The Ultimate Rice Cooker (10 page)
MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;
fuzzy logic or on/off
CYCLE: Regular
YIELD: Serves 6 to 8
2 cups domestic white jasmine rice
3 cups water
Large pinch offine sea salt (optional)
1. Place the rice in a fine strainer or bowl, rinse with cold water, and drain once.
2. Coat the rice cooker bowl with nonstick cooking spray or a film of vegetable oil. Place the rice in the rice bowl. Add the water and salt, if using; swirl to combine. Close the cover and set for the regular cycle.
3. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, let the rice steam for 15 minutes. Fluff the rice with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon. This rice will hold on Keep Warm for hours. Serve hot.
The word for rice in Thai is
kao
and the type of rice found all over the country is a pearl white long-grain rice labeled Thai jasmine. It has a plump, elongated shape, not round like short-grain rice or thin and long like American long-grain. The rice cooks up fluffy and moist, with a delicate floral aroma that is a favorite with many cooks in many nations. Many brands are labeled Riz Parfumé. Considered the most delicate grain of all the rices, it is harvested in December during the dry months and is marketed fresh. Thai jasmine loses its fragrance as the raw rice ages, so often it is stored in the refrigerator.
Many cooks complain that their jasmine rice is too gummy after cooking; that is because they are cooking it in too much water. Thai jasmine is not the same as long-grain Thai sticky rice,
kao neuw
, which is eaten in the north of the country, steamed in a spittoon-shaped rice pot, and eaten only with the hands.
MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;
fuzzy logic or on/off
CYCLE: Regular
YIELD: Serves 6 to 8
2 cups Thai jasmine rice
2¼ cups water
¼ teaspoon salt
1. Place the rice in a fine strainer or bowl, rinse with cold water twice, and drain twice.
2. Coat the rice cooker bowl with nonstick cooking spray or a film of vegetable oil. Place the rice in the rice bowl. Add the water and salt; swirl to combine. Close the cover and set for the regular cycle.
3. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, let the rice steam for 15 minutes. Fluff the rice with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon. This rice holds nicely on Keep Warm for up to 3 hours. Serve hot.
note:
If the cooked rice seems too dry, add a bit more water (up to 2 to 3 tablespoons) and leave it on the Keep Warm cycle for 15 minutes to continue steaming.
Cooked by itself, jasmine rice can be very soft and tender, almost sticky. In combination with a domestic long-grain white rice, it will have a lovely nutty fragrance and drier texture. It’s especially nice with Chinese food; in fact, one restaurateur of our acquaintance says he serves only jasmine rice (made in a 55-cup gas-powered rice cooker!) because he loves the way it makes the restaurant smell. If you use domestic-grown American jasmine rice, increase the water to 1¾ cups.
MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;
fuzzy logic or on/off
CYCLE: Regular
YIELD: Serves 3 to 4
½ cup long-grain white rice
½ cup Thai jasmine rice
1½ cups water
¼ teaspoon salt
1. Place the rices in a fine strainer or bowl, rinse with cold water, and drain twice.
2. Coat the rice cooker bowl with nonstick cooking spray or a film of vegetable oil. Place the rices in the rice bowl. Add the water and salt; swirl to combine. Close the cover and set for the regular cycle.
3. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, let the rice steam for 10 to 15 minutes. Fluff the rice with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon. This rice will hold on Keep Warm for hours. Serve hot.
We thought Jasmati rice was a combination of jasmine and basmati, but that is not the case. Grown in Texas, Jasmati is a combination of Thai jasmine and Carolina long-grain white rice from RiceSelect. The aroma of the uncooked rice is as intoxicating a perfume as the best jasmine, but the aroma becomes muted during cooking. The soft, tender cooked rice is a great alternative to regular bland white rice or one of the imported aromatics. It cooks up snowy white, gets ever so slight a curl on some grains, and tastes like jasmine rice without any of the stickiness. This is rated one of our favorite rices and we think you will agree. Jasmati can be substituted for any long-grain white rice or basmati in the pilaf recipes
see
and
see
. Store in the refrigerator.
MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;
fuzzy logic or on/off
CYCLE: Regular
YIELD: Serves 3 to 4
1 cup Jasmati rice
1½ cups water
2 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine
⅛ teaspoon salt (optional)
1. Place the rice in the rice cooker bowl. Add the water, butter, and salt, if using; swirl to combine. Close the cover and set for the regular cycle.
2. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, let the rice steam for 15 minutes. Fluff the rice with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon. This rice will hold on Keep Warm for hours. Serve hot.
