The Everything Rice Cooker Cookbook (4 page)

A croquette is essentially a fried cake of mashed potato, meat, or fish, often coated with flour or bread crumbs before frying. You can use either cooked fresh fish or canned fish for this recipe.

1. Fill the rice cooker pot with water to about the 4-cup mark (or sufficient amount to immerse the potato). Cover the rice cooker and set to Cook. While the water is heating, put the fish on a plate that will fit in the steamer basket or insert. Cover the fish with plastic wrap to prevent excess condensation.
   

2. When the water boils, add the potato. At the same time, place the steamer insert or basket that holds the plate of fish into the rice cooker. Cover the rice cooker and steam for 6 to 8 minutes. Remove steamed fish and drain excess liquid from it. Remove the potato.
   

3. Peel the potato and mash it gently with the back of a fork, stirring in the butter at the same time. Flake the steamed fish and add it, the lemon juice, and the parsley to the mashed potato and mix well. Shape into round cakes and then chill for 30 minutes to help them firm up.
   

4. When ready to fry, dip the fish cakes in the flour, then dip into the whisked egg and flatten the cake.
   

5. Clean out the rice cooker and wipe dry. Add oil to the rice cooker and set to Cook. When the base of the cooker pot gets warm, add the fish cakes and pan-fry for about 5 minutes on each side, until golden brown and cooked through. Be sure to cover rice cooker while frying.
   

Cooking Tip

Do not over-mash the potatoes; a good fish cake should not be mushy. A smooth and slightly chunky mixture of fish and potatoes provides the perfect texture and bite.

Patties, cakes, and croquettes are similar, though differently named. A patty, which usually is circular and flat, is made of a combination of chopped or minced ingredients, and usually is not dipped in bread crumbs before cooking.

1. Add butter to the rice cooker, cover, and set to Cook. When the butter melts, add the flour and salt and mix well.
   

2. Slowly add the milk, stirring, until mixture thickens.
   

3. Add the tuna and cheese and mix well, until cheese melts. When cool enough to handle, slowly add in the milk mixture into the egg (gradually tempering the egg), then add cilantro, mix well, and form into patties and chill for 30 minutes.
   

4. Meanwhile, clean out rice cooker and wipe dry. Add oil to the rice cooker and set to Cook. When oil is hot pan-fry the tuna patties 3 to 5 minutes each side, being sure to cover the rice cooker while cooking each side, until golden brown.
   

You can use finely chopped parsley, basil, or even green onions instead of cilantro.

1. Stir half of the whisked egg into the salmon, add cilantro, and mix well. Continue to add remaining egg to mixture and mix well until the egg is absorbed by the salmon and the mixture can be formed into firm patties. Season with salt and pepper.
   

2. Add oil to the rice cooker, cover, and set to Cook.
   

3. When the base of the cooker pot gets warm, form flat patties (about 1½-inch diameter) from the mixture and add to the rice cooker. Pan-fry the patties (about 2 to 3 minutes per side), until their surface turns brown and slightly crisp, making sure to cover the rice cooker while frying. Serve with squeeze of lemon.
   

Leftover Tips

Grilled fish leftovers tend to become dry under subsequent reheating. If you had grilled fish leftovers from the night before, you can break the leftover fish into flakes for use in these patties.

Skewer the fish cubes with green onions, pineapples, and green or red bell peppers to add variety and color.

1. Combine garlic, ginger, turmeric, fish sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, red chili pepper flakes, and olive oil in a bowl. Add fish and marinate for 10 minutes in the fridge.
   

2. Thread marinated fish onto short skewers about 4 inches in length (or a length that can fit the diameter of the rice cooker), about 2 fish cubes per skewer.
   

3. Add oil to the rice cooker, cover, and set to Cook. When the base of the cooker pot gets warm, add the skewered fish (work in batches) and pan-fry the fish for about 5 minutes on each side until golden brown and cooked through, being sure to cover the rice cooker while frying. Use kitchen tongs to help hold the skewer and turn the fish, if necessary.
   

4. Transfer the mini skewers to a serving platter and serve with lime wedges.
   

Lettuce and cucumber tend to contain more moisture and may make the entire salad wet and unappetizing. Drain excess liquid while preparing the ingredients, including the liquid from the steamed fish.

1. Fill the rice cooker pot with water to about the 4-cup mark. Cover and set to Cook. While the water is heating, put the fish on a plate that will fit in the steamer basket or insert. Cover the fish with plastic wrap to prevent excess condensation during steaming.
   

2. When the water boils, place the steamer insert or basket that holds the plate of fish into the rice cooker. Cover the rice cooker and steam for 6 to 8 minutes, until the fish cooks through.
   

