How to Use a Rice Cooker? With Easy Steps

(Last Updated On: April 14, 2022)

You’ve made time to visit the gym and pet shop on your way back home after a long day. You remember to pick your children off from soccer practice, and now you must concentrate on cooking a delicious dinner for all. Do you recognize yourself?

We who are faced with this, instead of needing to devote an hour or two preparing at the table, Taking the freezer to look at the possibilities of putting it together, it’s much easier to connect the rice cooker.

Rice-based meals can be highly healthy; they are typically quick and straightforward to make, and for me, that is the most crucial aspect of Using the rice cooker to cook rice. It frees my time and allows me to focus on other activities and focus on cooking the food and vegetables. It takes a lot of practice to achieve good results using rice cookers and to assist you in getting perfect, fluffy rice each time, I’ve made this video tutorial with a few of my “pro tips” to get the most out of the rice cooker.

What You’ll Be Required to Know About This tutorial

1. Electronic rice cooker It could be of any capacity.
2. Recipe book/manual on the rice cooker. You’ll need to go through this out during the instructional.
3. Measure cup – this will be the cup included with your rice cooker.
4. Rice – brown or white according to preference and the cooker you use because not all ovens can effortlessly cook all kinds of rice.
5. Sieve – to rinse the rice
6. Water – the amount recommended in the manual/recipe book for each cup of rice

Instead of using a rice cooker, you can utilize the One Pot or another multi-purpose oven. It’s OK. However, you’ll require the recipe manual or book and the measuring cup to keep on hand. A multi-use cooker may be slower to prepare rice than a regular one because it will take longer to bring up to temperature, and its capacity might be higher.

If you’d like to enhance the flavour while cooking your rice, then you might also consider adding some in one or two of the following

• Salt, seasoning salt or both
• Lemon pepper or pepper or lemon
• Ground cardamom
• Powdered garlic
• Bay leaves
• Ginger
• Powdered onion
• Oregano
• Basil
• Dill

Or any flavour you like or know is delicious when paired with the other ingredients in the dish.

Based on the amount of rice you’re cooking, it is possible to add more seasoning; however, be cautious not to over spice as a half teaspoon will usually suffice to impart flavour.

PRO TIP If you use your rice cooker for cooking oatmeal or other sweeter grains. You may want to limit the flavour you can add unless the lid of the range is simple to remove for cleaning deep because you could end up with an odour from solid flavours like onion or garlic.

Step-by-Step Guide on How to Make Rice in a Rice Cooker

1. Measure your rice

Utilizing the measuring cup and amounts in the recipe book or manual included in your rice cooker, measure out the rice. A standard cup measurement of uncooked rice is between 1 1/2 and 3 cups of rice. Pro Tip: When you purchase a newly-purchased rice cooker, if amounts aren’t listed within the user manual, measure your capacity using the measuring cup and write it down on the manual or in a secure place. Because this measuring cup isn’t a typical measurement for cups, when you lose or break the cup, you will be able to determine the right amount to use with your cooker.

Step 2: Add your rice measurement into your sieve, then rinse

Rinsing with cold water eliminates the excess starch that can cause your rice to become clumpy and stick. This could cause it to begin to wear down the non-stick coating on your bowl for the rice cooker. The process also eliminates any contaminants, like pesticides, present in the rice. When you rinse the water, stir it around to avoid the clumping. If the rinse water has particles or appears discoloured, rewash it until the water is clear. However, it is not enough to eliminate any folic acid, powdered iron or niacin, and Thiamine, which must add to the rice sold within the US.

PRO TIP: Basmati or jasmine rice may cook better if left unrinsed.

1. Step Add the rice to the rice cooker’s bowl.

Some prefer to soak your rice for about 30 minutes in this stage. I don’t usually take this step as I’ve found it doesn’t significantly impact the cooking time; however, if you season the rice, it will take longer to infuse the flavour.

Fourth Step: Measure the amount of water

The colder water is generally better, and you’ll have to follow the recommended amount in the recipe book or manual for the rice you are using and the quantity of it you’re cooking. Brown rice will require more significant amounts of water than white, and a long grain of white will require much more than short white grain. Indian rice of the Indian style generally requires less water, resulting in dry rice. If you discover the rice to be under or overcooked, it is possible to alter the amount of water you use when you cook the next time (and ensure you take note of the changes).

