Help me make the most of my awesome new multi-cooker!

June 3, 2012 11:36 PM

My awesome friends got me an electric multi-cooker! I'm a complete pressure/rice cooker beginner, so please help me make the most of it with your tips, tricks and recipe links.

All my best slow cooker recipes are for soups and stews. It's already too hot to think - what are your favorite summer recipes that use a multi-cooker?

I love ethnic, spicy and vegetarian food. Meat is great, but more as a seasoning than a main ingredient. Beans and legumes are awesome, but try as I might, the only variety of chili I like is chicken.

Since there are only two of us, leftovers would ideally be either minimal or super versatile.

Thanks!

posted by Space Kitty to Food & Drink (6 answers total)

Is this a multi-cooker like a crockpot or a multicooker like a deep fryer/steamer/rice cooker? Because the later is the BEST for steaming artichokes. Also you can make casseroles in it.

If it's the crockpot kind -- make your own stock! I made my own veggie stock yesterday using frozen leftover vegetables (just chuck them into a ziploc bag in your freezer as they come up, like if you only need 2/3 cup of onion and have a chunk left over), and tomorrow will probably make some chicken stock.
posted by spunweb at 11:40 PM on June 3, 2012

Response by poster: It's like a crockpot, but with programs for pressure cooker, rice cooker, slow cooker, warming and browning.

The first recipe in the booklet that came with it is for stock. It sounds delicious, but got me thinking it's way too hot for soup so I'm looking around for more ideas.
posted by Space Kitty at 11:47 PM on June 3, 2012

BEHOLD Crockpot365!
posted by spunweb at 11:59 PM on June 3, 2012 [1 favorite]

We used ours to make shredded pork shoulder. We just trim the fat, add onions, garlic and bbq sauce, brown on all sides, pressure cook for 2-3 hours (you could pressure cook for a couple hours and then slow cook for a few more depending on how much time you have). You can shred it right in the cooker. Then I made coleslaw and got some good kaiser rolls and we pigged out.

We also made faux carnitas by adding orange and lime juice, onions, cumin, chili powder, and chilis instead of the bbq sauce. We ate it in corn tortillas with shredded cabbage and lime juice.

Bonus: both of these are good cold.
posted by Kimberly at 9:14 AM on June 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

I love mine! At first I was really strict about following pressure cooker recipes, but now I mix and match - like I'll brown, slow cook, and then if I get hungry, throw on the pressure cooker to finish it up quickly.

I loved the Moroccan Chicken w/ Prunes & Couscous recipe on this page and there are some others that look interesting too.
posted by beyond_pink at 9:55 AM on June 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

It works as a rice cooker? We've had very good experience with the recipes in The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook: 250 No-Fail Recipes for Pilafs, Risottos, Polenta, Chilis, Soups, Porridges, Puddings and More, from Start to Finish in Your Rice Cooker. (Hm… it's been way too long since we've made mixed rice for dinner…)
posted by Lexica at 6:57 PM on June 4, 2012