The Everything Rice Cooker Cookbook (2 page)

OFTEN YOU DO NOT realize that life's basic conveniences are just beside you. I am not referring to store-bought frozen pizza or that tub of ice cream, but technologies that are created to make life easier. The rice cooker was considered a kitchen revolution when it was invented in Japan in the 1950s as it changed the lives of many homemakers in that country, where cooking rice in traditional ways was time-consuming. However, the use of rice cookers for anything other than rice was considered a sign of laziness and moral corruption that is characteristic of those who cannot be bothered with getting their wok down.

However, when it comes to home cooking, the rice cooker is indeed a kitchen revolution, and not just in Japan. Being able to whip up nutritious, healthy, and tasty meals without wasting a huge amount of time is still the key. The rice cooker can help achieve that. True, the rice cooker is not the only cooking tool that could do this, and its versatility may have been overshadowed by the one-pot cooking often talked about with slow cookers. But, the rice cooker can be your one-pot cooker too! It is a simple machine to operate and can bring you nutritious, healthy, and easy cooking, using the fresh ingredients and basic pantry items that are the linchpins of a good diet.

How versatile is the rice cooker? You can steam, stew, stir-fry, braise, sauté … almost like a portable stovetop! You can cook in the rice cooker the same way you cook with a pan on the stove, since the rice cooker can generate its own heat. Many of your daily recipes can be easily adapted to rice cookers. In fact, much home cooking is gradually moving away from the rigidity of traditional recipes and advocating improvisational cooking as an even quicker and easier way to make everyday meals. Building on successful meals is not difficult as long as the dishes can be deconstructed into basics: ingredients, taste, balance, flavors, and the correct techniques. Similarly, rice cooker cooking also starts with building a foundation — the correct technique; then you can make changes by experimenting. Such little experiments in each recipe will allow you to learn new flavors every day, and hopefully allow you to improvise and be creative in the process of working with your new tool.

This book's goal is to empower you with the knowledge of how to use the rice cooker more than to teach you perfect recipes. The focus will be on the technique and process. Rice cooker cooking is really a lot about careful planning and the sequence during cooking. Most (if not all) of the cooking in this cookbook has been done in the rice cooker. This is to really bring out the “real deal” in rice cooker cooking, which is that the cooker can stand alone, playing a primary role in your kitchen.

For those who already own a rice cooker and are already using it, mainly to cook rice and simple dishes, there is a much larger variety of recipes to explore, from nourishing soups to hearty meals. For those who do not yet own a rice cooker and are thinking of getting one, this can be a good starter guide on how to use the rice cooker for simple and appetizing recipes. Enjoy!

This book does not advocate the rice cooker as the
only
appliance you should own in the kitchen, completely replacing your stovetop cooking or one-pot slow cooker. Rather, it hopes to present the rice cooker as a complementary tool in the kitchen, an additional helper that assists you as you whip up a new repertoire of simple home-based recipes. The process of rice cooker cooking should be enjoyed. It cannot be emphasized enough that this style of cooking is really about techniques, including the cooking sequence, knowing the ingredients well, experimenting, and building the experience. With that, this book starts you with a precious grain of rice and leaves you with an open mind toward the possibilities of your rice cooker.

It is not strange to hear this greeting, as a friendly, cheery form of “Hello” in Chinese communities around the world. It is also common to hear workers protecting their “iron rice bowl,” meaning their stable occupation. The popular Seven Necessities that Chinese people considered important in a household are firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea. It's not difficult to explain the importance of rice in the sequence! Rice has been associated with many traditions and cultures around the world. In Sanskrit, the word for “rice” also meant “sustainer of the human race.” Indeed, rice is a staple for a large part of the world's population, especially in Asia, where more than 75 percent of the world's rice is harvested.

The precise origins of rice are lost to history, but it is believed that rice was probably domesticated, after wheat and barley, in a few places such as the Yangtze Valley in China and India, in 6500 B.C. It finally became a staple crop in the United States in the late 1600s. During this time journey, rice also reached Japan, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. Today each region utilizes rice either as part of cultivation, or as a staple in the diet.

The freshest and healthiest grains go through many steps from the point of harvest to finally being sold on the shelves. These include sieving (a destoner to remove gravel, magnet to remove metal bits, and color sorter to remove seeds and fragments); hulling, to remove the husk; milling, to go from brown to white; polishing, to ensure the rice is shiny and attractive, and cleaning, to extend storage life.