If you’ve got overcooked or hard rice, you should use 12 or 1/3 cups of water to prevent the rice from absorbing the most of the water as it should and cook for so long. You can put the overcooked rice in a fry pan or wok and stir fry it together with the meat and veggies.

Pro tip: Always adjust your water intake according to the manufacturer’s instructions if you reside at an altitude, as the rice won’t cook because of the lower pressure of air. By adding more water, the rice will require more time to cook.

Five Add the amount of water you have added to rice to the rice cooker.

Utilizing a wooden or nylon spoon, gently push any loose grains away from the sides of the bowl. Make sure that they’re all submerged in the water. Do not stir at this point because it could result in more starch being released, resulting in sticky rice.

6 Step 6: Place the bowl inside the rice cooker.

Make sure that the lid is securely closed and switch the cooker on.

If your cooker offers several different options for rice cookers, pick the right one to cook the rice you want that you want to cook. You can also check the manual to be specific.

A lot of rice cookers are straightforwardly switchable on/off. If you’re like me and have one of these models, it’s more crucial to measure the rice and the water since the cooking time is based on the grain’s weight and the water within the container. If the measurements are incorrect or incorrect, the thermal sensor in the rice cooker – typically an insulated thermometer with a spring-loaded in the bowl – will turn the bowl on to keep warm, which is either too early or late.

After your cooker has been turned on, you’re ready to concentrate on the rest of your meals. Use the time to enjoy an iced coffee that you deserve!

7th Step: Allow the rice to simmer

Please do not open the rice cooker to check the rice; this can alter the quantity of steam in the oven and, as a result, its cooking time. If you must stir or check the rice, make sure to do it when you’re sure it’s finished.

Since I usually cook the rice with a flavour and it’s susceptible to burning, I’ll take a look. I generally wait until cooking shifts from a simmering sound to a dry sound. When this happens, I take it out to stir it up and do a visual inspection to lessen the chance of burning or sticking. A bit of oil or butter in the rice can assist in stopping it from sticking.

When all the liquid in the bowl is gone, the temperature is inside. The cooker will rise above that of boiling the water, and it will change to a “keep warm” feature. Certain ovens will be able to sound an alarm at this point, while others will click.

Step 8: Stay warm

When your rice cooker is changed into ‘Keep Warm’, you can open the oven or let it rest for around ten minutes. Advanced models of rice cookers let it rest automatically when cooking is complete. If you’re serving all the rice you can with your meal, you should disconnect the oven at this point since this can reduce the risk that the rice will stick to your bowl.

In other cases, you may leave it in the fridge to keep warm only the time the stated time by the manufacturer; any longer, and the rice may not be safe for consumption and could trigger food-borne illnesses.

Pro Tip: If you discover that the rice frequently burns in your cooker, then take it out of it immediately when it turns off to keep it warm. This is what usually creates the burning instead of the cooking process.

Step 9 Mix to serve

Fluff the rice and Serve. You could use a fork; however, it is possible to use plastic, wood, nylon or even silicone if you own a non-stick rice bowl.TIP: If your rice is not cooked, put it in a saucepan with 1/4 cup of water. Cover it and allow it to cook for about a minute. If you let it sit inside the cooker to cook longer than that, it may be burned, or the range itself may not be able to turn off. When you next cook identical rice, you should add 1/4-1/2 of water to each 1 cup of rice.

Step 10: Clean up

Even if the non-stick bowl has dishwasher safety, if the rice has burned or stuck or burned, you should pour some warm water and dishwasher detergent to soak it while you eat dinner. After dinner, you can throw it in the dishwasher or wash it by hand. After the rice cooker is cold enough, clean it with a damp towel and avoid the spring-loaded mechanism inside since it’s pretty delicate. Take the lid off as far as you can, and then give it a thorough cleaning before letting it dry out in the sun. When everything is dry, which could be overnight, you can then put it back together to use it again.

Conclusion

Through the years, I’ve discovered that the rice cooker is an efficient way to cook healthy meals with very little preparation. After the rice is cooked inside the rice cooker, it’s simple to toss any leftover vegetables and meat into the wok to serve the rice.

Using a rice cooker is not always flawless, but there are times when the line between perfectly fluffy rice and a sloppy or overcooked mass could be very delicate.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this instructional and the expert techniques for using rice cookers. It would be fantastic for you to spend the time to share this information with your family and colleagues, and I would be grateful if you could take the time to leave a few comments or best tips for using a rice cooker below.