The Everything Rice Cooker Cookbook (12 page)

This is an easy recipe when frozen vegetables are used.

1. Add the rinsed rice and chicken stock to rice cooker, cover, and set to Cook. When you hear the rice cooker making noises and see some over-bubbling of fluid at the lid, lift up the rice cooker cover and continue to simmer for 30 to 45 minutes with the cover tilted slightly to vent the steam pressure. Stir occasionally, until the rice turns into a soft pulp.
   

2. Add the vegetables, salt, and pepper and continue cooking for 15 to 20 minutes. Adjust the amount of water, depending on whether you like soupy or thick rice congee.
   

3. Garnish with green onions and serve.
   

Adding blanched vegetables, such as broccoli or Chinese vegetables like bok choy, will make your pasta more colorful and nutritious.

1. Season the fish with salt and pepper. Set aside.
   

2. Add the oil to the rice cooker, cover, and set to Cook. When the base of the cooker pot gets warm, add the fish slices, cover the rice cooker, and cook the fish for about 3 minutes per side, until the fish cooks through. Dish out and set aside.
   

3. Using the remaining oil in the pot, add the onions and fry for about 8 minutes until they are soft and slightly caramelized.
   

4. Add the garlic and fry for about 1 to 2 minutes. Cover the rice cooker occasionally in the process of frying.
   

5. Stir in tomatoes and water or stock. Cover the rice cooker. When sauce starts to boil, lift rice cooker lid and continue to simmer for about 2 to 3 minutes until sauce reduces slightly. Add salt and pepper to taste. Switch rice cooker to Warm.
   

6. Add the cooked pasta and mix with sauce. Add dried basil and oregano and mix well. Dish out pasta into serving bowls, top with fish slices, and serve.
   

Cooking Tip

Bottled pasta sauces usually contain high amounts of sodium. Make your own
Marinara Sauce
and you can control your sodium intake. It is worthwhile to make this effort.

Use a mixture of fresh white, brown, or shiitake mushrooms for a different depth and flavor in this recipe.

1. Add the oil to the rice cooker, cover, and set to Cook. When the base of the cooker pot gets warm, add the onions and fry until slightly soft.
   

2. Add the butter and garlic and fry for about 2 minutes, covering the rice cooker occasionally in the process of frying.
   

3. Add the ground beef and mix well with the other ingredients. Fry for about 3 to 4 minutes until beef turns brown on the surface. Dish out and set aside.
   

4. Add the mushrooms, tomatoes, and water or stock to the pot and mix well. Cover the rice cooker. When the sauce mixture starts to boil, return the beef mixture to the rice cooker and allow mixture to come to a slight simmer. Then lift up rice cooker lid and simmer for about 10 to 12 minutes until sauce reduces slightly and beef cooks through.
   

5. Add salt and pepper to taste. Switch rice cooker to Warm.
   

6. Add the cooked pasta and mix thoroughly with the sauce. Garnish with basil and serve.
   

Shell-shaped pasta is preferred for this recipe as it is easier to toss with the chicken and shrimp.

1. Add the oil to the rice cooker, cover, and set to Cook. When the base of the cooker pot gets warm, add the garlic and fry for about 1 minute.
   

2. Add the chicken and fry for about 5 minutes, until the chicken almost cooks through, covering the rice cooker occasionally in the processing of cooking.
   

3. Add the shrimp and fry for about 3 to 4 minutes, until the shrimp turn pink and cook through, covering the rice cooker occasionally in the process of cooking. The chicken will finish cooking during this time as well.
   

4. Add the oyster sauce and water or stock, cover the rice cooker, and allow the mixture to come to a boil. When mixture starts to boil, switch the rice cooker to Warm and continue to simmer for about 8 minutes until sauce slightly reduces.
   

5. Add salt and pepper, cooked pasta, and broccoli, and mix well. When the gravy gets mostly absorbed into the pasta, dish out and serve immediately. Garnish with sliced red chili.
   

Cooking Tip

Blanch the broccoli florets by plunging them into boiling water and cooking for 30 seconds or more, until the florets are slightly tender. Then remove the florets immediately and plunge them into an ice water bath (also called “shocking”). The process of shocking stops further cooking in the broccoli and helps to retain a nice green color.

Macaroni, a type of short, curved, hollow pasta, is also known as elbow pasta. Most commonly used in macaroni and cheese, macaroni is also perfect for soups, salads, and casseroles.

1. Add the water to the pot, cover, and set to Cook.
   

2. When the water boils, lift up the rice cooker lid, add the celery and carrots, and completely immerse the chicken into the pot. Cover the rice cooker and bring the soup to a boil.
   