3. Remove the fish and set it aside to cool. Once cool, break it into bite-sized flakes. Drain excess liquid.
   

4. Toss the fish flakes with lettuce, shallots, herbs, and serve with cucumber.
   

Dressing for Fish Salad

Combine 1 tablespoon fish sauce, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, ½ teaspoon sugar, and 1 stalk lemon grass (bruised white part) in a bowl. You can drizzle this light and refreshingly tangy dressing over the fish salad before serving.

Satay is a popular street food in parts of Southeast Asia, such as Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. This dish typically is seen as a skewer of marinated chicken, mutton, or beef strips, grilled or barbecued over a charcoal fire and dipped in spicy peanut sauce. Turmeric gives satay its signature yellow gloss.

1. Combine curry powder, turmeric, salt, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, and 1 tablespoon of the oil in a gallon size plastic food bag. Add the chicken pieces, seal the bag, and turn the bag a few times to make sure the chicken pieces are coated with the marinade. Refrigerate and allow to marinate for 2 hours.
   

2. Thread the chicken pieces onto short skewers (about 4 inches long, or a length that can fit the diameter of your rice cooker).
   

3. Add remaining oil into the rice cooker, cover, and set to Cook. When the base of the cooker pot gets warm, add the skewered chicken (work in batches) and panfry the chicken for about 5 minutes on each side until browned and cooked through, being sure to cover the rice cooker while pan-frying. Use kitchen tongs to help hold the skewers and turn the chicken over, if necessary. Serve with
   Peanut Sauce
   .
   

Serving Suggestions

Pan-frying the satay is an alternative cooking method for homes that do not own an outdoor grill and do not like to deal with the mess of charcoal and smoke. Serve the satay with sliced red onions, sliced cucumbers, rice cakes (also known as ketupat), and
Peanut Sauce
.

To “hash” means to chop foods into small pieces. A standard hash is a great way to use up leftover meat and potatoes.

1. Fill the rice cooker pot with water to about the 4-cup mark (or sufficient to immerse the potatoes). Cover the rice cooker and set to Cook.
   

2. When the water boils, add the potatoes to the water, cover the rice cooker, and cook for about 10 minutes.
   

3. Remove the potatoes and allow to cool. When cool, peel and cube the potatoes. Set aside.
   

4. Clean out the rice cooker and wipe dry. 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 about 5 minutes until onions are slightly tender.
   

5. Add the potato cubes. Continue frying for about 3 minutes, covering rice cooker while cooking.
   

6. Add bacon, garlic, salt, and pepper and fry for 5 minutes, covering rice cooker while cooking and stirring occasionally, until potatoes are golden and tender.
   

This is a vegetarian version of hash. Vary the kind of vegetables according to your personal preferences. Pumpkin can be a good lower-carbohydrate alternative to potatoes.

1. Fill the rice cooker pot with water to about the 4-cup mark (or sufficient to immerse the potatoes). Cover and set to Cook.
   

2. When the water in the rice cooker boils, add the potatoes to the water, cover the rice cooker, and cook for about 10 minutes.
   

3. Remove the potatoes and set aside to cool. Once cool, peel and cube the potatoes. Set aside.
   

4. Clean out the rice cooker and wipe dry. Add oil to the rice cooker, cover, and set to Cook. When the base of the cooker pot gets warm, add the onions and fry about 5 minutes until onions are slightly tender.
   

5. Add the potato cubes and pan-fry for about 3 minutes, being sure to cover rice cooker occasionally while cooking.
   

6. Add bell peppers, mushrooms, egg, salt, and pepper, and fry for about 5 minutes (scramble the eggs into smaller pieces), being sure to cover the rice cooker occasionally while cooking. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are golden and tender.
   

Potato Tips

Potatoes can be broadly grouped into starchy (most starch), waxy (less starch), and medium starchy (in between starchy and waxy). Starchy potato varieties, such as russets, are good for frying, and therefore for use in this recipe, because they break up slightly during frying and absorb flavors quite well.

Sweet potatoes have a buttery flesh and sweet taste, making these tubers enjoyable simply mashed.

1. Fill the rice cooker pot with water to about the 4-cup mark. Cover and set to Cook. While the water is heating, place the sweet potatoes on a plate that fits into the steamer insert or basket.
   

2. When the water boils, place the steamer insert or basket that holds the plate of sweet potatoes into the rice cooker. Cover the rice cooker and steam for 15 to 20 minutes, until the sweet potatoes cook through. Remove and set aside to cool in a large bowl.
   

3. Clean out the rice cooker and wipe dry. Cover rice cooker and set to Cook. Add the butter and sugar to melt. Slowly stir in milk and cover rice cooker for about 30 seconds.
   

4. When mixture starts to boil, stir well and switch off the rice cooker.
   

5. Ladle the milk mixture into the sweet potatoes and mash until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and serve warm.