About the minute rice thing.
I really like it. What the heck. I like to mix in some sno-peas and almonds. And/or scramble and egg, chop it up real good and mix it in.
These products have had all the nutrients bleached out of them and are tasteless. Anything beneficial has been added as an afterthought. The real scam with so-called “Minute” Rice is that it takes longer to cook than the Basmati, so you gain nothing. The only ‘advantage’, which is also bogus, is that each and every grain will cook up separately and not stick to any other grains. Like this is supposed to be a good thing.
I think rice cookers are a complete waste of money, unless you are preparing a very glutinous rice that will stick excessively, or are making it in large quantities. Even then, if you pay attention to what you are doing, things should work out just fine. A heavy pot works as well.
The real worth of a good rice cooker is that you can have perfect rice ready to go anytime you want it: most fo the newer ones have timers that allow you to decide exactly when you want the rice to be done, meaning that you can put the rice in before going to work, and come home to hear your rice cooker ding. If you only make rice occasionally, they aren’t worth it: if you eat rice all the time, it’s totally a time saver and a blast.
Another fun thing to do with the rice to jazz it up is put a teabag in there with it. I like using green teas, as they give the rice a really exotic “fresh” feeling.