Solely Cooking Rice in Your Rice Cooker? Right here Are 12 Different Issues You Can Make
I take advantage of my rice cooker weekly – largely for ice. Extra lately, I have been experimenting with different meals you can also make in these small, gradual cookers. A rice cooker is straightforward to function and simple to scrub, so there’s an actual profit to increasing its workload from rice and easy grains.
Sure, the rice cooker deserves a everlasting spot in your counter — not only for rice, however for every part from a morning porridge to a simple night dessert.
I put mine to work, and talked to recipe builders and culinary professionals in regards to the dishes they maintain coming again to.
With their enter, listed below are 12 methods to make use of a rice cooker which will shock you.
1. Different grains
Oatmeal could not be simpler than when made in a rice cooker.
At its core, a rice cooker cooks rice by counting on a water-to-grain ratio and switching to heat mode as soon as the water is absolutely absorbed. To that finish, any grain that depends on this methodology may also be made within the rice cooker, akin to quinoa, barley and farro, to call only a few.
Oatmeal can also be a grain whose prep may be relegated to the rice cooker, making for a fuss-free breakfast. “A rice cooker is my favourite option to make steel-cut oats as a result of it maintains regular warmth and requires zero stirring, which prevents scorching,” says Shawna Clark, founding father of Wholesome Foodie Lady. “I like to recommend flippantly spraying the insert with oil and utilizing the porridge or brown rice setting if obtainable,” she says, “since oats foam greater than rice and profit from slower cooking.” In that vein, the rice cooker may even be used to make a heat breakfast of in a single day oats, a marked enchancment over in a single day oats made within the fridge.
2. Savory oats
As a variation on the grain theme, with a bit of mild sautéing that may also be finished immediately within the rice cooker, savory oats additionally make for a great rice cooker mission. “I am a savory breakfast gal at coronary heart and that is one in every of my prime three breakfasts,” says Farwin Simaak, recipe developer at Love and Different Spices.
In case your rice cooker has a sear/sauté operate, that is made simpler, however even in a traditional rice cooker, you may get onion going for a couple of minutes for this savory preparation. “Sauté your onion and optionally available garlic in butter,” says Simaak, “and use old style rolled oats, and broth as a substitute of water for taste.” As soon as the water has been absorbed and the savory oats are cooked, “serve with poached eggs, a drizzle of chili oil and a sprinkle of chopped inexperienced onions,” she says.
3. Egg custard/frittata
Rice cookers can simply deal with an egg frittata.
In contrast to the air fryer, which requires a pan inside the cooking chamber, your rice cooker insert is already a pan for liquid components. “I take advantage of my rice cooker to set egg custards,” says Ed McCormick, founding father of Cape Crystal Manufacturers. “Not scrambled eggs, however clean, sliceable preparations.” Egg custards may be candy or savory in nature. The latter are particularly best for producing even shapes so as to add to breakfast sandwiches.
“The rice cooker warmth is regular,” says McCormick. “That is the primary factor — nothing spikes, nothing scorches. I’ve ruined sufficient custards on the range to note the distinction.” With cheese, veggies and/or meat, your egg custard turns into a frittata. You need to use a separate pan within the rice cooker, particularly when you’re aiming for a smaller portion. Should you’re cooking immediately within the insert, be sure you spray the pan with cooking spray or grease it with butter or oil. And for finest custard-setting outcomes, “go away the lid alone,” McCormick advises. “Opening it early is the place issues go flawed.”
4. Garlic confit
There’s nearly no finish to the culinary makes use of for punchy garlic confit.
Confit is a elaborate time period for meals that has been cooked slowly in its personal fats. Duck confit often is the banner merchandise for such a preparation, and when you may most likely do it within the rice cooker with sufficient endurance, an on a regular basis preparation that is rice cooker gold is garlic confit.
“I take advantage of my rice cooker to make confit garlic,” says Kyle Taylor, founding father of He Cooks. “It is useful as a result of it holds a mild, regular warmth with out me babysitting a pot.” For finest outcomes, he recommends holding the garlic absolutely submerged in oil, and solely utilizing the nice and cozy setting in case your cooker runs sizzling.
Reworking agency cloves of garlic into one thing deeply fragrant and spreadable, with out the trouble of mincing, will seemingly have you ever utilizing your rice cooker for this function recurrently. “You possibly can mainly use garlic confit in any utility you’d in any other case use garlic,” says Taylor. “It provides a extra mellow, candy, and complicated taste,” and he recommends utilizing the completed confit in aioli, sauces, vinaigrettes, or simply spreading it immediately on toast.
5. Boiled eggs
Talking of eggs, I’ve beforehand championed utilizing an air fryer for simple boiled eggs. If the considered “boiling” eggs with out water makes you uneasy, think about using a rice cooker for this function. “A rice cooker is mainly only a pot with a lid,” says Lindsey Chastain, founding father of The Waddle and Cluck, which makes it best for low-lift preparations like boiled eggs.
The rice cooker’s mild warmth is very good for soft-boiled eggs. “The eggs work higher when you use the steam basket within the rice cooker,” she says, in case your mannequin consists of one, “however you may also simply pop them in water.”
6. Dumplings
Your rice cooker doubles as a steamer for making simple dumplings whereas your rice or grains cook dinner under.
