Conference turris::cooks

    How about doing it in a microwave oven? The method I use is:
    
    One part rice to two parts water (more water if you like fluffier
    rice) plus salt to taste. For eating with chopsticks, I like the
    rice to stick together more. Also, you can add flavorings such as
    curry powder, onion powder, use chicken stock instead of the water,
    etc.
    
    Put it in a covered Corningware (or other) saucepan and cook at
    HIGH for as long as it takes to come to a boil. This depends on
    how much rice you're making. I give it about 10 mins. for 1-1/2
    cups rice + 3 cups water. Then give it another 15 to 20 mins. at
    MEDIUM to simmer.  When done, melt a couple of tablespoons of
    butter/margarine on top and serve.  It won't burn or stick on the
    bottom of the pan either.
    
    Dave

    A Chinese-food-loving friend of mine has one of these rice cookers
    (purchased in some Chinese grocer in Chinatown) which he loves.
    It is about the size of a crockpot, but I don't know what brand
    it is (there seem to be several brands available - I think even
    GE makes one).  He also sometimes uses it as a steamer (they eat
    a lot of oriental cooking in that household!).  I don't have a lot
    of storage space to store bulky appliances, so I cook rice in a
    normal pot, myself.  The best selection of rice cookers seems to
    be in Japanese grocery stores (such as Ichiban, in Framingham, MA,
    if you live near there).  I have even seen them in regular department
    stores (like Jordan Marsh) sometimes.

     I always hated cooking rice in the normal pan-on-the-stove method
     primarily because the cooking instructions always expressly forbid 
     you to peek in while it's simmering.  So I starting cooking it in
     the oven.  
     
               1. Place rice in an covered, ovenproof dish ( I
                  use one with a glass cover to satisfy my urge to
                  peek and see how things are going)
                  
               2. Pour in the appropriate amount of boiling water (or
                  chicken stock, etc.)
               
               3. Dot with a few pats of butter, if desired.  Cover
                  and bake at 350F for about 25 min.  Fluff and serve.
                   

You can get rice cookers in all sizes at several shops
in Chinatown in Boston. Take a ride and shop around.

Panasonic and Toshiba make nice ones, with a bell that rings when done,
and a `keep-warm' feature. Sizes range from little ones that will do
about 2 cups of uncooked rice, to the big restaurant-sized one you mentioned.

The smallest size should cost about $30. or so.
I suspect, but am not sure that you can also buy one at the Joyce
Chen grocery store on 2A in Acton, at a slightly higher price.


A rice cooker is the only way to fly...

    I checked and my rice cooker is a Panasonic.  The name is in real
    little letters, had to squint to read it.  It is about 15 years
    old and still works great and is easy to clean.
    

    Almost one year later.... I have one . It is a sony. You can get
    them at Roka on Newberry street, The China shop on 3A in Burlington,
    and I have seen some American brands at Lechmere.
    
    I'll tell you this is the best appliance I have. It also steams
    vegetables. I buy 25lb bags of Japanese rice and use that most of
    thetime but I also cook Middle East Rice Pilaf in it. Put all the
    ingrediants the box suggests in the cooker and press the buttne
    it turns off automatically.
    
    Oh... For the Japanese rice I use 2 cups of water for each cup of
    rice.
    
    Barbara
    

�      So,  what are these things? 

       Basically it is a closed vessel steamer with an outer bowl that
       you place water in and an inner container in which you place
       rice, veggies or other things to be steamed (we regularly steam
       fish or other things in ours). The more expensive ones have
       sealed lids akin to pressure cookers, and have a two stage
       operation (first they cook then they keep the food warm). This is
       particularly useful if cooking rice for an oriental banquet since
       you can place the cooker on the table and when the rice is cooked
       the device will keep the food warm all day whilst people eat.

�      How do they work? 

       I have two: a small cheap one I got from Bradlees for about $30
       that cooks four cups of rice or other goodies: it simply shuts
       itself off when all the water is evaporated, but is useful when
       there is only my wife and I to eat a meal since it can cook as
       little as 1 cup of rice. We also have a large 12 cup Panasonic
       cooker that has the stay warm facility and two different cooking
       rates (one for rice and one for veggies according to the
       instructions). We bought this from the Phnomh Penh Thai grocers
       in Lowell. However this is a "grey market" import from Thailand
       and the instructions are in Mandarin, another Chinese dialect,
       Thai and Khmer (no English!).


       /. Ian .\

    Well, I got my rice cooker 3 years ago for our wedding, and its
    been quite useful. Our chinese friend recommended her favourite
    combination, use half sticky rice and half fragrant (perfumed) rice
    in the cooker. Turns out great. However, when I tried putting
    brown rice in it or half-half white rice and wild rice, it was
    terribly crunchy and underdone.
    Does anyone else succeed in using their cooker for non-white rice,
    or, can someone point me to quick and/or simple prep for these
    varieties OUTSIDE of using the cooker?
    
    Monica
    

    Brown rice takes at least twice as long to cook as white rice.

    	And I've heard that some rice cookers (not mine) have another
    button for brown rice which, basically, cooks it for twice as long as
    far as I know.

    I received a panasonic rice cooker for a wedding present and I love it! 
    I cook all kinds of rice in it. I think for the brown and wild rice I
    add more liquid. I have never had a problem with undercooked or
    overcooked rice...it comes out perfect every time! Mmmm...sounds like a
    commercial, doesn't it!?
    
