Steamed Rice with what?

September 1, 2008 11:12 PM

Steamed Rice with what? I'd like to use my rice cooker more often. I'm looking for recipes that take five to ten minutes that I can add / pour over / serve next to my steamed rice. Bonus: What are some things I can add to the rice cooker as the rice is being cooked to make it a one pot meal?
posted by bigmusic to Food & Drink (34 answers total)

Not specifically with a rice cooker, but I used to make rice with: chopped red/yellow/orange peppers, celery, broccoli, red cabbage, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, zucchini, yellow soft squash (looks like zucchini), a little soy sauce is nice, a little crushed cardamom, mushrooms, brown lentils (the type with skin). In terms of being available in good shape most of time and adding nice and strong flavor, broccoli and mushrooms worked best for me; good peppers are expensive, I don't like flavor of celery unless there's very little of it, red cabbage can be a bit smelly, cauliflower is both expensive, often not very fresh and doesn't hold up well, and tastes a bit bland, zucchini are way too easy to overcook, yellow squash doesn't have much taste. I also tried different types of squash but they can be difficult to cut and prepare.
posted by rainy at 11:42 PM on September 1, 2008

One of my favorite things to add over rice is a can of beef stew. Another is some cooked hamburg and soy sauce. Not exactly healthy but delicious.
posted by lilkeith07 at 11:44 PM on September 1, 2008

ocha-zuke. Classic Japanese snack food.

Cook your rice in your cooker, then pour a cup of hot green tea over it. Add nori (seaweed), sesame seeds, coriander & if you have leftover chicken or something, eat that too.
posted by dydecker at 11:45 PM on September 1, 2008

I like basmati with a boiled egg, some tuna, and a heavy sprinkling of furikake. Hell of a good meal. Takes 15 minutes (for the egg) but you don't need to be there for about 13 of them.

So, so, so delicious. (Furikake is a godsend for instantly delicious rice.)
posted by The Monkey at 11:50 PM on September 1, 2008

You can always make onigiri and your own fillings (or plain). You can use furikake (seasonings) like the nori and sesame seeds dydecker mentioned, and fill them with fish/seafood, spam, or anything you like.

Also, some of the Lipton rice sides are pretty good. We often doctor them up by adding chicken and more rice and seasonings. (Can you make those in a rice cooker? I dunno.)
posted by IndigoRain at 11:53 PM on September 1, 2008

I can't say it's necessarily healthy, but I'll put some mixed frozen veggies in the cooker with the rice, add some black or red beans from a can, and sprinkle a decent amount of taco seasoning in there along with the usual salt. This works best with brown rice, and if you prefer your rice a bit more dry than usual.
If I'm not nearly in as much of a rush, I'll simmer the beans with garlic and onion in some olive oil and add that to the veggie rice after it is finished. I've also substituted thinly sliced sausage for beans and it works just fine, if you require meat with every meal.
posted by nightchrome at 11:58 PM on September 1, 2008

Also another half-assed meal can be had by heating up a can of pretty much any soup, tomato, veggie, chicken, whatever and dumping your freshly cooked rice (with or without beans) in there with a bunch of spices to perk it up. Just soup isn't quite a meal, whereas soupy rice is far more filling.
posted by nightchrome at 12:01 AM on September 2, 2008

Classic Chinese comfort food: rice, vegetables (e.g. bok choy) and chinese sausage all together in the rice cooker. Season to taste with, say, oyster sauce and sesame oil.
posted by randomstriker at 12:02 AM on September 2, 2008

There's a common Chinese dish known as "claypot rice" that you can use as a starting point. While this is traditionally cooked in a claypot, hence the name, you can do it in a rice cooker as well. Claypot rice usually contains diced chicken, chinese sausages (lap cheong), green onions, ginger and salted fish, with dark soy sauce (and some other things) as the flavouring. See this recipe for an example.

You can modify this to suit your tastebuds and time... maybe use "normal" sausages instead, add some garlic, maybe a few herbs like cilantro. Other things that are sometimes added to Chinese claypot rice are chestnuts, other kinds of nuts like cashew nuts, shitake mushrooms, prawns, even frozen vegetables (the carrots/peas/corn kind) and perhaps some sweet dried fruits like raisins. Experiment with salt and pepper, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, oyster sauce, etc.

