Rice cookers - cheapo or splash out a bit?

[quixoticgeek]

Barakta makes toast using the grill.  We don't usually eat much lot of toast, but it's something she's taken to over the last year because morphine.  A toaster would use less energy, but would take up space we don't have.

See also: The general lack of electric kettles in USAnia, which isn't just about the feeble leftpondian anbarism.

Why the Americans don't use kettles:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yMMTVVJI4c

On the design of rice cookers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSTNhvDGbYI&t=1s

J

[Cudzoziemiec]

AFAIR they are known but not commonly used in India. For one thing, most people cook with bottled gas in urban regions. You'd definitely have to be middle class, upper-middle in fact, to rely on electricity to cook your rice.

[nikki]

Back to rice cookers:
How was rice cooked in the Far East before they had electric cookers?
Steamed in a bamboo steamer?

Here's a Japanese example: the donabe https://www.justonecookbook.com/how-to-cook-rice-in-donabe/

I see a few youtube camping types using them nowadays with a little gel fuel burner that apparently lasts for just the right amount of time to cook a portion of rice 

[hubner]

"Steamed" is a misnomer.

Cooking rice in a pan is doing manually what a rice cooker does.

Add the right amount of water, boil until all the water is absorbed, keep the lid on and turn off the heat for about 15 min.

[ian]

I am a dab hand at judging the amount of water correctly (I've never measured it, I do it by eye), so I never. ever have to drain the rice. Always leave it once cooked to steam in the pan for a bit, then fluff it up and serve.

[Cudzoziemiec]

You shouldn't have to drain rice. Except, I suppose, in styles which do require it, whichever they might be.

[hubner]

There's no water to drain off in the "absorption" method, if you use a lot of water the rice just ends up softer.

[Slave To The Viking]

Back to rice cookers:
How was rice cooked in the Far East before they had electric cookers?
Steamed in a bamboo steamer?

My suspicion is boiled. Like food, in the main, probably has been everywhere since the invention of the thing you can put near fire and put water in.

[fruitcake]

I visited India and Japan and found that Indian rice is much more varied, and uses the flavours of others foods (e.g. onion, cumin, mustard seed, turmeric) that have been fried in the pan prior to the rice. The water for cooking the rice dissolves the flavours of that fried food (deglazing the pan) and distributes them through the rice. Hence all the flavour in Indian rice. So a single pan is used to fry and then to boil.

By contrast, Japanese rice is short grain plain sticky rice. It makes clumps which are easier to convey with chopsticks.

The electric rice cooker makes perfect sense for the Japanese style of rice, and no sense for the Indian style (because of the need to fry first then boil in the same pan.)

As an alternative to a rice cooker, a really heavy pan (cast iron with enamel) can provide near-automatic cooking since the pan retains heat so long. Boil the rice, cover, remove from the hob, set aside. Take the lid off half an hour later to reveal cooked rice. This method works for plain rice Japanese style or flavoured rice Indian style. And since I discovered this, my rice cooker has stayed in the bottom cupboard, like everyone else's rice cooker.

[HTFB]

The correct ordinary savoury long-grain rice is Thai fragrant rice. On this enormous heap of rice will I die, in 10kg bags from See Woo oriental supermarket.

[Slave To The Viking]

As an alternative to a rice cooker, a really heavy pan (cast iron with enamel) can provide near-automatic cooking since the pan retains heat so long. Boil the rice, cover, remove from the hob, set aside. Take the lid off half an hour later to reveal cooked rice. This method works for plain rice Japanese style or flavoured rice Indian style. And since I discovered this, my rice cooker has stayed in the bottom cupboard, like everyone else's rice cooker.

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What ratio of water:rice?

[Vernon]

This is the classic absorption method of cooking rice. You use about twice the weight of water to rice. For two of us, I tend to use 120g of rice and 250g of water (for basmati rice). Bring it the boil, stir, put the lid on and take it off the heat. Come back in 25-30 minutes and fluff with a fork.

[fruitcake]

Your ideas are of interest to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

He he.

What ratio of water:rice?

Yeah, 2:1 seems about right. The same amount you'd use in a rice cooker, I guess. I don't measure it, just judge it by eye, cos ICBA. A bit less water for easy-cook rice, a bit more for short-and-fat-grain rice. With short grain or wild rice or any other rice grain with a husk, if it's not quite done at the end, I add a tablespoon of water and bring it to the boil again then it's good to serve. Rice can also be reheated that way.

Here's a simple recipe. For a rice dish to accompany a dahl or any other curry, start by frying a teaspoon of mustard seeds in sunflower oil for a few seconds, in your heaviest pan, until the seeds pop like popcorn, then add half a teaspoon of cumin seeds and fry those for five seconds, then add your normal rice (dry) and stir those grains for 30 seconds, then just add your water, bring to the boil, cover the pan and take it off the hob and keep it covered for 20 or 30 minutes. That should be ready. Optionally chop some fresh coriander and stir it through just before serving.

[Slave To The Viking]

This is the classic absorption method of cooking rice. You use about twice the weight of water to rice.

