How To Cook Rice In A Rice Cooker

Andrew — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 10:58:31 +0000

The following video demonstrates the three important steps that you have to follow every time you want to cook Japanese white rice.

Measure your rice accurately
Wash the rice thoroughly
Add the exact amount of water

The procedure is not particularly difficult. If you want to make the best tasting rice, it is worth taking the time (6 minutes or less) to prepare it properly. When I learned about how to wash rice, I was taught by the most experienced group of people, Japanese women.

How To Use a Rice Cooker

Andrew — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 06:55:31 +0000

Browse the full rice cooker range

3 Cup rice cookers · 5 1/2 Cup rice cookers · 10 Cup rice cookers

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Under $25 · $25 – $100 · From $100

If you purchase one of the new style Japanese machines, such as those featured above, then you will also need to know how to use a rice cooker. While the more expensive models can actually do more than the cheapest rice cooker, they are actually very simple to use. The best rice cooker is one that allows you to make the sorts of rice and rice dishes that you and your family want to eat. The good news is that regardless of the rice cooker that you buy, they are actually very easy to use. In fact, if you get a Micom rice cooker then there are only a few things that you have to do because the rice cooker itself takes care of the cooking procedure.

How to make rice

If you want to make plain white rice then all you have to do is follow these steps. These instructions are to make 1 cup of rice.

Measure out 1 cup of rice. To ensure the most accurate measurement, level the cup off with a chopstick or knife.
Put this rice into the cooking bowl of your rice cooker.
Add some water to allow you to wash your rice. I add quite a bit to wet the rice then pour most of it away to make the rice easier to wash.
Use your fingers to gently massage your rice. Add more water and pour off the “dirty” white water.
Repeat this a few time until you are happy your rice is clean.
Finally just add water up to the level 1 mark on the inside of your rice cooking bowl.
Dry off the metallic bowl on the outside and put it back in your rice cooker.
Your rice is now ready to be cooked.
Some Japanese people let the rice sit in cold water for a few minutes before turning the machine on.

If you are using a Micom rice cooker then once you press start, there is nothing you need to do other than wait for your rice to be cooked. When it beeps to let you know it is ready you should open it to give your rice a stir to release excess moisture and let it sit for a few more minutes before serving. However if you have an Induction Heating model such as the Zojirushi NP-GBC05 then you do not need to do this step. If you want to know how to use a rice cooker, this is all you really need to know.

I am in the process of shooting a video of me preparing my rice which I look forward to posting on this site. It should help give a visual representation of the steps I described above.

How to wash rice the Japanese way

Andrew — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 14:48:18 +0000

Here is a video of a Japanese chef showing how he washes his rice for his restaurant. The technique is the same when you want to prepare rice to go in your rice cooker. The only difference is he is washing the rice in a large bowl rather than the cooking bowl of his rice cooker.

It is quite an interesting video as while washing his rice he chats away about life in Japan. He uses an old fashioned Japanese rice cooker unlike the electronic varieties available today.

I made my own video about how to wash rice which you might be more useful if you have a modern Micom rice cooker.