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Post by Noriko on Sept 2, 2007 13:12:38 GMT -5
Hello all! I have a quick question about cooking one of my favorite carbs[1]. I eat quite a bit of rice but I'm getting frustrated with always ending up with a good few centimeters of rice stuck to the bottom. Not only does this seem like a waste[2], but when cleaning, some of the rice manages to wiggle through the drain catch and I'm worried I'm going to get a nasty clog in the sink. My mother sometimes makes rice by using a ceramic container with a lid and chucking it in the microwave but I don't know if this is a viable option for Japanese sticky rice (works fabulously for pilaf type rices). I could get a non-stick rice cooker but I don't know much about those (last one I owned was a piece of crud). So any advice on creating lovely, cloudlike stickyrice or am I doomed to a life of scrubbing pots and pans....?
[1]after those cute litte round raviolli, that is. [2]I know, the rice crust can be salted and eaten but...
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Saionji Shonagon
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Post by Saionji Shonagon on Sept 2, 2007 13:32:22 GMT -5
I eat quite a bit of rice but I'm getting frustrated with always ending up with a good few centimeters of rice stuck to the bottom. A few CENTIMETERS? It sounds like you are leaving it on the heat too long. Take it off the heat sooner and make sure you give it a stir once or twice while the rice is still setting and soaking up water. (Why yes, I do this on the stovetop in a cheap steel stockpot.)
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madyaas
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Post by madyaas on Sept 2, 2007 16:25:31 GMT -5
If you have that much rice burnt at the bottom of the pot, You may be cooking it too high if using a pot. In the Philippines, we call the burnt rice at the bottom of the pot "tutong", and is considered a delicacy by some people, my father included. Tagalog also has lots of specific terms for rice: palay - unhusked seeds, bigas - husked whole seeds, kanin - cooked seeds, binlind - broken husked grains, rice bran - darak, rice husk -ipa.
Anyway, we cook the rice in a small non-stick 3 cup cooker. It cooks well and doesn't leave any burnt rice on the bottom. It's easy to clean too. However, I was taught the Filipino method of doing it on the stove meaning whatever level of rice, you extend your middle finger, touch the top of the rice with the tip, and then add water up to the first knuckle. Burnt rice would always come from cooking it too high and too fast. We bring it to a boil and then turn it down to a simmer (this is what the rice cookers do, but they keep things more even).
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Post by Noriko on Sept 2, 2007 16:36:23 GMT -5
Well, maybe not a few centimeters- my sense of measurement has never been that great, but a good layer of rice does become stuck. Regardless, I hate cleaning it up. I'll wash my place from top to bottom til it shines like an October moon but I hate scraping off that rice... I think I may be turning it on too high. I have a gas stove and I am still trying to figure out how best to cook things over it. I don't make a lot of rice though, so by the time it boils, almost all the water is gone (1 cup for 1 cup of rice) and it starts to boil over... Madyaas, what brand of rice cooker do you use? Three cups sounds like a good amout for me.
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Post by Ki no Kotori on Sept 2, 2007 17:07:32 GMT -5
This is a slightly larger (and newer) version of what our family have--ours cooks 3 cups of rice. It's not cheap but is well worth the cost. We have used ours 2-3 times a week for the past four years and no problems at all with it.
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madyaas
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Post by madyaas on Sept 2, 2007 17:14:32 GMT -5
Well, maybe not a few centimeters- my sense of measurement has never been that great, but a good layer of rice does become stuck. Regardless, I hate cleaning it up. I'll wash my place from top to bottom til it shines like an October moon but I hate scraping off that rice... I think I may be turning it on too high. I have a gas stove and I am still trying to figure out how best to cook things over it. I don't make a lot of rice though, so by the time it boils, almost all the water is gone (1 cup for 1 cup of rice) and it starts to boil over... Madyaas, what brand of rice cooker do you use? Three cups sounds like a good amout for me. I HATE cleaning out burnt on rice too. I remember when I did burn it in the pot, I hated scraping it out. Our other rice cooker leaves a very thin layer of stuck-on browned rice, and I usually soak it overnight because I refuse to scrape it off. However, it's a huge 12 cup model. There's a reason why every single Filipino family I know uses a rice cooker and will rarely if ever do it in a pot (unless teaching the kids how to cook rice the traditional way, or there's been a blackout and you need rice and you NEED rice in a Filipino home) - in a pot is usually a pain, plus you always get even results every single time. The small cooker we have is by the brand "National". It's a basic model, just one lever for turning it on, but it has a glass lid and as I said, a non-stick pot which is fabulous. Some of the Japanese models get very fancy with warming options and other gizmos, like this one: tinyurl.com/237nrg from Zojirushi. That's a $129.00 pot for cooking three cups of rice.