One suggestion that might take a little more effort would be to stir-fry all the ingredients first, including the uncooked rice, before putting it all into the rice cooker to be steamed. This brings out the flavour in some of the ingredients... for example the garlic will have a more fragrant aroma and the oils in the sausage will come out.
posted by destrius at 12:07 AM on September 2, 2008

I usually make rice on the stove with some sauteed onion and a pinch of saffron, not sure if you can translate it to a cooker though. Definitely try using broth (any kind) instead of water. Avoid putting anything too thick (thicker than milk) in with the rice while it is cooking or you will get burnt sauce and undercooked rice.

Personally my favorite thing to make in a rice cooker is steel-cut oats. Rolled oats are ok rice-cooked but they just don't compare to steel-cut. Use just a bit less water than normal. Top with a bit of milk and maple syrup. The oats get plump and juicy and the texture is fantastic. I keep a mini-rice cooker and some oats in my cube for when I forget to eat breakfast.
posted by tweaqslug at 12:08 AM on September 2, 2008

Brown rice + cauliflower in the steamer level. Top both with tahini or goddess dressing. Ungh so umami good.

Teriyaki Salmon in the toaster oven (10 minutes or so) + Asian Veggie Mix from a bag or DIY steamed in the steamer layer. I like this with a wild rice mix, but if you're a white ricer, g'head.

Couscous in the rice cooker with chopped red onions and chopped dried apricots or apples and pine nuts, added right in.

There's a lot of easy Indian options. One of my fast staples is a canned veggie Navattran Korma. One can of veg-all, one can of lima beans, cashews if you got 'em, and a jar of korma sauce (Seeds of Change is my favorite brand, add some milk or cream) and just cook up till hot on the range. Top basmati or jasmine rice.

Last night, I had ahi steaks and asparagus tossed in soy sauce ans sesame oil and grilled in a cast iron grill pan alongside rice cooker wild rice (again, if you prefer steamed white, oh-kay...)

Speedy Cioppino is easy, either by buying Trader Joe's darn good frozen kit, or by cooking up frozen shellfish with diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning and any veggies on hand. Chopping up an onion, some mushrooms and a zucchini, sauteing them on high heat, then dumping in herbs, crushed red pepper, garlic, tomatoes, a little wine, then the shellfish takes me about 10 minutes, and it's ready in another 3-5.

Jambalaya can be just as easy, just different spices and a bell pepper and some frozen okra.

And if you're a middle-American at heart like I am, maybe you'll go crazy for this comfort food: Hot white rice with milk, cinnamon and sugar. I know, how uncool is that? Yum, though. Tastes like a rocking chair and a soft blankie to me.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 12:14 AM on September 2, 2008

For easy Coconut Rice in the steamer, I just substitute a can of coconut milk for an equal amount of water with the rice. It's great.
posted by princelyfox at 12:25 AM on September 2, 2008

Any beans are good with any rice, as mentioned above. I like chickpeas -- if you use dried, get them most of the way there then throw them in with the rice, or you can use canned (much easier, and they're one of the few beans that taste almost as good canned as dried, IMHO) and toss them in 5 minutes before it's done just to let them heat through. If you put in a little canned tomato (substitute straight across for an equal amount of liquid) and some chopped onion and celery, you have a lazy man's pilaf, sort of. Toss with some nuts and serve!
posted by rossination at 12:25 AM on September 2, 2008

While you cook the rice, cook up some frozen raw shrimp (bring salted water to a full boil, add shrimp and then turn the burner off - the shrimp are done when they turn pink). When your rice is done, top with Kimchee, cooked shrimp, a little garlic/chile sauce and some soy sauce.....yum!
posted by The Light Fantastic at 12:27 AM on September 2, 2008

Previously: My rice lusts for your delicious recipes!
posted by !Jim at 1:19 AM on September 2, 2008

Another super simple Japanese dish (mainly for breakfast) is tamago-kake gohan. Break an egg and mix it like you're getting ready to make scrambled eggs. Pour in a couple dashes of soy sauce -- I like it medium brownish color, but my wife makes it very dark. Now pour it over a bowl of rice. If you've never had it, it may sound icky, but ohhh man is it delish. And normally I don't even like eggs.
posted by Bixby23 at 1:42 AM on September 2, 2008

