How to cook rice using a rice cooker

Once you’ve learned what it takes to prepare rice using the rice cooker, it’ll be easy to follow to cook consistent, fluffy and delicious rice each time. It’s not too hard! Rinse the rice, make use of an 1:1 ratio of rice to water to start the machine, and you’re done.

I learned how about cooking rice with my mom several years back. She would have me go to the garage and grab several scoops of rice* from the rice bins with a vertical design which resembled water coolers. Those who grew up in Asian households are aware of the kind of rice I’m talking about.

Rice-free meals in the house was not a complete meal therefore you can bet that everyone living there received lots of practice in making rice. is why I am very extremely careful about how my rice gets cooked!

Why use a rice cooker?

The use of a rice cooker can be an almost foolproof method of making the rice in your home. It’s an easy (and reliable) method to achieve the perfect fluffy and sticky grains that are the perfect complement to every dish. You can cook rice in the stovetop, but why go through the stress of watching the rice cook instead of setting it aside and forget about it? It’s essential to remember that you can also make use of the rice cooker cook Quinoa as well!

I use a reasonably affordable rice cooker gifted by my mom, however I have used much more expensive (~$15 price range) and expensive ones at the homes of my family and friends house. If you don’t want to purchase a unit-tasker, such as one and you want to cook your rice using a microwave or on the stove or cook jasmine rice using the Instant Pot, Instant Pot basmati rice or cook short-grain rice with an Instant Pot too.

If you eat rice on a regular basis, a rice cooker with an easy interface as well as a keep warm feature is worth a look. If you own A rice cooker from Aroma it is recommended to read my Aroma Rice Cooker’s Instructions.

Select a rice variety

In the beginning, you have to decide what kind of rice that you would like to consume. While there are many different rice varieties There are three main dimensions of rice grains, and the rice you choose will dramatically affect the amount of water you have to consume:

• Long grain is four times longer than the width of their counterparts and have a smoother grain texture (ex: Jasmine rice)
• Medium grain: 2 times more than their width, they are more supple as well as chewy texture (e.g. : Arborio or risotto rice)
• Short grain: About the same width as it is long and possess a plumper and more stickier consistency (e.g. sushi rice or rice to make fish pok bowls)

For home cooking, and especially in this particular recipe, we usually cook using medium grain sushi rice due to its pleasant little stickiness and moisture.

Rinsing rice

Swirl, rinse, then rinse the water out of the rice by rinsing it a couple of times using cold water to remove any extra starch that has accumulated caused by broken grains and other particles. It is important to preserve some of the starch , so you’ll have some sticky, which is good for picking your rice using chopsticks.

It is possible to clean your rice inside the rice cooker directly , and then use your hands in a motion to move rice particles around. Take the cloudy water from the pot, and repeat it a few times If necessary. You don’t require for the water to become totally crystal clear.

It’s important to know that white rice that is produced by the US is loaded with powdered nutrients (iron and folic acid etc. ) Washing your rice can take away these nutrients.

Making sure that you have the right water to rice ratio

Method of measuring cups (preferred!)

If you are concerned about accuracy, consistency or being able to alter the ratio for different kinds of rice, you must use the measuring cup. It is important to note that I utilize the same measuring cup for both rice and water to allow the ratios in the following to be effective.

For any grain size (short medium, medium, or long) you can use the ratio 1:1 of rice to water. If you’d like to add more rice you can modify the recipe the same manner, adding 2 cups of rice per 2 cups of water. The result should be fluffy but slightly sticky , grains of rice once cooked and can be used for 3 cups of rice using the rice cooker.

This ratio makes me have perfect, fluffy rice each time. You might need to adjust the ratio a little bit depending on your preference and varieties of rice, or perhaps you can even adjust your rice cooker (see the section on adjusting below).

It is important to note that these ratios are different from making rice on the stove or making white rice using microwave. This recipe is also different from making brown rice using the microwave as well as brown rice cooked in the rice cooker.

The knuckle measurement method

If you’ve cooked rice at home in an Asian household, then you be aware that the traditional method for measuring the proper amount of water is only the (anyone’s) the first knuckle on fingers.

The knuckle method is a viable option however my issue in using it is it’s just not exact enough to produce reproducible results. If you try this method, and the results are different each time you try it, don’t point the fingers at me.

To be clear what this means, here’s how one can perform the meausring technique using knuckles by draining and washing your rice before shaking it to ensure that the rice is at a level within the pot. Set your index finger down into the rice , so that only the tip is touching the top of rice. Add water until that the level of water reaches your first knuckle. It should be about 1 inch. I’m not going to show you how to do this since I don’t want you making this mistake.

As a child, I used to be a victim of this method and it has worked quite well but I’m not using it any more. I don’t have the confidence to depend on this, even teach others to employ this method that isn’t scientific as it involves a variety of variableslike how high you can get your rice to, the length of the finger measuring and cooking vessel size and so on.

If you’re trying tweaking recipes for different kinds or quantities of rice in the process, the variations and measurement methods using finger lengths are out of control, very quickly.

It is powered on

After filling the rice cooker with water and rice put it back in the cooker and switch the cooker on. There are rice cookers that have one power switch with no other options, and you’re set. If you want a more sophisticated model they may come with regular or quick cook settings and manuals to ensure that you understand what’s happening. The cooking time is typically between 20-30 minutes.

When you’ve pressed start, do not open the lid! It isn’t a good idea to lose the precious steam essence or water that’s going on. You can trust your machine to perform the task on behalf of you.Most contemporary rice cookers make a small sound or display an indicator light that lets you know when the rice is cooked. The cooker we use has an “keep warm” setting after the rice is cooked.

Allow it to rest, and then dust it off.

Allow the rice to remain inside the rice cooker for approximately 5-10 minutes when the machine says it’s ready. If you’re really in a rush, you can eat it right away however, waiting will let the moisture evaporate and, along with the heat, evenly distribute across the grains.

Open the lid, make use of a rice paddle to help it fluff it up just before serving. This is the Mickey rice paddle that a good friend gave us, however any kind will work too :). For more information on how to correctly consume rice using chopsticks, you can check out my chopstick guide.

The rice-to-water ratio for different rice types.

Depending on the kind of rice you’re using as well as the amount you plan to prepare, you might require adjusting the ratios. The rice with longer grain will generally require more water, whereas shorter grain rice requires less.

I love to test every new kind of rice that I cook using the ratio 1:1, and then alter the amount of water or more according to the outcomes. If you’re within the ballpark it’s time to adjust the amount of water to 1/4 cup measurements and then see the difference in the texture of your rice.

If you feel the rice dry and hard then you can add water, and then leave the rice in warm water over 5 to 10 minutes.

In the event that your rice becomes soft, that’s a bummer because you’ll have to start from scratch and reduce your water consumption. If you are adamant about not wasting food (hello paternal grandmother who has numerous bite-sized portions left in the refrigerator) Other alternatives to save the rice are to make it into cooked rice, topped using Chinese sausages, Spam musubi or rice pudding to serve as dessert (extra yummy! ).

For more information on how to cook brown rice, learn prepare brown rice with the microwave, brown rice in an Instant Pot and brown rice using the rice cooker.

How to serve the rice

White rice is served with some main dishes:

• Caramelized Chicken (Gà Kho)
• Caramelized and Braised Catfish (Cá kho tộ)
• Sweet & Sour Pork Ribs (Suon Xao Chua Ngot)
• Spicy Lemongrass chicken (Ga Xao Sa Ot)
• Lemongrass Pork Belly (Ba Chỉ rang Sả)
• Lemongrass Chili Tofu

….