The Ultimate Rice Cooker

by Julie Kaufmann

  Wonton or siu mai wrappers: Look for these small, 3½-inch square or round thin pasta sheets in plastic pouches in the produce or refrigerator section. Freeze unused wrappers for up to a month. They can be steamed, fried, or boiled after filling.

  YOUR OWN PRESERVED GRAPE LEAVES

  Pick the tender leaves early in the summer for the best tasting and most palatable leaves, and leave at least an inch of stem attached (you will use the stem to handle the wet leaves). Tasters say the best varieties of grape for their leaves are Thompson Seedless, Chardonnay, and Emperor.

  Sort the leaves (rounded lobes are better than deeply lobed; they are more tender) and discard ones that have holes or are torn. Gently rinse under cold running water.

  In a large saucepan filled with water, add 2 tablespoons of fine salt per quart of water. Bring to a boil. Slide the leaves into the boiling water and blanch for 2 to 3 minutes. Lift out with a large slotted spoon or pour through a large colander to drain. Remove each leaf, one at a time, pat dry with a paper towel, and uncurl the edges. The grape leaves are now ready for stuffing.

  If you want to preserve them for up to 2 weeks, combine 1 cup water and 1 cup lemon juice in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Stack the wet leaves in piles of 10 and roll up like a cigar. Pack into a sterile pint canning jar. You will be able to pack quite a few rolls into each jar. Pour the hot liquid into each jar, covering the leaves completely. Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or pressure-can for longer storage.

  FILLING VARIATIONS

  There are never enough vegetable fillings for tamales, so here are a few extra.

  Winter Squash and Cilantro Tamales

  2 tablespoons unsalted butter

  ½ medium-size white onion, chopped

  ½ medium-size red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

  3½ cups peeled, seeded, and diced pumpkin or other winter squash, such as butternut or blue Hubbard

  1 teaspoon salt

  Dash of ground white pepper

  1 cup chicken or vegetable stock

  ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

  1. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring, until softened. Add the squash, salt, white pepper, and stock and simmer, partially covered, until the squash is tender.

  2. Remove the cover, increase the heat to high, and cook until the liquid is evaporated. Mash a few times (leave some chunks) and stir in the cilantro. Let cool to room temperature or refrigerate.

  Corn and Black Bean Tamales

  2 cups fresh or frozen (and thawed) baby corn kernels

  1¼ cups cooked black beans, drained and rinsed

  One 7-ounce jar roasted sweet red peppers, drained on paper towels and minced, or 2 red bell peppers, roasted, peeled, seeded, and minced

  2 teaspoons ground cumin

  2 teaspoons chili powder

  1½ teaspoons salt

  6 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

  1. Place the corn, beans, roasted peppers, cumin, chili powder, and salt in a medium-size bowl; stir to combine. Refrigerate until needed.

  2. When you fill the tamales, sprinkle them with some goat cheese before wrapping.

  sweet puddings and fruit DESSERTS

  Tapioca Pudding

  Coconut Tapioca Pudding

  Old-Fashioned Rice Pudding

  Arborio Rice Pudding

  Tahini – Brown Rice Pudding

  Kheer (Indian Rice Pudding)

  Chocolate Rice Pudding

  Homemade Applesauce

  Poached Dried Figs in Spiced Red Wine

  Poached Dried Apricots

  Pruneaux Pinot Noir

  Brandied Prune Sauce

  Stewed Dried Fruit

  Stewed Blueberries

  Poached Rhubarb and Strawberries

  Poached Pears with Grand Marnier Custard Sauce

  Poached Fresh Cherries

  Poached Fresh Apricots

  Pink Wine Quinces

  While we often think of rice as just a dinner side dish or in rice pudding for dessert, rice is so beloved that an old-fashioned dessert of European royalty was to eat freshly steamed plain long-grain rice with spoonfuls of cherry or strawberry preserves and whipped cream or sour cream on top.

