Cooking Internet is full of people complaining about not being able to cook rice consistently and then East Asian people saying ‘just get a rice cooker’ and them sayinf ‘never’
@kinsale42@mayintoronto I do it if I’m cooking biryani or some style of south asian rice, but for everyday white or brown rice (and in the quantities we eat) a rice cooker is superior
@skinnylatte rice cooker for every day (and for us it is pretty much every day) rice. But there is something very special about rice cooked over a wood fire in a traditional pot. Now, that said, haven’t had rice made that way in oh so many years. The crispy crust on the bottom is unequivocally the highlight of such a meal. Persian style with the sliced potatoes that become crispy in the bottom also insanely good.
@makeratschool@kinsale42@mayintoronto the rice cooker pots for microwaves are pretty good. I’ve learned how to cook rice in all methods and styles now, but coming from a culture where rice is breakfast lunch dinner and supper, without rice cookers people would be spending a lot more time and energy on this task
@skinnylatte And I think, that is where the problems are coming from: I like rice but that doesn't mean that I cook it daily. So my thinking is like " there must be a way to cook it properly, because in the early days no-one had an electric rice cooker. And I don't have space for another machine I only use once a week". So my 'recipe' for all without s cooker: proper whashing. 1 cup rice, 2 cups water, cook until water is soaked up, put in bed for 30 min 😄 @kinsale42@mayintoronto
@skinnylatte I don’t own a rice cooker because, probably mistakenly, that I couldn’t get the crispy burn-ish bit at the bottom of the pot that’s such a sought after in Caribbean cuisine. Am I mistaken in believing that I cannot easily get that with it?
Personally I never heard of anyone who didn’t like or want a rice cooker until I left my part of Asia, but now when I talk about it I don’t care to change anyone’s mind.
It’s not a single use gadget, it’s my depression food machine.
Put in rice (without washing even) in a single person small rice cooker, add soy sauce, a leafy veg, a protein. Press a button. Leave. Eat.
Or do the Indonesian college student dorm room special: put leftover KFC in it.
One time I visited a friend who was studying in Switzerland and she was like ‘I make claypot rice, congee and cakes in my rice cooker’
She also said she moved into a dorm and every single Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Thai student came with their parents, who each had.. rice cookers
@skinnylatte English speaking, white person who has always been able to cook rice in saucepan, agrees that a rice-cooker is a good idea for people who have never cooked rice, or have trouble. It's a learned skill. I prefer fluffy rice (20 minutes for al dente).
@aerique all good! Just not effective in the quantities of rice we usually prepare (since it’s eaten at every meal and also has to feed more than 4 people very often at each meal)
@skinnylatte For me, as one of those white people mentioned in this thread, it's more about "not yet another appliance my kitchen is full enough as it is!".
But I just throw rice in boiling water like pasta and taste it every few minutes until it's ready while preparing the rest of the meal 🤷
@cybervegan if you’re an East Asian person making rice for 4 people daily, 4 people who eat rice 3 times a day, a rice cooker is essential. It’s not that we can’t, it’s that it’s a quantity and quality game changer
@skinnylatte I have to say I don't know what the fuss is about. In 35 years of cooking rice, I've used the same method: wash the rice in a sauce pan with cold water, until the water is clear; refill with cold water to 3cm/1 inch above the rice; put on quite high heat; stir gently after a few minutes to prevent sticking; heat until boiling and allow to boil for about 2 minutes then turn off the heat; allow to stand for 5 to 10 minutes; drain. If you want non-sticky rice, rinse with boiling water.
This works with white basmati (my favourite), white Thai fragrant, Japanese and short grain rice. For brown rice, instead boil for 10 mins instead of 2.
The only rice I've ever had trouble with is American long grain rice: you have to start with a low heat and ramp up slowly, otherwise it sticks to the bottom and burns. I don't like this type of rice anyway, so I usually avoid it.
@skinnylatte That's fair. I was more talking about our (UK Western) two or three times a week rice. Agree if I was cooking it daily I probably fold and get a rice cooker. I was commenting more on the perception that cooking rice is hard.