before the rice was done. I guess I will just have to practice to get it just right. I have only used it as a steamer to prepare vegetables. I like that I have an easy clean up when I am done with it.
@skatss (1)
•
13 Aug 12
I've been interested in buying a rice cooker for a while and it's good to read all the postive responses posted here. I really like that you can cook other things in it besides rice. If it isn't too expensive I'm going to get one tomorrow. Thanks for starting this topic.
@Canellita (12029)
• United States
13 Aug 12
I got mine at Walgreen's. It was not at all expensive and as far as I am concerned it has already paid for itself. It doesn't even make the room hot!
@yugasini (12836)
• Anantapur, India
13 Aug 12
hi canellita,
i do know about rice,because we are selling rice cookers,actually cooker this means to cook any thing, rice, dhall,vegetables,snacks etc etc, this ranges from 3 ltrs to 12 ltrs capacity, at present we are using 3 ltrs cooker for our need we are four in my family we two and ours two like that, one time is enough to cook rice and dhall,have a nice day
@Canellita (12029)
• United States
13 Aug 12
Hi Yugasini! What kind of snacks do you make in your rice cooker? The one that I have is a small one, it makes 6 cups of rice, though I have not used it to make that much at once. Considering what happened the first time I made rice, if I had filled it, half the water might have been on the floor!