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Saionji Shonagon
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Post by Saionji Shonagon on Sept 2, 2007 17:55:40 GMT -5
I think I may be turning it on too high. I have a gas stove and I am still trying to figure out how best to cook things over it. I don't make a lot of rice though, so by the time it boils, almost all the water is gone (1 cup for 1 cup of rice) and it starts to boil over... The first rule of cooking ANYTHING is pay attention to what you are doing. Sounds simple, doesn't it? Cooking with gas is what I grew up with. It's the giant technological leap from cooking over a fire that one can only control by adding more coal or wood and moving one's pots around in proximity to the resultant fire. I loathe electric ranges and I will often fire up the vintage Wedgewood (have I said how much I love this apartment lately?) instead of nuking something because I know by looking at the burner how high I need the flame and how long it will take to cook something. What you need to learn is to calibrate cooking speeds visually on a gas range. Every time you make something, start by observing the flame. Look at how high it is once you've turned on the gas and the burner has ignited. Is it cranked up high? Is it a subtle blue flicker hovering at the gas holes? Is it somewhere in between. Ever ponder why a three minute egg is called a three minute egg? Somebody stayed in the kitchen and paid attention to how long it took to cook. This is what you have to do. Don't answer the phone, don't run back to the computer or TV, don't let your roommate distract you. If you watch what you are doing, you can cook. This is what I want you to do the next time you cook your normal portion of rice. (You can also do it with other foods if you need to.) 1. Measure out your rice and water into your cooking vessel. I will assume you're going to let it soak for a half hour or so since you are using Japanese rice and not quick-rice. Soaking will speed cooking time. 2. As soon as you are ready to turn on the gas, turn on a kitchen timer or take note of the time on your kitchen clock. This is so you can determine how long things take for the amount of food you are going to cook. Have a notepad and a pen handy where you can reach them because you are going to write down the cooking times as you observe them so that you can use them over again to make the Ultimate Single Portion Of Perfectly Cooked Rice. 3. Turn the gas on high under your covered rice pot. 4. Watch the stove. 5. Make a note of how long it takes the contents of the pot to hit a rolling boil. If you have a lid on that you cannot see through, lift it every couple of minutes to check as you need to. The smaller the amount you are cooking, the faster it will heat. As soon as the water boils, turn the heat down to the point where it's almost about to go out but doesn't. You'll be able to see a ring of blue flame coming out of the burner because the amount of gas feeding it has been reduced. Now, if you were cooking enough rice for an entire family, I'd say, leave it there for a good fifteen minutes. You're cooking a much smaller portion, so I'd say check it in five and give it a stir. Is it setting up? If it looks like it's sucking up the water really well at this point, I'd turn off the gas completely, give it a good stir to redistribute which bits of rice are in contact with the sides and bottom of the pot, put the lid on and let it sit for another several minutes. If it's not setting up at the five minute mark, give it a stir with the heat still on low and check it again in three to five minutes. Write down how long it takes to boil your portion, how long it takes for the rice to start absorbing water on low heat and how long you let it stand afterward. Once you've calibrated by observation, you can use a timer to get you through the process as many times as needed until you no longer have to think about it. gojapan.about.com/cs/fooddrinkrecipes/ht/ht_rice.htmRegarding the drain clog issue, put a dishtowel in the bottom of your sink over the drain catch while you're cleaning. It'll help catch the escapees before they clog up your plumbing.
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Post by Noriko on Sept 2, 2007 20:21:07 GMT -5
The first rule of cooking ANYTHING is pay attention to what you are doing. Sounds simple, doesn't it? Heh... that's often my downfall when cooking. I love cooking but I often have the attention span of a Jack Russel on a sugar high, which is half the reason I'm looking into a rice cooker or a better method (well, that and the rice mess). But thank's for the advice. I also never really soak the rice which may be the problem in the first place....
