The Everything Rice Cooker Cookbook (14 page)

Yakiudon is stir-fried udon in soy-based sauce. This recipe uses ground beef and mushrooms as the main ingredients, inspired by Japanese teppanyaki. Substitute ground turkey or other ground meat for the ground beef as preferred, and try a variety of mushrooms to add depth to the stir-fry.

1. Add the water to the rice cooker, cover, and set to Cook. When the water boils, add the noodles to blanch. Stir gently to prevent sticking to the base of the pot. Blanch for about 1 minute until noodles are separated. Drain the noodles and set aside.
   

2. Clean out the rice cooker and wipe dry. Add oil to the rice cooker, cover, and set to Cook. When the base of the rice cooker gets warm, add the ginger, beef, mushrooms, and soy sauce and stir-fry for 3 to 5 minutes till beef partially cooks through (turns from red to brownish), covering rice cooker occasionally in the process of frying.
   

3. Add ½ cup water, cover the rice cooker, and continue to cook for about 8 minutes. When the mixture starts to simmer and beef cooks through, add the green onions and udon noodles and toss well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Switch the rice cooker to Warm and allow noodles to simmer until they absorb the sauce mixture. Serve warm.
   

Do You Know?

While yakiudon is stir-fry made with udon, yakisoba is not stir-fry made with soba. Yakisoba actually uses ramen noodles in the stir-fry.

Glass noodles are also known by many other names such as cellophane noodles, bean thread noodles, and mung bean vermicelli. Glass noodles are so-called because of their translucent appearance when cooked.

1. Add the water to the rice cooker, cover, and set to Cook. When the water boils, add the bok choy to blanch for 15 to 20 seconds until the bok choy becomes tender. Dish out and set aside.
   

2. Clean out the rice cooker and wipe dry. Add the oil to the rice cooker, cover, and set to Cook. When the base of the rice cooker gets warm, add the shallots and lemongrass and fry for about 5 minutes until fragrant, covering rice cooker occasionally in the process of frying.
   

3. Add the ground pork (break into smaller bits) and Tom Yum paste and fry for 5 to 8 minutes, covering rice cooker occasionally in the process of frying.
   

4. Add 2 to 3 cups water, cover rice cooker, and allow mixture to come to a boil. When boiling, add the shrimp and tofu, cover the rice cooker, and simmer for 5 minutes until shrimp turn pink. Remove the shrimp (with help of kitchen tongs) and set aside.
   

5. Add glass noodles into the Tom Yum mixture, cover rice cooker, and allow to come to a simmer.
   

6. Once simmering, immediately dish out glass noodles into serving bowls, top noodles with shrimp and bok choy, and ladle remaining soup over noodles. Serve immediately.
   

Cooking Tip

Glass noodles absorb moisture like a sponge. Do not simmer them for too long in a soup base or they will absorb too much liquid and turn soft and mushy. If cooking a dish with gravy, simmering glass noodles for too long will make you lose all the gravy!

Do not confuse glass noodles (typically made from mung beans) with rice vermicelli.

1. Mix oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and 1 cup water in a bowl. Set aside as sauce.
   

2. Add the oil to the rice cooker, cover, and set to Cook. When the base of the rice cooker gets warm, add the garlic, followed by mushrooms and celery. Fry about 5 minutes until fragrant, covering rice cooker occasionally in the process of frying.
   

3. Add the sauce mixture, cover the rice cooker, and cook until slightly bubbling. Add remaining 1 cup water, cover the rice cooker, and simmer the mixture for about 5 minutes, switching to Warm if mixture bubbles too vigorously.
   

4. Add salt and pepper to taste. Lift up rice cooker lid, add the glass noodles, mix well, and allow noodles to absorb the sauce mixture.
   

5. Ladle into serving bowls and garnish with cilantro before serving.
   

Tiger shrimp, also known as black tiger shrimp, have firm-textured meat and work well in different methods of cooking, including steaming. Most Asian consumers prefer to purchase these shrimp whole, with the heads still on.

1. Place softened warm glass noodles onto individual serving plates.
   

2. Fill the rice cooker pot with water to about the 4-cup mark. Cover the rice cooker and set to Cook.
   

3. Make a tiny slit on each of the shrimp, front and back. This allows you to “straighten” the shrimp. Arrange the straightened shrimp side by side, front-side up, on a plate that will fit into the steamer insert or basket. Sprinkle the fried garlic and half the green onions on the shrimp, and then drizzle the shrimp evenly with the garlic oil and Chinese cooking wine. When the water in the rice cooker boils, place the steamer insert or basket that holds the plate of shrimp into the rice cooker and steam, with the rice cooker covered, for 10 to 12 minutes or more, until the shrimp turn pink and cook through.
   

4. Divide the shrimp among the serving plates with glass noodles and ladle the garlic-infused shrimp gravy over the noodles. Garnish with remaining green onions and ground white pepper and serve.
   

