Text 11481, 147 rader
Skriven 2007-02-07 23:37:16 av mark lewis (1:3634/12.0)
     Kommentar till en text av Glen Jamieson
Ärende: RICE COOKERS AND 70206
==============================
 -=> Quoting Mark Lewis to Glen Jamieson <=-

 ML> with all the talk of using rice cookers, i decided to give our
 ML> another try, the other day... i'd used it a time or two before with
 ML> mediocer results... the rice was ok but there'd be a brown crunchy
 ML> layer... 
  
 ML> maybe it is a/the pasty starchy stuff? 

 GJ> If you can get that out in large pieces, it is nice fried.

so i've read in other of your messages... i'm kinda interested in trying it
out... maybe one day soon ;)
  
 ML> well, yes and no... when you plug this one in, it is on what they call
 ML> "warm"... the only way to go lower is to unplug it... you put in your
 ML> rice and water and push the button down which turns it on "high"...

 GJ> That is usual.  Start it on High.

yup...
  
 GJ> You should have received a measuring cup with the rice cooker 
 GJ> (usually about 180ml, say, 6 1/2 fl oz), and then the water level 
 GJ> to use is inscribed on the inside of the pan, to correspond with 
 GJ> the number of cups of rice used. 

 ML> yes and yes... the problem is that my father and i, on the stove top,
 ML> use 1/2 cup of rice to 1 cup of water, bring to boil and then lowest
 ML> possible setting for 20 minutes... that generally gives us just enough
 ML> rice with a little bit left over...

 GJ> If you only want to cook a half cup of rice the cooker probably 
 GJ> would not work properly.  

 ML> "half a cup"... which cup? the one that came with the cooker or a real
 ML> 1/2 cup measure?

 GJ> Not much difference between them; 90ml vs 120ml.

hummm....
  
 GJ> My 10 cup cooker will not work properly with less than 2 cups of 
 GJ> raw rice.

 ML> ahh! i bet that's it... dad brought this one home about a year ago...
 ML> said it was the only one he had seen since i had mentioned something
 ML> about one a few weeks before... it does 20 (!) cups...

 GJ> Most likely that is the cause of the trouble.  What is the lowest
 GJ> level indicator on the side of the pot?  That would be the minimum
 GJ> quantity of rice to cook in that cooker.

either 1 or 2... i don't remember without going in and looking...
  
 ML> as far as the rice used, it has been either food lion branded or
 ML> mahatmah... both just plain old 'merican white rice... no, we don't
 ML> rinse it normally... standard method is as follows...

 ML> depending on the mood, put all in the sauce pan and bring to a
 ML> boil. reduce to lowest setting and let sit for 20 minutes or so.
 ML> alternative method, based on mood, add rice after water starts
 ML> boiling. same cooking time...
 GJ>  
 GJ> Probably a bit quicker starting from cold.  The standard saucepan
 GJ> method used in Asian countries is the length of one finger joint of
 GJ> water above the rice, irrespective of how many cups are cooked. 

 ML> hummm... kinda like how measures first got started... i know my
 ML> fingers aren't as long as some and are shorter than others ;)

 GJ> I use the markings in the rice cooker as a guide, and get better
 GJ> results than my Filipina sisters-in-law.  :)

i've been trying to use their method as directed... guess i just gotta play a
bit more... i just hate wasting stuff... i did one the other night with 2 cups
(real, not the one with the machine) of rice... it was a bit better but man!
did it spew and sputter... when it was finally done, the rice was a bit
overcooked and rather pasty... i think it would have made decent rice balls but
wasn't here to try that in the next days...
  
 ML> we keep our rice in the freezer... sometimes i'll take it and measure
 ML> our the desired amount and let it sit out for a bit to come to room
 ML> temperature... 
 GJ> No need.  Just put it in the water.  If you like you can let it
 GJ> soak for a while before cooking, as that slightly reduces the
 GJ> cooking time. 
 ML> what about the finished consistency?

 GJ> The same.

interesting... we're also trying the rinse thing, too... that water turns
pretty milky...
  
 GJ> And you have probably long lost the book which came with the rice
 GJ> cooker.  (G)

 ML> actually, naw... have had this cooker for less than a year... we've
 ML> tried their measures with our size and that was when we got the crunchy
 ML> stuff in the bottom of the pan...

 GJ> For your tiny quantity of rice you would probably be better off
 GJ> using a microwave, and your basic proportions of 1:2.

yeah... we haven't tried any in the micro... the gas stove seems to do quite
well but we have to use the smallest burner as far down as it'll go...
  
 ML> we've basically just been using the cooker as a steamer... it came
 ML> with a steamer basket and we've a couple of bamboo steamer baskets so
 ML> i'll stack them with stuff and let them roll...
 GJ>  
 GJ> I would have thought that the cooker would stay in the "high heat"
 GJ> mode, boiling the water fiercely continuously if water only was put
 GJ> in the pan.  Is that how you use it as a steamer, or do you
 GJ> manually switch it from high heat to low heat after it comes to the
 GJ> boil? 

 ML> it boils like a wet hen until we decide the stuff being steamed is
 ML> done and we turn it off... that's how it says to do it, too...

 GJ> Probably safer that way, as you wouldn't need to keep a close eye
 GJ> on it to switch it when it starts to boil.
 GJ>  
 ML> until i/we can get a good handle on using it, it'll likely go back to
 ML> being used as a steamer with rice being done on the gas stove...
 GJ>  
 GJ> Recently I have been experimenting with chicken parts and spices
 GJ> added to the rice in the rice cooker and all cooked together to
 GJ> give a flavoursome "one dish" meal for two.

 ML> i tried something like that one time but it didn't work as desired...
 ML> the mixture kept getting too thick and the cooker would cut off with
 ML> the mixture no where near done... not doing that any more unless done
 ML> on the top in the steamer some how...

 GJ> That would work better with 4 or more cups of rice, and not very
 GJ> much meat or vegetables.

this was actually a form of gravy and chicken... quickie type stuff where you
take a can or two of condensed cream of mushroom soup and add chicken to it...
i generally do this in the crockpot and let it cook 4 or 5 hours (at least)...
a lot of folk do it with breasts but i always do it with legs and thighs...
even have a neat method that i guess i need to MM up and post one day O:)

)\/(ark

 * Origin:  (1:3634/12)