    Rachelle �
    

    Unfortunately, I have not had the same luck; my cooker is
    "national" brand; a chinese make. Guess they enjoy the white stuff
    better 8-).
    
    looks like I will have to contend with cooking the brown rice another
    way. Can anyone point to other notes for "perfect brown rice" or
    somesuch? I need a good recipe, because before we had the cooker,
    hubbie and I argued regularly on the "proper" way to cook rice!
    
    Monica

    
    I don't cook brown rice that often, but from experience, about 40 mins
    cooking time usually seems to suffice.  Try cooking the rice for about
    40 mins using the standard 2 cups water/1 cup rice.  When done, remove
    from the burner, take a double layer of paper towels, or a cloth towel,
    open the lid, and lay the towel across the top of the pot, and place
    the lid back on top.  Let it stand for a 3-5 minutes, then stir and 
    eat.   For white rice, I cook it 18 minutes on low, remove from the 
    burner, and do the towel bit. Comes out great every time.  The towel
    trick absorbs excess moisture and prevents the rice from becoming
    gummy.  
    
    - Larry
    

    .16 has some good points on cooking brown rice
    
    A couple of extra points:
    
    I always rinse rice thoroughly in cold water.  With brown rice, there
    is no risk of losing vitamins.  With white, I do it anyway.  This is a
    very "religious" issue.  People stand on both sides.
    
    Cook any rice on very low heat - your lowest setting.
    
    Put the rice into the pot (2:1 ratio) with the cold water, bring to a
    boil, and immediately turn down heat.
    
    To see if rice is done, lift cover and tip pot to see if any water is
    left at the bottom.  Turn off heat AS SOON as its done.  It will stay
    warm in the pot, or in a covered ceramic serving bowl.
    
    No problem!  Works like a charm everytime.
    
    If you are serving rice plain (no gravy) try putting a little butter or
    margarine on top.  I like to sprinkle with roasted sesame seeds.  We
    get ours from the bottom of the Stella Doro breadsticks container, or
    dry roast (in frying pan) brown sesame from the health food store.
    
    Follow these rules, and cooking rice will be the easiest thing you do.
    
    Laura

What is standard about "two to one"?

All the cook books I've seen recomend the "thumb test" [put the rice in the
pot and cover with water until the depth of water above the rice is equal to the
length of the first knuckle of your thumb - roughly 1"]

Of course glutinous [or "sticky"] rice is cooked by steaming not by simmering...

/. Ian .\

    The actual ratio of rice to water in .18 seems to be subject to
    variation based on the amount of rice and the diameter of the pot.
    Does the thumb test come along with a standard measure of rice in a
    standard pot?
    
    ed

It works in an 18" wok...

/. Ian .\

    RE: 691.11
    
    >in the cooker. Turns out great. However, when I tried putting
    >brown rice in it or half-half white rice and wild rice, it was
    >terribly crunchy and underdone.
    
    Is the rice undercooked, but sitting in a lot of liquid?
    Or is the rice undercooked, but dry and crunchy?  
    
    If the former, just send the batch through another cooking cycle. 
    Brown and wild rice do take at least twice as long to cook as white
    rice, so sending your cooker through two cycles (or interrupting it
    midway through the second cycle) might do the trick.  Experiment!
    
    If the latter, perhaps you're not adding enough water, in addition to
    needing an extra cooking cycle.  It seems that each type of rice
    requires a different quantity of water for proper cooking.
    
    FWIW, I have a Rival cooker; it handles white, basmati, brown, and wild
    rice, and barley, very well--as long as I adjust the water accordingly.
    
    Sue
    

    One of the cookbooks I have echoes what Ian said.  There was no mention
    of dependency on pot size, rice type, etc.

    Mom uses the thumb method when cooking white rice, at least she did
    before she bought a rice cooker. I did the same until I got my cooker.
    
    Brown rice requires more water. In my cooker, the thing turns off when
    all of the water is gone and the temperature goes above a certain
    point. So for a longer cooking time, I need to add more water.
    
    My grandmother cooks brown and white rice together. She lets the rice
    soak for a couple of hours before turning the rice cooker on. The brown
    and white rice come out equally cooked, so maybe soaking changes
    things.
    
    	Marty Sasaki

    
    	I recent thread on USENET's rec.food.cooking file has addressed the
    	cooking of brown rice in a rice cooker.
    
    	Soaking the rice for at least 6 hours (2:1 water:rice) supposedly
    	allows it to be cooked like white rice.
    
    	rjc

    I have never had a problem cooking brown or white rice in the cooker. I
    think the problem was with mixing the two types in one batch. Brown
    rice takes about twice as long to cook as white. I wouldn't think I
    could cook them mixed together in a regular pot.  I do use the
    same amount of water for both. There are lines marked on the sides of
    my cooker that correspond to the number of cups of raw rice used.
    
      My manual *does* suggest soaking the brown rice a couple of
    times to wash it off. It's not in there long enough to help the cooking
    process (I don't think, anyway). 
    
    
    Bottom line: If you want to cook white and brown rice, cook them each
    separately, then mix them together afterwards and keep it warm in the
    pot.

    
          I have a Rival steamer/rice cooker at home, but I have misplaced
      the instruction booklet with the recipes. Could someone here please
      add the instructions for cooking rice to this file or please send me
      a xerox copy of thier booklet....please.
    
                                              Thanks,
    
                                                  Randy

    I too have a rice cooker ... and have a question.  Is is possible, or
    practical, to cook rice/grain combinations?  I've tried with very
    little success the Near East Rice Pilaf.
    
    These cookers are WONDERFUL for white, brown and wild rice.