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Saionji Shonagon
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Post by Saionji Shonagon on Sept 2, 2007 20:35:55 GMT -5
Heh... that's often my downfall when cooking. I love cooking but I often have the attention span of a Jack Russel on a sugar high, which is half the reason I'm looking into a rice cooker or a better method (well, that and the rice mess). But thank's for the advice. I also never really soak the rice which may be the problem in the first place.... Well, THERE'S your problem. Washing and pre-soaking is important for cooking grains, dried peas, beans, etc. If you cook and eat rice regularly enough to justify it, a rice cooker may be worth your while. Investing in some decent non-stick cookware might not hurt either! If acquiring an entire set is either out of your budget or more pots than you think you will ever use, buy one or two pieces at a time. I love my T-Fal wok, even if it is a rather dated shade of teal.... That attention span thing though, it's REALLY important when cooking. If you can read a recipe or directions and keep your attention on what you're doing, you can cook pretty much anything. I've been eyeing Takeda's meatball recipe over on the food forum as "bar food" for my little GWW soiree.....
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Post by Noriko on Sept 2, 2007 21:04:25 GMT -5
Well, I eat rice about three times a week, though I tend to make a good amount at once and freeze the rest away. I do have a wok that I LOVE and half the reason it works for me is because it doesn't require too much attention or amazing skill- chop up your veggies, prepare your sauce and the wok heats up in a minute and cleans like a dream. And yeah, I probably should be soaking rice but... *shamefully hides behind her sleeves*
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madyaas
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Post by madyaas on Sept 2, 2007 22:05:11 GMT -5
Well, THERE'S your problem. Washing and pre-soaking is important for cooking grains, dried peas, beans, etc. I'd disagree somewhat with rice. Washing rice was done to get off any possible dirt, dust, and extra starch. I've cooked rice without washing it first many, many times and never had a problem with it. It's a bit stickier, but not that much different from washed rice. If I want the grains to be less sticky, I do wash it. I personally don't feel that soaking rice is necessary either. My relatives never do it, and neither do any of my friends. They do wash it first though. I've never had it undercook at all without soaking it. Indeed, especially if rice is almost a part of every meal as it saves time that can be focused elsewhere, like the sides and main dish.
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Post by Takeda Sanjuichiro on Sept 3, 2007 8:27:48 GMT -5
I'd have to reiterate that paying attention, as Saionji-hime mentioned is key to any cooking (and most other parts of life) I personally do not own a microwave, and it is very rare for me to miss it... realy only wanting to reheat a slice of pizza... A full oven is just not worth it for a slice. Now as for rice burning when doing the stove method... Time and temp are important, but what I have found it is equaly as critical is the thickness of the bottom of the pot. A thin single layer pot is much more likely to burn rice, especially on gas. I have found that it allows too much high heat transfer when trying to bring up to the initial boil, that a very hot layer of water at the very bottom will actualy boil off and practically seal the bottom of the pot (even on non-stick) and over the rest of the cooking cycle burn horribly. If you want to do stove top rice, find a pot with a thick bottom... I have a little sauce pan that is the normal thin walled variety with a 1/8 inch bonded on bottom that works well for rice (and as a saucepan in general) Another alternative with gas is to get a heat/flame diffuser and place it on the burner and put the pot on that. Even a low flame (my experiance from when cooking away from home on gas) can burn with a thin bottomed pot, the heat does not transfer well through the modern, thin aluminum and thin stainless cookwares... Speaking of which I need to order my enameled cast iron pans. (They rock!) -Takeda
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Post by Noriko on Sept 3, 2007 16:57:26 GMT -5
So, I gave the microwave method a shot but I think I used too much water. How much rice would you say would be "one serving"[1]? How about for sushi- if I want to make one roll? I always end up making too much...
[1]For a small female who fills up the rest of the bowl with vegetables....
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madyaas
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Post by madyaas on Sept 3, 2007 19:44:53 GMT -5
So, I gave the microwave method a shot but I think I used too much water. How much rice would you say would be "one serving"[1]? How about for sushi- if I want to make one roll? I always end up making too much... [1]For a small female who fills up the rest of the bowl with vegetables.... Probably half a cup. I, being a big dude usually eat one cup. One roll of sushi is probably not going to use more than 1/4 a cup, maybe 1/3. Of course, it's hard to measure exactly as you need just enough to provide a thin layer of rice and to cover the sheet of nori.
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Saionji Shonagon
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Post by Saionji Shonagon on Sept 3, 2007 23:02:36 GMT -5
www.porkpeople.com/accomrice_kitchen.html indicates that 1 cup of rice cooks up to three cups (feeds six if you consider a serving 1/2 cup). I'd guess that 1/4 cup of dry rice would be plenty for a single serving. And remember, for a serving that small, it's going to cook FAST.
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