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Time for a nice cooker?

By: Anne Braly
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I’ve never had a rice cooker, but know I need one. My mother could always make perfect rice. When I tried to copy her technique — bringing water to a boil, then adding the rice and stirring it with a fork only once, then letting it simmer, covered, for exactly 17 minutes — mine would always come out half done or over sticky. Maybe it was something in the way she twisted her hand with that one stir. Nonetheless, I continue to try my hand at it and, on occasion through the years, it’s actually turned out.

But a cookbook came my way recently that may change my way of thinking and send me to the store to get a rice cooker. “Rice Cooker Meals” by Neal Bertrand is a one-pot wonder cookbook that takes a rice cooker beyond cooking rice and into an appliance that makes an entire meal, such as jambalaya, soups and casseroles. I had no idea a rice cooker could do so much.

Here’s a quick and easy idea. Stop by your favorite Chinese restaurant for some take-out egg rolls to complete the meal.

Rice Cooker Chicken Fried Rice

Have everything prepped and ready before putting anything in the cooker.

2 tablespoons butter

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup uncooked chicken breast, chopped in small pieces

Salt and pepper, to taste

2 rice cooker cups (12 ounces) uncooked medium-grain white rice

1 (10-ounce) can chicken broth

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1/2 cup chopped onion

3 green onions, chopped

1/2 cup chopped baby carrots

1/2 cup frozen sweet peas, thawed

1 tablespoon grated ginger root, optional

1/4 cup water

Press down cook switch. Put butter in rice cooker, let it melt some. Scramble egg in butter, stirring constantly to break into tiny pieces. Season chicken with salt and pepper; add to pot and brown for 5 minutes, turning often to brown thoroughly. Add rice and stir-fry into the butter. Add remaining ingredients; stir well and cover. Once meal is cooked and the cook switch pops to warm mode, let it stand 10 minutes before serving.

Note: When tested and cooked for 16 minutes once covered, this dish came up to the 3-cup level on the rice cooker.

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