Hi,
Being a bloke and living alone i've been up to now using Uncle Ben's boil in the bag rice as i've always been hopeless at cooking rice.

However, this weekend I was persuaded to buy this rice cooker

So tonight I washed 2 cups of bog standard rice a few times until the water was clear, sieved it into the rice cooker, and added water to the rice in the bowl up to the required level as per the instructions.

It then started to boil away. The instructions said 15 minutes for the amount of rice whereas the packet said 25, so as a happy medium I chose 20.

However when 20 minutes was up and I turned it to 'warm' and looked inside the rice was still in there with some liquid.
So I cooked it for a further 10 minutes and spooned it out only to find it still had water in the bowl and the rice wasn't cooked - ie the rice was hard

The instructions said the rice cooker would switch to warm itself when the rice was done, but with no timing settings on it how would it know?

Am I missing something here? Should there still be water in the bowl at the end of the cooking time?
Any hints or tips from rice cooker owners would be greatly appreciated

Cheers.

I gave mine away but do remember it did turn itself off when the rice was cooked.
An easier way to cook rice is to buy a rice cooker from Lakeland stores - they cost about a tenner - and do it in that. 250gms rice - 900mls of boiling water - 5 mins on high, mix then another 5 - leave for 2 mins an it is cooked - foolproof.

My husband found a tip from Delia (I think), but it's not for a rice cooker. Just on the hob, for white/basmati rice, heat a teaspoon or so of oil in a pan, measure your rice and add to the oil, stir until the rice is well-coated with the oil. Add double the amount of boiling water that you had with rice, stir until evenly mixed. Cover and heat until it starts to boil, then put it on the lowest heat and leave for 20 minutes. Don't take the lid off or stir any time in that 20 minutes. Turn the heat off and let stand for a few minutes then stir. We've done it this way for quite some time now and it works perfectly. I've recently purchased some brown rice and the method is different, more water and longer cooking time but I don't have that one perfected yet.

Clank,
If you lift out the pot in which you place the rice and water you should find it sits on little pressure pad that heats it
I think it reacts to the weight of the contents and determines the steaming time.
That's how mine works and I just don't think they're designed to that level of accuracy.
I recently bought one and find that the water evaporates before the rice is cooked - opposite of yours.
I only paid a tenner and I reckon it'll be a few more "experiments" before I judge it myself by trial and error rather than just follow the stated cooking time.

This is the best kitchen gadget I own! I don't like the ready cooked pouches as they all seem to have oil in them and the frozen ones are expensive and I could eat two packs lol.

I cook rice several times a week in the microwave.

Boil a lot of water in the kettle

Meanwhile wash the rice (400 grams say) in a strainer to remove starch

Transfer rice and boiling water to a large glass or plastic microwave proof bowl and cover - lots of boiling water to a couple of inches below the rim.

Microwave for 10 minutes at 800W or less at 1000W (experiment)

Strain in a collander under the cold tap to wash the rice again.

Transfer back to the bowl after straining

Microwave for another 10 minutes to dry

Job done.

Timings will vary depending on the type of rice and power of the microwave. Undercook and you can always zap in the microwave for longer until you get the hang of it.

So basically like pasta to minimise the starch.

I'm old fashioned, I just cook rice in a pan and it turns out fine and fluffy.

Ditto. 1 cup of rice, 2 cups of water, boil, turn down to low, lid on, leave it. Takes about 10 minutes.

Yes, I struggle to see what's so hard about it.

When you put the rice to cook, push the lever down. When it is cooked, the lever lifts up by ITSELF, you do not have to keep an eye on the time. Then leave it on warm for about ten mins before serving.

Is there a different way?

What's all this about rinsing?

Smudges mum often uses a stock cube for flavour, I sometimes chuch in dried mixed herbs, but they don't change the method.

Always rinse rice in cold water until the water is clear. Long grain rice = 1 cup rice and 2 cups of water, for Basmati rice 1 cup of rice to 1.5 cups of water. Add a little salt, bring to boil then on the lowest heat you can until the water is absorbed.

Some chefs recommend rinsing to get rid of the starch so the rice doesn't bind together.
Then I've heard other chefs say "No need".

Seems awfully long winded.

Put rice and water into microwave bowl. Press start. Wait til done.

(You may need a few attempts to get the amount of water and time correct for your microwave)

That works well. But I eat a lot of rice so I prefer to remove starch by the boil in the excess water method - in the microwave so timed.


If the water is from the kettle and at boiling point in summer or winter timing is consistent.

The rationale for the excess water method is to remove starch and end up with a lighter rice.


Starch is fattening. Everything nice is fattening or sinful. Upto you.

I have a similar rice cooker and since getting it, I would never go back.

Wash the rice in the bowl, fill to the required level. Add some salt and a tiny bit of oil. Stir. Stick the lid on. Push the lever down and leave it. The lever will click up when it's ready. Voila, you have beautifully cooked rice.

If this doesn't work for you then there may be a fault.

I really didn't know how amazing rice smells until I bought a rice cooker.