Yahoo! Groups Rice Cooker Recipes has a ton of recipes and ideas.
posted by taz at 1:43 AM on September 2, 2008

my favorite quickie meal: start one cup of rice in the cooker. when about five minutes are left, heat a small pan on high. once it is hot, dump in the contents of a can of sardines and shake it around violently so it doesn't stick to the pan. it is helpful to have one of those screens for splattering grease. sometimes, i add to the pan grated ginger and/or soy sauce, but most of the time i just cook the fish as-is. it just needs to heat through, so this whole process only takes a few minutes. serve on top of or beside rice with chopped scallions or whatever garnish you like. it's a simple meal, but to me it is so much more satisfying than ramen or any other instant food.
as for things to add to the cooker: i used to really enjoy mashing with a mortar and pestle a few cloves of garlic, a thai chile, and a shallot and adding it all to the rice along with a pinch of turmeric (and also some tiny shrimps if i had them around). i found it on the internet. "thai risotto" or some silly thing like that, but i like it.
posted by mustard seeds at 2:21 AM on September 2, 2008

I do cheats risotto:

Saute onion & garlic in a frying pan in olive oil with a dab of butter. when the onion is transparent, add a cup or 2 of arborio rice & saute that until transparent. Pour in a glass of dry white wine & stir until absorbed, then repeat with another glass or 2 of wine.
Toss all of that into your rice cooker, adding whatever you have lying around (choose 2-4): tomatoes, spinach, broccoli, zucchini, corn, etc along with several cups of stock.
Once it's done it's rice cooker thing, top with heaps of mozzarella and/or parmesan.
Serve while you're polishing off the rest of the wine.

Also: Quick MexiRice

Rinse your rice (long/medium/brown/whatever) and toss into rice cooker.
Add can of corn kernels, can of kidney beans, jar of salsa, stock. Once cooked, top with more salsa & avocado alices
posted by goshling at 2:36 AM on September 2, 2008

This Rice Cooker Cookbook has helped me get a lot of mileage out of my rice cooker. It focuses on the "one pot meal" aspect.
posted by mmoncur at 2:40 AM on September 2, 2008

Seconding the raw egg + rice combo. Amazing. Be sure to use Japanese soy sauce though (Kikkoman) not Chinese.

Sounds disgusting, but it's delicious.
posted by dydecker at 2:55 AM on September 2, 2008

"Peas, Rice, and Cuckoos:. My Mom made this. Really only pease, rice and whatever leftovers were available. ham, sausage, tomato, anything. Anything.
posted by Gungho at 3:59 AM on September 2, 2008

You can also use your rice cooker for sous vide cooking. As in: vacuum some spare ribs, put them in the rice cooker on a low temperature for 24 h ours and feel like some cutting edge chef. Pork, fat meats like ribeye steak or pigeon and almost any fish (fatty fish like salmon, cod,...) prepared on a low temperature is just heavenly.
posted by NekulturnY at 5:01 AM on September 2, 2008

While the rice is cooking, marinate a slab of ahi tuna in 3 tbsp soy sauce, 3 tbsp sake, 1 tbsp sugar, and 1/4 tsp ground ginger (or 2 tsp grated fresh ginger). When the rice is done, sear tuna to desired doneness in a little oil (this doesn't take long, maybe 45 seconds per side for a thick steak if you like it rare). Add 1/2 cup water and 1/2 tsp dashi (Japanese broth powder) to the marinade and bring it to a boil; pour over rice. This recipe makes enough marinade for about two big bowls of rice, so if you're only making one serving you won't want to use it all. Plop the tuna on top and enjoy!
posted by magicbus at 5:50 AM on September 2, 2008

I probably make and eat rice 3 or 4 times a week. My go-to recipes:

Chopped veggies with terriyaki or sweet and sour sauce. Broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, pineapple, etc. I keep frozen mixed veggies on hand at all times. You can add some chicken, cut into small pieces, or even buy pre-cooked white meat chicken that comes in a pouch or can, like tuna. If I'm a little more ambitious, I the cooked rice to the wok, add whatever sauce I'm using and cook it all together until the rice is well-coated. Yeah, this isn't technically within one of your rules, but still.

Polish sausage (sliced kinda thin), green peppers, onions, pineapple chunks, cooked in a wok at high heat until the sausage has crispy edges. I do it with and without terriyaki. If with, go light; the sausage is already pretty salty.