  The Porridge cycle on the fuzzy logic machines, with its gentle, even heat source, makes beautiful, creamy, sweet dessert puddings such as tapioca and rice pudding, delightful desserts that have starch at their heart. It also makes lovely fruit desserts such as applesauce, compotes, and poached fruit. This is pure comfort food, softly cooked, warm, sweet. These are not elaborate desserts, just soothing simplicity. The Porridge cycle is essential to the success of these recipes. Please note that these recipes cannot be made in the on/off machines, because the heat is just too high.

  One additional caution: In some types of fuzzy-logic rice cookers, milk-based puddings will boil over, even when using the porridge cycle. Please keep an eye on your cooker the first time you make a milk-based tapioca or rice pudding. If the liquid boils over, shut off the machine immediately. (You can finish cooking the dish in a saucepan on the stovetop.)

  TAPIOCA

  Real old-fashioned tapioca pudding made from pearl tapioca, the whole pellets of dried cassava root, is a nuisance to make on the stove—such a nuisance, in fact, that it is hardly ever made from scratch anymore. There are recipes for it in early colonial cookbooks that call for hours of soaking and then cooking in sugar and wine. But in the rice cooker, tapioca becomes a simple one-step process that yields a delicious, creamy, nutritious dessert. Whole pearl tapioca can come in really large or small shapes. We prefer the small pearl tapioca (which is ground into smaller pellets), since it works much like quick-cooking minute tapioca by cooking a lot faster. These products are not the same as instant tapioca, which is what is used in presweetened mixes.

  tapioca pudding

  This pudding uses the whole pearl tapioca, a food that most Western cooks have never used, but it is a staple in tropical countries where flour would clump and spoil in short order. The flavor of this made-from-scratch pudding trounces that of ready-made or packaged tapioca mixes. If desired, fold in fresh or frozen berries, sliced peaches or mangos, poached pears, or other fruit, and top with whipped cream.

  MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;

  fuzzy logic only

  CYCLE: Porridge

  YIELD: Serves 3 to 4

  3 tablespoons small pearl tapioca (not minute or instant tapioca)

  2 cups milk (lowfat or nonfat is fine)

  1 large egg

  ½ cup sugar

  Pinch of salt

  1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

  1. Place the tapioca in the rice cooker bowl. In a 4-cup measuring cup or small bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, sugar, and salt. Pour the milk mixture over the tapioca; stir to combine. Close the cover and set for the Porridge cycle.

  2. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, remove the bowl from the cooker and stir in the vanilla. Pour the pudding into a large bowl or individual dessert dishes. Let cool. Serve warm, if desired, or refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap.

  coconut tapioca pudding

  We knew tapioca pudding from childhood as “fish eye pudding.” Here it is made with a twist, coconut milk instead of regular milk, just like it would be prepared in some place like Thailand. We like Cook’s Cookie vanilla extract; it is a combination of vanillas that is especially flowery and delicate in flavor. Canned coconut milk is available in Asian specialty markets. Coconut-based puddings are nice with some chopped tropical fruit, such as pineapple or mango, on top.

  MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;

  fuzzy logic only

  CYCLE: Porridge

  YIELD: Serves 6

  3¼ cups canned unsweetened coconut milk

  ¾ cup small pearl tapioca or quick-cooking tapioca

  ¾ cup sugar

  1 large egg

  Pinch of salt

  2½ te
aspoons pure vanilla extract, preferably Tahitian

  1. Place the coconut milk, tapioca, sugar, egg, and salt in the rice cooker bowl; stir to combine. Close the cover and set for the Porridge cycle. Open the cover and stir about every 20 minutes for a few seconds, then close the cover.

  2. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, remove the bowl from the cooker and stir in the vanilla. Pour the pudding into a large bowl or individual dessert dishes. Let cool. Serve warm, if desired, or refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap.

