I had a rice cooker years ago and it was okay but this new one (with the fuzzy logic) is freaking awesome. The non-stick surface is terrific and I use it for everything. I use it to make oatmeal from scratch (toss in some fruit, maybe some cinnamon) and it comes out perfect. I use it to steam vegetables and meat. Steaming meat is highly underrated in the western world but it produces the most succulent, moist pieces of meat I’ve ever had. And oh yeah, it makes rice.
I’ve lost about forty pounds and I’m loving the savings on the grocery bill as well I’m “cooking from scratch.” I say I’m cooking from scratch but it’s easy. Dammit Jim, I’m an engineer, not a gormet chef. I toss rice and water in the pot. Add in some minced garlic and whatever other seasonings I’m in the mood for. Meat goes in with about a halt hour to go, veggies with about fifteen minutes to go. (The countdown timer on my Aroma is a big help here.) And then the bell goes off and I have a delicious meal. With about ten minutes work.
Rice and oatmeal runs about fifty cents per pound and a pound works out to about three servings. When I forgo the meat, I can get lentils (my favorite legume) for about a dollar a pound.
One of my favorite cold-weather recipes (though it’s good for any weather) is to rub chicken thighs/breasts in olive oil, smear it in powdered garlic and sea salt and assorted other seasonings, cut some onion and squash into it, and steam it in the basket while cooking rice. (I always add a bit of olive oil to the rice water as well.) Then I mash up the chicken/squash/etc. in the rice and eat it as a one dish, usually with a salad. It’s quick, simple, and tasty.
I would LOVE to find a recipe for Jambalaya using the rice cooker.
If you are cooking a batch of plain white rice, chop up and throw in a few cubanelle (sp?) peppers. They are NOT hot. But they have a wonderful smokey flavor. I’ve seen em on a regular basis at Walmart so they are not some rare item these days.
Thank you for the suggestion of meat in the top basket, I’ve only used it for steaming veggies like julienned carrots. Excellent idea! How long does the piece of chicken take? Is it bone-in?
While Tripler was deployed I lived alone and tried to save as much $ as possible so I used my rice cooker for every little thing. Cooking beans from dried, legumes, sausage patties, pasta and mashed potatoes. I got the cooker after Christmas 2008 at CVS free w/ Extra Care Bucks so that little puppy has paid for itself about a thousand times over.
If only I could find a replacement pot, this one’s scratched to pieces!
Warning: the chickens squawk and scratch like mo-fos.
Mine takes about 20-30 minutes depending on whether it’s bone-in/how much/etc… I use a meat thermometer just to be safe, but it’s always cooked all the way through when the steamer says it is.
I’ve never tried it, but my mother used to cook tilapia and salmon, both with lemon and dill and little else, in hers and she said it was delicious.
For me, it’s always a boneless (and skinless to reduce fat) piece of chicken but most importantly it needs to be on the brown rice setting which is a longer program.
A lot of it will depend upon your particular rice cooker. Mine takes about an hour and half to cook a batch of brown rice. The first half hour of that is mostly soaking. The down side is aesthetic: steamed meat won’t be browned. But the proof is in the palate. It will be succulent. And whatever you rub or season it with will only add to the natural flavor. Plus, when you’re using the rack, the drippings will fall onto the rice adding flavor to the rice. I use less meat these days as I now consider it almost a garnish to the rice and veggies than the main course anymore. Give it a try and feel free to experiment.
There will be some trial and error involved but even if you err on the side of overcooking, because it’s steamed, it’s still pretty good. In other words, steaming allows for a large amount of latitude in the cooking which is perfect for me as I would rather be doing something else than monitoring what’s going on in the kitchen. Veggies are a little more finicky. Carrots go in with about 25 minutes left. Broccoli with about 20 minutes and Brussels sprouts (my favorite) go in wiht about 15 minutes left. With veggies I would rather have them undercooked than over. This is especially true with Brussels sprouts where overcooking can result in an unfortunate chemical reaction.
My rice cooker has now supplanted my microwave as my most cherished kitchen appliance. My microwave has mostly been relegated to boiling water for my French press coffee and I understand that an electric kettle is actually more efficient than a microwave though a microwave isn’t bad.
I have a love story for you. One morning I was delivering papers and glanced over at a dumpster as I passed by. A few seconds later my brain registered the fact that I’d seen an odd-shaped white item with, in small letters, the word “Fuzzy” on the front of it. I turned around and investigated, and that’s how I met and fell for my fuzzy logic rice cooker.
I don’t have the expertise of other rice cooker users here, but I do have the enthusiasm. Mostly I make rice and steelcut oats. That’s enough to make me very happy, though!
Expertise comes with practice. Don’t be afraid to experiment. All it takes is a sense of adventure. Just throw stuff in it and see what happens. See the Roger Ebert piece linked up-thread.
I need to get a new meat thermometer anyway, this is a good excuse!
Our rice cooker has 3 heats - not plugged in (cold), plugged in (slightly warmer than body temp) and cooking. I bought my first short brown rice a few weeks back and haven’t done it whole in the cooker yet; I ground it to add to 2 weeks’ worth of hot cereal since I ran out of flattened rice. Good to know it will take long enough to steam a chicken thigh, since the jasmine rice cooks so quickly!
Rice cookers are awesome. I do most of the cooking at my home, because my wife comes home later than I do, and I rely onthe rice cooker because I can set it in the morning with the timer and make sure the rice will be ready by the time I get home. It also keeps really well in the sealed vessel so that you don’t have to worry about the rice drying out if you are a few hours late.
I don’t have too much to add, as I usually just use it for, well, cooking rice. But every now and then I add vegetables (diced carrot, finely chopped cauliflower, peas, diced mushrooms, for example) with beef or chicken stock, salt, pepper, and soy sauce.
I actually have that cookbook though I haven’t attempted many recipes. The risotto looks interesting. I also want to pick up Roger Ebert’s book as well. Having said that, I use it mostly for its convenience rather than haute cuisine. Right now as I type this I have oatmeal going with chopped up bananas and cinnamon. Mmmmm…