Thin-sliced steak strips (or even a hamburger patty) and instant gravy. Though no substiture for real gravy, the instant tastes pretty good as an accent, and has very few calories.

And even though it doesn't meet your criteria, I'll add my fried rice recipe since I'm here. Chop a couple slices of bacon into small pieces and fry until crisp. Don't drain the grease. Add some chopped green onions and sautee those, then add an egg or two and scramble it in the pan. Dump the cooked rice in, add some soy sauce, and fry away while stirring.
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 5:52 AM on September 2, 2008

I frequently eat a bowl of rice with tuna (packed in olive oil.. it costs more but tastes infinitely better), sesame oil and hot sauce. Filling and delicious.
posted by zennoshinjou at 8:18 AM on September 2, 2008

I make fake khichri by tossing some quartered small potatoes, cauliflower, 2 or 3 cloves, and salt in with the rice. Khichri is very plain and comforting by itself, but the best part is when you top it with all kinds of spicy chutneys and relishes and yogurt.
posted by moonmilk at 9:20 AM on September 2, 2008

Oh yeah, and you can toss some lentils in there too.
posted by moonmilk at 9:23 AM on September 2, 2008

Super Simple: Dump a bowl of rice into a bowl of instant miso soup. Yum.
posted by tiny crocodile at 10:16 AM on September 2, 2008

About the suggestion for tamago kake gohan above: I am Japanese and I grew up with tamago kake gohan. However you must be sure your egg is very fresh since you are, after all, eating it raw. Unfortunately, the average supermarket egg in the U.S. does not cut it. Since raw eggs are very commonly consumed in Japan (besides tamago kake gohan, it's used as a dipping sauce for sukiyaki and so on), eggs there in general are ok for that purpose, but the authorities in the US assume you are likely to look your eggs to death (and even recommend that you do so). So, please be careful, unless you have an iron stomach.

My mother used to run a sushi restaurant in NYC, and all the Japanese sushi chefs craved tamago kake gohan. Every now and then, they'd crack open some and eat it. Invariably, a couple of them would have problems lower down, so to speak. They still kept on trying it though - it was sort of like egg-Russian roulette for them I think.

Otherwise, most of Japanese cuisine is centered around a bowl of plain steamed rice, so you can explore Japanese recipes and never run out of ideas.
posted by thread_makimaki at 11:10 AM on September 2, 2008

My favorite late night snack is sushi rice with pickled ginger and marinated cucumbers.

For the cucumbers: Chop one cucumber, throw it into a jar, toss in a tablespoon or so of salt. Add one or two chopped hot chilis, a chopped clove of garlic, a teaspoon or more of grated ginger. Let it sit for an hour, shaking every once in a while. After an hour, add a tablespoon or two of rice wine vinegar. This will keep in the fridge indefinitely.

I add the cukes to a bowl of rice, along with pickled ginger and sriracha. Makes me happy.
posted by mudpuppie at 11:16 AM on September 2, 2008

1. This one answers the question "Is there anything decent you can make with those frozen mixed vegetables--you know, the ones with carrot, peas, corn, green beans, and sometimes limas?" First get your regular proportions of basmati rice, water, and salt in your rice cooker. Then in another pan saute some chopped onion in butter, add some curry powder or garam masala, add that and the frozen veg to the rice, and cook. Better than decent, it's really quite good.

2. One of my favorite Japanese dishes is satsumaimo takikome gohan--rice with Japanese sweet potatoes.

2 (rice cooker) cups of short-grain rice
2 T sake
1 t salt
1 diced satsumaimo (you can leave the skin on, makes it extra pretty)

Inauthentic but even more delicious with butter on top.
posted by HotToddy at 12:05 PM on September 2, 2008

make some peanut sauce (doesn't require cooking--super simple) and pour it over the rice and steamed (or fresh) veggies.

peanut sauce:
1 part molasses
3 parts vinegar
3 parts soy sauce
6 parts peanut butter
6 parts hot water
ground ginger and cayenne to taste.
posted by slograffiti at 1:28 PM on September 2, 2008

I would suggest you to cut some garlic flakes, spring onions, green chillies, carrots and one egg. Dice the garlic and the vegetables, add the egg to it...add salt, soy soy sauce and pepper.

Then mix the rice with this....this recipe is my favorite 5 minute recipe.
posted by nancydodds1 at 4:05 AM on September 5, 2008