  RICE PUDDING

  Anywhere in the world that there is rice, there is some sort of rice pudding. The use of leftover starch, such as rice or bread, as an ingredient in a sweet concoction is as old as cooking mush. It is important to note that different rices—long-grain, short-grain, medium-grain, brown, white, wild—all make different textured puddings. The different amounts of starch in the rices break down during the cooking process and, along with eggs, thicken the mixture. Long-grain rice has the least amount of starch, so recipes often call for short- and medium-grain rices such as Italian Arborio, Spanish Valencia, or Japanese glutinous rice to make a nice creamy pudding. Here we have included rice puddings made with apple juice and honey, as well as regular milk. Each has its own character and charm. Serve your rice puddings warm. As with regular rice, chilling hardens the starch in the rice kernel and you end up with a stiffer pudding after refrigeration.

  old-fashioned rice pudding

  Here is the quintessential rice pudding of everyone’s childhood. It is sweet and creamy, no fancy or exotic ingredients. Whole milk is best, but 2 percent works fine. It is slowly simmered in the rice cooker and ready to eat as soon as it cools. Remember that rice pudding thickens considerably when chilled as the starch in the rice sets up.

  MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;

  fuzzy logic only

  CYCLE: Porridge

  YIELD: Serves 6

  ⅔ cup medium-grain white rice, such as Arborio, Calriso, or other California-grown rice

  4 cups milk

  1 large egg

  ⅓ cup sugar

  1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

  1. Place the rice and milk in the rice cooker bowl; stir to combine. Close the cover and set for the Porridge cycle.

  2. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, combine the egg, sugar, and vanilla in a small bowl and beat with a whisk. Open the rice cooker, spoon a few tablespoons of the rice milk into the egg mixture, and beat with a wooden spoon. Beating the rice milk constantly, pour the egg mixture into the rice cooker bowl. Stir for a minute to combine. Close the cover and reset for a second Porridge cycle. Stir every 15 to 20 minutes until the desired thickness is reached.

  3. Pour the pudding into 6 custard cups or ramekins. Serve warm or let cool slightly and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. When cold, cover with plastic wrap and store for up to 4 days.

  arborio rice pudding

  This is a great slow-cooked, unbaked rice pudding. It uses medium-grain white rice and is enriched with cream and cream cheese or another dairy product. Some folks like raisins or other chopped dried fruit in their rice pudding, but we like this one without. It is very good with fresh fruit, such as chopped strawberries or mangos, or a pool of raspberry sauce spooned over before you top it with some whipped cream.

  MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;

  fuzzy logic only

  CYCLE: Porridge

  YIELD: Serves 6

  ¾ cup Arborio rice

  4 cups milk

  ½ cup sugar

  ½ teaspoon salt

  1 large egg, well beaten

  ¾ cup heavy cream or milk

  3 tablespoons cream cheese, cut into chunks, or mascarpone, sour cream, or ricotta cheese

  2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

  ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg or ground mace

  1. Place the rice, milk, sugar, and salt in the rice cooker bowl; stir to combine. Close the cover and set for the Porridge cycle.

  2. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, briskly stir in the beaten egg, heavy cream, cream cheese, vanilla, and nutmeg with a wooden spoon. Close the cover and reset for a second Porridge cycle. Stir every 15 minutes until the desired consistency is reached. You can stop the cycle anytime after the first 15 minutes up to the end of the cycle, depending on how soft you like your pudding.

  3. Let stand to cool slightly, then spoon into bowls. Or cool to room temperature, cover, and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

  tahini – brown rice pudding

  Here’s a great-tasting milk-free pudding that’s based on brown rice and sweetened naturally with dates, apple juice, and a small amount of honey. Sliced bananas are the perfect topping. The secret ingredient is tahini; in fact, we adapted this recipe from one on a brochure that the Arrowhead Mills company distributed with jars of tahini.

  MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;

  fuzzy logic only

  CYCLE: Regular/Brown Rice and Porridge

  YIELD: Serves 8

  1½ cups medium-grain brown rice

  2¼ cups water

  ¼ cup sesame paste (tahini)

  2½ cups apple juice

  2 tablespoons honey or brown rice syrup

  ½ cup chopped unsalted cashews

  1 cup chopped dates

  2 large ripe bananas, peeled and sliced, for serving

  1. Wash and drain the rice.

  2. Place the rice in the rice cooker bowl and add the water. Close the cover and set for the regular/Brown Rice cycle.

  3. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, open the cover and add the sesame paste, apple juice, honey, cashews, and dates; stir with a wooden spoon. Reset for the Porridge cycle.

