What else can I do with my wonderful rice cooker?
Jo, London
“Oh, so much,” says Amy Poon, founder of Poon’s London. “I basically use my rice cooker like a [not so] slow cooker.” But to best understand what else you can do with it, Jo, you need to start at the very beginning and consider how rice cookers function. “They work on weight,” explains Ping Coombes, former MasterChef champion and author of Malaysia. “You add water and, as the rice cooks, the water soaks into the grain.” So, on that basis, you’re really looking at liquid-based things.
Let’s, however, stick with rice for a second, because there are many possibilities beyond steaming for a side. You could, for example, knock up a risotto, biryani, jambalaya, or, as Poon suggests, a “cheat’s” claypot rice. “Cut boneless chicken thighs into small pieces, marinate in potato starch, light soy sauce, white pepper, salt, sugar, shaoxing wine, sesame oil and finely chopped ginger, then mix with rehydrated Chinese (or other) mushrooms and spread the mixture over the rice.” Once cooked, garnish with chopped spring onions. Coombes, meanwhile, dials things up a notch with stories of a viral food hack from a few years back when some leftover takeaway fried chicken, stock, soy sauce and rice went into a rice cooker. “The crispy chicken became soft and was broken up into the rice with a dollop of butter,” she recalls. “I haven’t tried it myself, but that’s because I so seldom have any leftover fried chicken.”
Rice cookers come in all shapes and sizes, so to some extent where you go next depends on which one you have. Some come with a steamer, and if that were the case, Coombes would use it to steam fish and “let all the juices drip on the rice”. That said, grains (quinoa, pearl barley, bulgur wheat), legumes (beans, lentils) and even pasta will work a treat in all rice cookers. “I sometimes make congee in there for ease and speed,” Poon says, but you could also try oatmeal – fruit compote (also made in a rice cooker) dolloped over is optional, but encouraged. “Jo could also use her rice cooker to poach pears in red wine, or make jam,” Coombes says.
Eggs are another extracurricular option, particularly onsen tamago (Japanese poached egg), says Shuko Oda, head chef at Koya in London. “Add fridge-cold eggs, cover with boiling water and put it on ‘keep warm’ mode for 15-20 minutes.” Woongchul Park, alongside Bomee Ki half of the husband-and-wife team, behind Sollip in London, meanwhile, might make a quick broth or stock, or use his rice cooker for braising lamb shoulder or chicken. “Rice cookers also make really good fondue,” Coombes says, adding that it keeps cheese “at a nice temperature, so it’s warm and melty”. The same goes for chocolate, with fresh fruit, marshmallows or biscotti for dunking.
Also on the sweet side are cakes (think pineapple upside-down or banana bread). “Just line your rice cooker [with baking paper], then pour in the batter,” Coombes says, although the results will of course be more steamed than baked. “People even make brownies in their rice cooker – there really are so many things you can do with them.”
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