The Ultimate Rice Cooker (63 page)
6. Serve immediately. Transfer the fish to a platter, garnish with the green onions, and serve the soy sauce–vinegar mixture on the side for drizzling.
steamed shrimp and jasmine rice
Shrimp is an excellent seafood for the rice cooker because it cooks so quickly. If your cooker has a glass lid, it’s easy to tell when the shrimp are cooked by their bright orange-pink color; if you have to lift the lid to check the shrimp, do so with care to avoid the steam. If the shrimp is finished before the end of the rice cooking cycle, carefully remove the shrimp and green onions, either by removing the whole steaming tray or transferring the ingredients with a spatula or tongs.
Timing this recipe takes a little practice, but the whole dish couldn’t be easier. Chopping up and mixing in the steamed green onions gives great flavor and texture to the cooked rice. You might try this with baby leeks instead of green onions. This is a light meal, suitable for lunch or Sunday night supper. This recipe comes from the kitchen of our literary agent, Martha Casselman.
MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) or large
(10-cup) rice cooker; on/off only
CYCLE: Regular
YIELD: Serves 4
1 pound medium-size shrimp
1⅓ cups Thai jasmine rice
2 ⅔ cups water
Pinch of salt
8 green onions, trimmed to fit steaming tray
2 pinches of dillweed
Ground white pepper
Sprigs of fresh Italian parsley, basil, or sage, for garnish
1. Peel and devein the shrimp, taking care to leave on the tails. Rinse the shrimp and pat dry with paper towels.
2. Rinse the rice. Place it in the rice cooker bowl with the water and salt; swirl to combine. Close the cover and set for the regular cycle.
3. Place the green onions on the steamer tray and lay the shrimp on top in a single layer. Sprinkle with the dill weed and white pepper to season.
4. About 8 minutes before the end of the regular cycle (depending on brand and size, about 15 minutes into the cycle), place the steaming tray in the cooker and close the cover. Steam the shrimp for about 6 minutes, until the color has changed to orange-pink. Do not overcook the shrimp, or they will become tough. Remove the steaming tray and place the shrimp in a warm covered dish. Let the onions cool, then chop them enough to stir them into the rice when it is done; you will have about 1.3 cup.
5. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, stir the green onions into the rice with a plastic or wooden rice paddle or wooden spoon.
6. To serve, mound the rice on a serving platter or 4 individual plates, place the shrimp on top, and garnish with the herb sprig.
vegetable pasta with prosciutto and olives
Once we learned how efficient it is to cook the vegetables, either in the boiling water along with the pasta or up top in the steamer basket, a meal can be on the table in 15 minutes. This recipe calls for dried pasta, since it takes about the same amount of time to cook as the vegetables.
MACHINE: Large (10-cup) rice cooker ;
on/off only
CYCLE: Regular
YIELD: Serves 4 as a main course, 6 as a first course
SOFT VEGETABLES
1 medium-size leek, white part only, washed well, cut in half, and thinly sliced
6 ounces pencil-thin asparagus, trimmed bottoms, sliced on a diagonal into 1-inch pieces
1 medium-size zucchini or yellow crookneck summer squash, cut into thin strips
1 cup fresh or frozen petite peas
12 canned whole baby corn, drained and cut in half lengthwise
½ pound firm, fresh white mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 medium-size red or orange bell pepper, halved, seeded, and cut into thin strips
2 to 3 large chard leaves, stems discarded, or Napa cabbage leaves for lining steamer basket (optional)
1 pound fettuccine
1 carrot, cut into thin strips
½ head cauliflower, broken into florets
¼ cup olive oil, or mixture of olive oil and walnut or hazelnut oil
4 paper-thin slices prosciutto, cut into thin strips
3 tablespoons pitted black olives
2 tablespoons minced fresh basil leaves or other fresh herb, such as oregano, marjoram, chives, or savory
½ cup freshly grated or finely shredded Parmesan cheese, plus more for sprinkling
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1. Prepare the vegetables and place them on a plate (this can be done 2 to 4 hours in advance). Cover and refrigerate until serving.
2. Fill the rice cooker bowl half-full of hot water, close the cover, and set for the regular cycle. Line two steamer baskets with a single layer of chard or cabbage leaves or coat with nonstick cooking spray. Arrange the soft vegetables in the baskets.