After Texmati, the next rice developed by RiceSelect was their Kasmati, with a stronger aromatic fragrance and firmer center of the grain than the Texmati. Adapted from basmati seedstock in a manner like Della and Louisiana popcorn rice, Texas-grown Kasmati looks exactly like a scaled-down basmati grain with similar opaque viscosity. Kasmati is far more aromatic and is tasty, indeed. Beth originally thought that since Kasmati was similar to Jasmati they would cook and taste the same; not so. It has rather dense grains, so it needs a preliminary soaking to cook properly; without soaking it is very firm (which is okay for fried rice). The needle-like grains elongate considerably, especially with the presoak. Kasmati is a lovely rice that quickly became a dinner favorite and is definitely delightfully unique compared to other American aromatics. Store the raw rice in the refrigerator.
MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;
fuzzy logic or on/off
CYCLE: Regular
YIELD: Serves 3 to 4
1 cup Kasmati rice
1¾ cups water
Small pinch of salt (optional)
1. Place the rice and water in the rice cooker bowl. Close the cover and let the rice soak for 30 minutes to 1 hour. At the end of the soaking period, add the salt, if using, swirl to combine, and set for the regular cycle.
2. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, let the rice steam for 10 minutes. Gently but thoroughly fluff the rice with a plastic or wooden rice paddle or wooden spoon. This rice will hold on Keep Warm for hours. Serve hot.
The right cooking pot has always been a very important issue in cooking rice, and the rice cooker is downright infallible when cooking medium-grain white rices. Medium-grain white rice is perfect for a plain side dish, but expect a moister, more tender grain than with long-grain rice; it should never be mushy. If you’re buying rice labeled for Japanese-American consumers, it may be labeled short-grain. The terms are used interchangeably in Asia; the United States is the only country with a separate class for medium-grain. When you inspect the grain, note that it is shorter and slightly plumper than long-grain. It requires less water to cook than long-grain rice. You may use this rice in pilafs, as well as in paella.
Medium-Grain White Rice
medium-grain white rice
This is the recipe to use for basic steamed rice or the Japanese daily rice,
okame
, made from the white rice known as
seihakumai
. Remember, if you bought a bag of rice labeled “new crop,”
shinmai
(which is fresh every autumn), you will decrease the ratio of water to rice to 1:1 (that will be 1 cup of water here). The method of washing described below is more extensive than what many cooks actually do. If you’re pressed for time, just swish and drain a few times. If your rice is labeled “Musenmai” or “Rinse-free rice,” the washing is optional. (If you don’t wash it, use a bit more water.) This recipe is geared to domestic medium-grain white rice, which is grown either in California or Arkansas. Use brands like Nishiki, Homai, Botan, Konriko, Tamaki Classic, and southern medium-grain brands,
not
domestic or imported Arborios. These are the same proportions to use for
haigamai
, partially polished white rice. For 1½ cups rice, use 2 cups water.
MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;
fuzzy logic or on/off
CYCLE: Regular
YIELD: Serves 3 to 4
1 cup medium-grain white rice
1⅓ cups water
¼ teaspoon salt (optional)
1. Wash the rice. Place the rice in a bowl and fill the bowl about half-full with cold water. Swirl the rice in the water with your hand. Carefully pour off most of the water, through a mesh strainer or by holding one cupped hand under the stream to catch any grains of rice that are carried away with the water. Holding the bowl steady with one hand, use the other to rub and squeeze the wet rice, turning the bowl as you go so that all the rice is “scrubbed.” The small amount of water in the bowl will turn chalky white. Now, run cold water into the bowl, give the rice a quick swish, and carefully drain off the water as before. Repeat the scrubbing and pouring-off process twice more. By the third time, the water you pour off will be nearly clear.
2. Place the rice in the rice cooker bowl. Add the water and salt, if using; swirl to combine. Let the rice soak for 30 minutes to 1 hour with the cover shut, time permitting. At the end of the soaking period, set for the regular cycle.
3. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, let the rice steam for 15 minutes. Gently but thoroughly fluff the rice with a plastic or wooden rice paddle or wooden spoon. This rice will hold on Keep Warm for hours. Serve hot.
japanese white rice with umeboshi and sesame
Tart and salty, pinky red umeboshi pickled plums are an acquired taste to some. To others, it is just another comfort food along with miso. Anyone who has taken a macrobiotic cooking class gets hooked on umeboshi. On a visit to Japantown, our lunch boxes always have a bright, shriveled pickled plum plunked into the mound of fresh white rice. Prepare the condiments while the rice is cooking; you want to be ready to serve as soon as the rice has finished on the Keep Warm cycle. Umeboshi plums are sold in Asian groceries and natural foods stores. This recipe—inspired by Hiroko Shimbo, author of
The Japanese Kitchen
(Harvard Common Press, 2000)—has quickly become a favorite quick lunch on the run.
YIELD: Serves 2 to 3
2 umeboshi plums, pitted and minced
2 tablespoons minced fresh Italian parsley leaves
1½ tablespoons toasted Japanese sesame seeds
3 cups hot cooked medium-grain white rice
Sesame oil (not toasted), for drizzling Tamari (a thick, strong soy sauce; reduced-sodium, if desired), for drizzling