  4. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, turn off the machine. Serve the pudding hot or cold, with sliced bananas on top.

  kheer (indian rice pudding)

  The Indian rice pudding kheer fills the house with the heady aromas of basmati rice, cardamom, and that elusive hint of rose water. One of the glories of the Indian kitchen, it is smooth, creamy, not overly sweet, and good warm or cold. A sprinkle of nuts adds crunch. Kheer is traditionally made by boiling lots of milk and a small quantity of rice on the stove until the milk is reduced and the pudding thick. How much milk? Recipes vary, but the ratio of rice to milk can be as high as 1 part rice to 24 parts milk! No wonder the process can take more than an hour, with frequent stirring an absolute necessity. Worse, the pot with milk residue stuck to the bottom is no fun at all to clean. In your rice cooker, you can make authentic-tasting kheer with no fuss at all. A gentle swish in cold, soapy water cleans the pot. After months of experimentation, we settled on this recipe, adapted from one on the website of the Tilda Company, which sells excellent imported basmati rice. The whipped cream is not essential, but a lovely touch. You can find rose water in gourmet markets or Indian or Middle Eastern markets.

  MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;

  fuzzy logic only

  CYCLE: Porridge

  YIELD: Serves 6 to 8

  ⅔ cup white basmati rice

  4 cups whole milk

  ⅔ cup sugar

  4 green cardamom pods

  2 teaspoons rose water

  ⅓ cup heavy cream

  ⅓ cup dark raisins

  2 tablespoons roughly chopped unsalted pistachios

  1. Rinse the rice and drain it well.

  2. Place the rice, milk, sugar, and cardamom pods in the rice cooker bowl. Stir briefly with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon. Close the cover and set for the Porridge cycle.

  3. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, open the cover and remove the bowl. Let the kheer cool for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent a skin from forming on the surface of the pudding. Remove the cardamom pods. Stir in the rose water. Transfer the pudding to a serving bowl, if desired, and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator until cool but not cold, about
1 hour.

  4. Whip the cream with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gently fold the cream into the pudding along with the raisins and most of the pistachios. Sprinkle a few chopped pistachios atop each serving.

  chocolate rice pudding

  Chocolate in rice pudding is not traditional, but oh so perfect for dessert. This is a great recipe to use up leftover rice. Serve straight out of the rice cooker with some whipped cream or nondairy whipped topping, as desired.

  MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;

  fuzzy logic only

  CYCLE: Porridge

  YIELD: Serves 4

  ½ cup sugar

  1½ tablespoons cornstarch

  1¼ cups milk

  1 cup half-and-half

  1 large egg, beaten

  1 cup cooked medium-grain white rice

  4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped, or 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

  1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

  1. In a medium-size bowl, combine the sugar and cornstarch. Whisking constantly, beat in the milk, half-and-half, and egg. Pour the mixture into the rice cooker bowl. Add the rice and chocolate; stir to combine. Close the cover and set for the Porridge cycle, stirring every 15 minutes, if you remember (it works perfectly well without!).

  2. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, open the cooker and stir in the vanilla. Spoon the pudding into 4 custard cups or ramekins. Let cool slightly and serve warm or at room temperature.

  FRUIT DESSERTS

  Poached fresh and dried fruit have a charm all their own. Depending on the type of fruit, they can be poached whole, halved, or in pieces, in a thick or thin sugar syrup. You can make a compote out of a single fruit or combination of two or more fruits, called a compote compose. They are just plain gorgeous in a serving bowl surrounded by their syrup. While poached prunes are the most familiar cooked dried fruit, relegated sadly to the breakfast table, all sorts of other dried fruits lend themselves well to the gentle cooking and sweet aromatic bath required for a nice compote.

  The Porridge cycle on the fuzzy logic machines serves us well again, keeping the shape of the fruit intact and giving the time necessary to mull the cooking juices to perfection without extra soaking or fuss. Fruits can be poached in water, wine, or fruit juice, or a combination thereof. While the fruits are poached in a varying amount of sugar syrup, you never want to add too much sugar or honey; it will detract from the natural flavors and sweetness inherent in the fruit, as well as contribute to breaking down the fruit, unless, of course, that is what you want, as in the case of applesauce.