3. When the soup starts boiling, switch the rice cooker to Warm and continue to simmer for about 45 minutes or until the chicken cooks through.
   

4. Dish out the chicken and thinly shred it. Set aside.
   

5. Divide the macaroni among the serving bowls, top with shredded chicken, and ladle soup, celery, and carrots over the macaroni.
   

6. Top with green onions, salt, and a dash of white pepper to taste.
   

Cooking Tip

When not serving this dish immediately, remove the celery and carrots once they are cooked. If they are kept warm in the rice cooker for too long, they will turn limp and become discolored. When ready to serve, spoon the chicken, celery, and carrots on top of the macaroni in the serving bowls, and ladle warm soup over the macaroni.

Serve this pasta on an open omelet. It makes an entirely new presentation.

1. Add the oil to the rice cooker pot, cover, and set to Cook. When the base of the cooker pot gets warm, add the shallots and fry until shallots turn slightly soft.
   

2. Add the shrimp and fry for about 3 to 4 minutes or until shrimp cook through (turn pink), covering the rice cooker occasionally in the process of cooking.
   

3. Add the tomatoes, mix well, cover the rice cooker, and allow to come to a slight simmer.
   

4. Once simmering, lift up the rice cooker lid, add salt and black pepper to taste, and simmer until sauce reduces slightly.
   

5. Add the cooked pasta and mix well. Garnish with oregano before serving.
   

They are many types of pasta shapes, such as shell, tubular, and strand. Choosing the correct pasta shape for the sauce is important since different pasta shapes carry light or heavy sauces in different ways. The spiral shape of fusilli is perfect for this recipe.

1. Add the oil and butter to the rice cooker pot, cover, and set to Cook. When the base of the cooker pot gets warm, add the shallots and fry for about 5 minutes until shallots turn slightly soft.
   

2. Add the mushrooms and fry for about 5 to 8 minutes until mushrooms become soft and moist, covering rice cooker occasionally in the process of frying.
   

3. Add the salt and freshly ground black pepper. Slowly stir the milk into the pot, cover the rice cooker, and bring to a slight simmer. When simmering, lift the rice cooker lid and stir the milk sauce constantly for about 5 minutes until it reduces slightly.
   

4. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and stir until the sauce reduces further.
   

5. Top with Cheddar cheese and Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.
   

Cooking Tip

To make a thicker sauce, use 1 cup heavy cream instead of milk, or ½ cup heavy cream and ½ cup milk.

Replace the leeks with thinly sliced onions as a variation.

1. Add the oil to the rice cooker pot, cover, and set to Cook. When the base of the cooker pot gets warm, add the leeks and corn and fry for about 5 minutes or more, until leeks turn slightly soft, covering rice cooker occasionally in the process of cooking. Add the green onions and continue to fry for about 1 minute.
   

2. Add the salt and pepper to taste, followed by the cooked pasta, switching to Warm when moisture starts to dry off from the pasta, stirring occasionally in the process of frying, with the rice cooker uncovered.
   

3. Stir the mixture well before serving.
   

Pasta Arrabiata

Arrabiata is traditionally a sauce made from garlic, tomatoes, basil, and red chili cooked in olive oil. The dish is usually served with pasta and chopped fresh parsley.

1. Add the butter to the rice cooker pot, cover, and set to Cook. When the base of the cooker pot gets warm, add the shrimp and fry 3 to 4 minutes until the shrimp cook through (turn pink), covering the rice cooker occasionally in the process of cooking. Dish out and set aside.
   

2. Stir the marinara sauce into the pot and cover. When the mixture starts to boil, lift up the rice cooker lid, add the red chili, stir well, and allow to simmer until sauce slightly reduces, stirring occasionally.
   

3. Switch to Warm, add the cooked pasta, and mix well.
   

4. Before serving, dish out the pasta onto serving plates and top it with cooked shrimp. Garnish with oregano.
   

Fresh large tomatoes can be substituted for the cherry tomatoes in this recipe. Slice large tomatoes into smaller wedges so they can be tossed easily in the salad.

1. Season the shrimp with ginger and set aside on a plate that will fit into the steamer insert or basket.
   

2. Fill the rice cooker pot with water to about the 4-cup mark. Cover the rice cooker and set to Cook.
   

3. When the water in the rice cooker boils, place the steamer insert or basket that holds the plate of shrimp into the cooker and steam, with the rice cooker covered, for about 6 to 8 minutes or until the shrimp turn pink and cook through. Remove and set aside.
   

4. Clean out the rice cooker and wipe dry. Using the rice cooker pot as the mixing bowl, add the cooked pasta, shrimp, celery, tomatoes, sesame oil, and pepper. Mix well. Garnish with green onions before serving.