Rice has a far richer diversity than the average supermarket shelf suggests. There are more than 40,000 different varieties of rice, but not all are grown commercially. Different types of rice may also have different levels of starch, causing one type of rice to be “stickier” or “looser” than another. Rice is generally categorized into whole-grain or white rice, as well as by the length of the grain. Whole-grain rice is minimally processed and so retains a nutrientrich husk. Since whole-grain rice is not husked, the cooking time typically is longer than that for milled white rice. Whole-grain rice tends to be more flavorful, aromatic, and colorful. The most common variety of whole-grain rice is brown rice; the lesser-known types are black rice and red rice.

White rice is often referred to as “polished” since the outer husk is removed, and the layers of bran are milled until the grain is white. White rice requires less cooking and has a milder flavor. It also has less nutritional value than the whole-grain variety.

Milled white rice is versatile and can be eaten plain, served with curries and vegetables, or cooked as flavored rice. The popular aromatic or Jasmine rice variety exudes a mild fragrance when cooked. White glutinous rice is short and plump with a chalky white, opaque kernel. When cooked, it loses shape and becomes sticky. It is very starchy, often cooked by steaming, and typically used in desserts.

Rice can also be defined by the length of its grain:

• Long-grain rice
  has a long, slender kernel, four to five times longer than its width. When cooked, grains are separate, light, and fluffy. Jasmine rice, a popular Thai variety, tends to be more moist and clings together, when compared to the Indian basmati rice, which cooks to separate grains that are drier and fluffier. Basmati rice maintains its distinct shape when cooked and is ideal with curries and stews.
  

• Medium-grain rice
  has a shorter, wider kernel than long-grain rice. Cooked grains are more moist and tender, and have a greater tendency to cling together than long grain. Arborio rice is an Italian short- to medium-grain variety often used when making risotto and paella dishes. Such grains absorb cooking liquid and remain dense without losing their distinct shape.
  

• Short-grain rice
  is short, plump, and has an almost round kernel. Cooked grains are soft and cling together. This variety of sticky rice is eaten as a staple in Japan and Korea. It is also commonly used when making sushi rice as the starch released produces the stickiness that is required when making sushi rolls.
  

Rice traces back to the pastoral traditions and historical lifestyles in different parts of the world. Notably, rice has shaped and defined the varied cuisines of Asia. As the keeping of livestock was not historically the lifestyle in parts of Asia, such as in the East and Southeast Asia, there were fewer opportunities to consume meat and dairy products. These parts of Asia became rice growing regions, and the local diet relied heavily on rice for nutrition. Rice became the main ingredient and centerpiece of every meal, often complemented with vegetables. Quite typically, a meal without rice was not considered a full meal. This important grain still is often served in the plainest way possible, with accompanying side dishes at each meal to provide a variety of flavors and more complete nutrition.

In parts of the world where animals were domesticated as part of a farm, rice does not necessarily accompany every meal as the main carbohydrate food for energy. Especially in the western Euro-Asian communities, including Western Asia and Europe, rice is usually flavored, generally cooked with flavorings, and often prepared using milk, cheese, or other dairy products.

In different regions of India, rice can be cooked plain or seasoned with ghee and spices as a base for
pulao
or
biryani
. In Sanskrit,
pulao
means “a bowl of rice” and refers to rice boiled with seasonings. Most
pulao
and
biryani
dishes are made with not just rice, but meat, vegetables, and beans. In many cases, the rice is sautéed in oil or butter with seasonings or spices before boiling. This same method of preparation was introduced to the Iberian Peninsula by the Arabs, where it became “paella,” the saffron rice for which Spain is famous. The Spaniards brought this method with them to the Caribbean, where it further evolved in the context of Creole cuisine, as in the jambalaya of New Orleans. Meanwhile, rice cultivation had begun in the Po River Valley of Italy in the fourteenth century, where rice is boiled with meat and vegetables in a bouillon soup. This dish is known as “risotto.”

Another rice dish that remains popular in most of Asia is rice gruel or rice porridge. Congee, or
Jook
, as it is referred to in different parts of Asia, is almost considered Asia's comfort food. Such a dish is easy to prepare — rice is cooked in plenty of water or broth and becomes a thick rice soup — and is regarded as most satisfying. Like cooked rice, plain rice porridge can be complemented with other flavor some dishes. Congee is a comfort food, typically a breakfast food, and also was the basis for therapeutic treatment in ancient China.

Similar to making flavored rice in the West, the water and broth can also be flavored when cooking congee, and there is almost no limit as to what ingredients, toppings, or condiments can be added. Chinese communities the world over would typically add ginger, green onions, and cilantro, while the Koreans sweeten their rice soup with honey, dates, and nuts. The Japanese flavor it with mushrooms and nori seaweed, while the Vietnamese prepare theirs with fish sauce and roasted peanuts. Typically, if a stronger-flavored broth base is desired, meat such as chicken, pork, or beef, or seafood such as shrimp and scallops, are used.