3. When the water comes to a boil, add the pasta, carrot, and cauliflower to the rice bowl. Place the steamer baskets over the boiling water and close the cover. Set a timer and steam for 10 minutes. Check for doneness; both the vegetables and the pasta should be tender. Remove the baskets and set aside. Carefully remove the bowl with oven mitts and drain the pasta, carrots, and cauliflower in a colander.
4. To serve, place the pasta and vegetables in a warm shallow serving bowl. Drizzle with the olive oil. Sprinkle with the pro-sciutto, olives, basil, cheese, and salt and pepper to taste; toss to combine. Serve immediately, with extra Parmesan on the side.
steamed flank steak and sweet potatoes
Rice ground up with spices (and sometimes hot pepper) is a popular Chinese coating for steamed flank steak or spare ribs. We got the idea for this presentation right off the box of rice powder that we bought at a local Asian market. If you can’t find rice powder, you can make your own as follows: In a dry, heavy skillet, toast 1 cup washed and drained long-grain white rice, or 1 cup soaked and drained glutinous rice, over medium heat until it is lightly toasted, 7 to 10 minutes. Let cool, then whirl the rice in a blender with 1 star anise or 1 teaspoon five-spice powder until powdered. Feel free to double this recipe if you have a very large steamer rack (or a tier basket model); otherwise, just steam it in two batches. This is a wonderful meal: The steamed sweet potatoes will be meltingly tender and gently flavored by the meat.
MACHINE: Large (10-cup) rice cooker ;
on/off only
CYCLE: Regular
YIELD: Serves 2
½ pound flank steak, trimmed of fat
1 tablespoon soy sauce
½ teaspoon sugar
⅛ teaspoon ground white pepper
2 small to medium-size sweet potatoes (not yams), peeled and sliced ½ inch thick
About half of a 50-gram box spiced rice powder or about ¼ cup homemade spiced rice powder (see
headnote
)
1. Cut the steak into bite-size pieces or slice thinly on the diagonal. Toss the steak with the soy sauce, sugar, and white pepper; let marinate for 20 to 30 minutes at room temperature.
2. Fill the rice cooker bowl one-quarter to one-third full of hot water, close the cover, and set for the regular cycle. Coat the steamer tray with nonstick cooking spray and arrange the sweet potatoes on it in 2 layers.
3. Sprinkle the rice powder over the meat; stir gently to combine and evenly coat. If the rice coating seems sparse, add a bit more. Arrange the meat on top of the sweet potatoes. When the water comes to a boil, place the steamer basket in the cooker and close the cover. Set a timer and steam for 25 minutes. Check for doneness; the meat and its rice coating should both be tender.
4. Serve immediately, dividing the meat and potatoes between two plates.
steamed sausages and sauerkraut with champagne
With the advent of the healthier sausages, it is now easy to eat them once a week. Here is an incredibly easy entrée. The amount of sauerkraut depends on your diners; anyone from Europe will eat a hearty serving. You can brown the sausages first in a skillet if you like, but that is optional. Serve with a variety of mustards and some butter and dill weed on the potatoes. We like to serve it with a tossed green salad with sliced cucumbers or cole slaw.
MACHINE: Large (10-cup) rice cooker ;
on/off only
CYCLE: Regular
YIELD: Serves 4
2½ to 3 pounds fresh sauerkraut, rinsed
⅓ cup dry champagne or sparkling white wine
8 fully cooked sausages, such as smoked chicken-apple or bockwurst with chives
12 medium-size red or white new potatoes, cut in half or quarters, or 24 baby creamer potatoes, left whole and unpeeled
¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, for serving
2 teaspoons dillweed, for serving
1. Fill the rice cooker bowl one-quarter full of hot water, close the cover, and set for the regular cycle.
2. Line two steamer baskets with a single sheet of parchment paper each. Divide the sauerkraut in half and arrange it like a bed in the center of both baskets; drizzle with the champagne. Place 4 sausages on each bed of sauerkraut, then loosely arrange the potatoes around the sauerkraut. When the water comes to a boil, place the baskets in the cooker and close the cover. Set a timer and steam for 30 to 40 minutes. Check for doneness: the potatoes should be tender when pierced with the tip of a knife and the sausages nice and hot.
3. Serve immediately, with each diner having 2 sausages, sauerkraut, and some potatoes with 1 tablespoon butter and ½ teaspoon dillweed sprinkled on.