Cooking Tip

Save time during a work week by frying the garlic over the weekend. Store fried garlic and garlic oil in an airtight container in the fridge. On a normal work day, thaw the shrimp from freezer to fridge in the morning; and in the evening, set the properly sliced shrimp to steam with make-ahead fried garlic and garlic oil.

Chinese Zhajiang and Korean Jajangmyeon are different types of meat sauces. The Chinese Zhajiang is a meat sauce made with spicy beans, while the Korean Jajangmyeon is a sweeter version. Here is a version with black vinegar added, similar to a popular minced meat noodle dish sold by Singapore's street vendors.

1. Mix soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, and 1-cup water in a bowl. Set aside as sauce mixture.
   

2. Add 3 cups water to the rice cooker, cover, and set to Cook. When the water boils, add the noodles and stir gently to prevent sticking to the base of the pot. Allow noodles to cook for 8 minutes or more until al dente. Drain the noodles and set aside.
   

3. Clean out the rice cooker and wipe dry. Add the oil to the rice cooker, cover, and set to Cook. When the base of the rice cooker gets warm, add the garlic and fry about 5 minutes until fragrant.
   

4. Add the pork and lightly fry about 8 minutes until the pork surface turns brown, covering the rice cooker occasionally in the process of frying. Dish out the pork and set aside.
   

5. Add the shallots and mushrooms and fry 2 to 3 minutes, until shallots turn soft, covering the rice cooker occasionally in the process of frying.
   

6. Add the sauce mixture, cover the rice cooker, and allow to come to a slight simmer. When simmering, switch to Warm and continue to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until mushrooms become soft. Return the pork to the rice cooker and continue to simmer at Warm for 15 to 20 minutes until pork cooks through. Add salt and pepper to taste and drizzle 1 tablespoon black vinegar into the mixture during the last 2 minutes.
   

7. Add the noodles to the rice cooker and mix well with the ground meat mixture. Add more black vinegar if desired and mix well with the noodles.
   

Sauce or Topping?

Zhajiang noodles are usually served with meat sauce topping over the noodles, and patrons toss the topping with the noodles before eating. There are also other kinds of meat sauces that are mixed and/or stir-fried with the noodles before serving.

If you can't find dried Chinese noodles in supermarkets near you, substitute instant Chinese noodles. Cook the instant noodles according to package instructions and set aside in serving bowls.

1. Add the water to the rice cooker, cover, and set to Cook. When the water boils, add the noodles and stir gently to prevent sticking to the base of the pot. Cover rice cooker and allow noodles to cook for about 3 minutes, referring to packet instructions as a guide. Drain the noodles and set aside in serving bowls.
   

2. Clean out the rice cooker and wipe dry. Add oil to the rice cooker, cover, and set to Cook. When the base of the rice cooker gets warm, add the ground pork and fry for 4 to 5 minutes until pork surface turns brown, covering rice cooker occasionally in the process of frying. Dish out the pork and set aside. Leave the remaining oil in the pot.
   

3. Add garlic, green onions, and bean paste to the pot and continue frying for 2 minutes. Add 2 cups water, cover rice cooker, and allow the sauce mixture to come to a simmer.
   

4. Once simmering, return the pork to the rice cooker and continue to simmer at Warm for 15 to 20 minutes until pork cooks through.
   

5. Ladle the sauce over the noodles and garnish with cucumber before serving.
   

In Hong Kong, this dish is popularly known by the Cantonese name Wat Dan Hor. Wat Dan means “smooth silky eggs,” and Hor refers to the kind of noodle used, typically flat rice noodles.

1. Add the water to the rice cooker, cover, and set to Cook. When the water boils, add the noodles and stir gently to prevent sticking to the base of the pot. Cover rice cooker and allow noodles to cook for about 5 minutes. Drain the noodles and set aside in serving bowls.
   

2. Clean out the rice cooker and wipe dry. Add the oil to the rice cooker, cover, and set to Cook. When the base of the cooker pot gets warm, add the shrimp and fry about 8 minutes until almost cooked (when shrimp turn pink). Dish out shrimp and set aside. Leave the remaining oil in the pot.
   

3. Add the garlic, ginger, and chicken to the pot. Fry for about 8 minutes until the chicken pieces turn brown on the surface, covering rice cooker occasionally in the process of frying.
   

4. Add the mushrooms, broccoli, oyster sauce, and 2 cups water; stir well. Cover the rice cooker and allow mixture to come to a simmer. Once simmering, switch to Warm and continue to simmer for 8 to 10 minutes until chicken cooks through.
   

5. Stir the shrimp into the pot. Season with salt and white pepper to taste.
   

6. With the rice cooker still at Warm, slowly add the whisked egg, swirling the egg gently in one direction using a chopstick. The heat remaining in the cooked mixture will cook the egg to a runny, smooth consistency. Ladle the mixture on top of the noodles and serve.