If it weren’t referred to as a rice cooker, it is also precisely known as a gradual cooker or perhaps a steamer, making it best for dumplings.
“Dumplings — significantly soup dumplings — are one other favourite in a rice cooker because it capabilities equally to a steamer, with moist, even warmth,” says kitchen equipment specialist Kate Vine of Dinners Completed Fast. “They steam rather well, and you’ll add veggies in, too, if you’d like a full meal,” she says. “House the dumplings out, add not less than 1/2 cup water to the basin, and if you’d like brown bottoms, add a bit of oil after the water is absolutely cooked out and allow them to sit for two to three minutes to brown.”
Asian cookbook writer Patricia Tanumihardja additionally recommends the rice cooker for a next-level, singular dumpling. “I attempted making the viral, one-pot dumpling generally known as Asian lasagna in my rice cooker and it turned out excellent,” she says. “No twiddling with a steamer or a bain marie within the oven. Like it!”
7. Queso/fondue
A rice cooker is basically a small gradual cooker, making it the proper vessel to maintain a cheese dip heat and melty.
You may as well put your rice cooker to make use of when internet hosting with this genius hack. “A rice cooker is my favourite option to maintain queso or cheese dip heat and completely clean,” says Emmy Clinton of Totally Emmy. “The constant mild warmth and ‘heat’ setting maintain the cheese from hardening or separating, holding the feel excellent all night time,” she says. Hold your queso or fondue solely on heat, and stir occasionally to maintain the warmth evenly distributed. “You may as well add small quantities of cream, milk or Greek yogurt” if the dip begins to thicken, says Clinton.
8. Soups, stews and curries
Many rice cookers come outfitted with slow-cook capabilities or timers that allow you to set and overlook for a very long time, making them best for simmered preparations like soups, stews and curries, or for reheating these dishes in a mild, even approach. (Extra primary rice cooker fashions might be able to deal with the workload for these, however will seemingly require extra babysitting or extra time.) Most of the specialists I queried pointed to numerous preparations.
“I additionally make rendang (Indonesian beef curry) within the rice cooker,” says Tanumihardja. “It would not dry out as a lot because it does when cooked on the range, however I like my rendang saucy anyway,” she says. “It is nice as a result of it is largely hands-off, and there isn’t any hazard of it burning. Each time the button pops, you will be reminded to stir the dish.”
“The rice cooker is my favourite place to make French onion soup,” provides Chastain. “Simply add the cheese for the previous couple of minutes and it seems completely.”
9. One-pot meals
With some cautious layering and strategizing, your rice cooker may also be used for whole one-pot meals, particularly these with a rice base.
“I’ve additionally made full meals within the rice cooker akin to Hainanese hen and rice and black bean spareribs,” says Herman Chan of Herman at House. “All you do is wash the rice, add liquid, seasonings and protein on prime of the rice, then activate the rice cooker,” he says. “As soon as the rice cooker is completed, you have got completely cooked rice and protein able to eat.”
You possibly can experiment with what you add to the rice for full dinners. “I’ll combine raw rice with meat, aromatics and seasonings within the pot and cook dinner it as typical,” says Tanumihardja. “I’ll both steam greens on prime of the rice combination in a steamer basket,” she says, “or add it in towards the tip of the cooking time.”
10. Dessert
My rice cooker basque-style cheesecake was tasty.
Steamed or simmered desserts in quite a lot of kinds are additionally potential fodder to your rice cooker. “Personally, I’ve made the Asian dessert taro sago within the rice cooker,” says Chan, referring to the dessert soup that accommodates taro, tapioca and coconut milk. “It simmers the dessert till it reaches the proper consistency,” he says. As famous within the “egg custards” heading above, dessert custards and bread puddings are additionally nicely represented within the canon of rice-cooker recipes.
11. Cake
Sure, even cake may be made in a rice cooker, particularly Japanese-style fluffy sponge truffles. “In Asian culinary tradition, we frequently steam our truffles as a substitute of baking them in an oven,” says Tanumihardja. “I found that I can mainly steam my truffles within the rice cooker as a substitute,” she says. “It requires much less setup time, fewer dishes to clean, and it is hands-off. I simply push the cook dinner button and I can go off and do different issues.”
Be aware that for rice cooker cake, together with cheesecake, you’ll want to use a recipe that’s acceptable to your dimension of rice cooker. Cake flour can also be vital right here, and you probably have a primary mannequin and not using a timer, steam or cake operate, it could take lots of ready and restarting the rice cooker as soon as it robotically switches to “heat” mode.
12. Chocolate fondue
And because the ultimate “ta-da” on distinctive rice cooker makes use of, “Chocolate fondue is one in every of my favourite sudden methods to make use of a rice cooker,” says Clinton. “It offers mild and regular warmth that melts the chocolate evenly with out burning it,” with out the necessity to babysit a double boiler.
“My trick is to make use of the cook dinner setting briefly to soften the chocolate, then swap your rice cooker to the nice and cozy setting as soon as the chocolate is totally melted,” she provides. “Remember to regulate it, and stir incessantly whereas it is melting.” As soon as it is completed, you possibly can stir in coconut oil, cream or heavy cream to attain a wonderfully fluid texture.