I figured something like that, but as I know that as an on-the-heat technique, there may have been adjustment for the water ordinarily lost to evaporation when using more than just residual heat.

Acksherly, the ratio I've always used for absorption was the one I found in the Good Housekeeping cookbook, forever ago: 1/2lb rice to a pint of water - pretty much 5:2.

[SteveC]

There are small rice cookers that cooks one large portion for one person or two smaller portions for two.
I've got one!

I may have to have a look for one of those. Thanks!

I mentioned this to MrsC, who promptly ordered one from Lakeland. We have now used it a couple of times and it has been a success. The only issue is how long it takes (compared to the microwave) but it's much less hassle to use or clean and the rice is better.
Thanks, hubner!

[geraldc]

Before rice cookers, in southern China rice was steamed in a clay pot, in Japan a heavy iron pot.

Japan invented the electric rice cooker in the 1950s. In the 1960s, Panasonic, then National started importing the rice cooker to Hong Kong. The agent in Hong Kong then requested some modifications to the rice cooker (a window in the lid, congee function etc) and the rice cooker then went from Hong Kong to all the overseas Chinese communities, then to China, and then global.

Japanese rice whether cooked in a electric rice cooker or traditional iron pot tastes the same. With Chinese cooking,plain rice cooked in a clay pot tastes better than plain rice cooked in a rice cooker. So the agent in Hong Kong starts doing cooking demos, and to make the rice taste better, just before the rice finished cooking, they'd open the lid and put a chinese sausage, or some salted fish on top of the rice to make it taste better. To know when to put the sausage or fish in, you have to see whether or not the water is nearly all gone, hence the requirement for the window in the lid. In the 70s you could tell what market the rice cooker was for by if it had a window in the lid or not.

The super expensive rice cookers are for the Japanese market, it's all about iron pots, induction heating, and high pressure. They only cook rice. The top ones are around £2k.  The top ones for the Hong Kong/Singapore market are around £1k, they are induction, but are also multi function, they can do congees and cakes etc. Most people in HK would spend around £100 for a rice cooker.  Rice cookers are now a source of national pride. China's Xiaomi company went all out to build a rice cooker better than the Japanese. They did this by poaching Toshiba's rice cooker designer. So the Xiaomi rice cooker is well rated, and quite cheap compared to the Japanese models. It works with a smart phone app, and by scanning the barcode, it can adjust the cooking time for the rice, well in China anyway.

I grew up with a National/Panasonic rice cookers, but recently the wife switched us to a Zojirushi. They're ok, they play mozart when the rice is cooked.

I don't think many people can tell the difference between rice cooked in a £20 rice cooker and a £2000 rice cooker. Think of them like watches, the cheap ones are Casios, and the expensive ones are Rolexs. They do the same job, but some people do like to spend money.

[Mr Larrington]

We had a National/Panasonic one purchased on HK circa 1972 but I think it’s just been thrown out in the Great Garage Clearance of 2023, until rock’n’roll's Martin Turner has pinched it to flog on ebay.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Shades of the great MZ - Suzuki defection story there!

[SteveC]

Thread resurrection.

As I mentioned a few posts up, we did get a mini rice cooker.
Mostly, it's great, but the rice does to end up being somewhat sticky. What am I doing wrong.
150g rice with 350g water.

Thanks

[Hot Flatus]

First post of call is that when it finishes cooking and beeps at you, fluff the rice up with a fork. After that you can leave it in there until you want to eat.

[hubner]

Thread resurrection.

As I mentioned a few posts up, we did get a mini rice cooker.
Mostly, it's great, but the rice does to end up being somewhat sticky. What am I doing wrong.
150g rice with 350g water.

Thanks

I would try less water. But rice should be sticky without being too soft, it depends on the type rice as well.

[peterc]

We acquired one recently that was going to be thrown out.
Chinese (or Australian I 'spose) power cable, Chinese labels and buttons.

I found it a British power cable and got Google lens to translate all the buttons, but to be honest I only use one and it is a different colour.
So it's been free and works well enough at cooking rice. When not in use it sits on top of the cupboard, to stop it getting ideas.

I saw the same Technology Connections youtube vid linked above so wanted to have a go.

One of the buttons was translated as "yoghurt", I have not had the bravery to press it.

[CrazyEnglishTriathlete]

Thread resurrection.

As I mentioned a few posts up, we did get a mini rice cooker.
Mostly, it's great, but the rice does to end up being somewhat sticky. What am I doing wrong.
150g rice with 350g water.

Thanks

I don't use a rice cooker but my magic ratio is 2.2 which means 330g water for 150g rice.  That might make the difference.

(We did use industrial size rice cookers on LEL but we were cooking batches of 60+ riders at a go.  That's more than we'd fit in house + garden at home.)

I would try less water. But rice should be sticky without being too soft, it depends on the type rice as well.

[Mrs Pingu]

Anyone used the porridge function on theirs?

[FifeingEejit]

Anyone used the porridge function on theirs?

Mine does not state such a function (It's got 3 modes, boil, warm and off), but I am intrugied.