This is the way. I am in the know. Passed down through generations. The finger dip-stick is an ancient martial art.
Ha ha I remember doing that as a kid too. Now that I'm an adult I'm like, mom, there's a measurement indicator right on the side. Why isn't anyone using that?
Cooking methods:
1. Non air tight
2. Micom. Induction, air tight
2.5 Instapot.
3. Micom. Induction, pressure rice cooker+
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Rice results:
1. Most people understand cooked rice based on #1. You'll know uncooked and soggy rice as part of a #1 styled cooking method (including on the stove).
Pros: Cheap. Cons: Worst rice. Least forgiveness and features.
2. Micom means that the computer helps to adjust. But you can't dump in way too much water and expect perfect rice each time. I would say the forgiveness is around 10-15% of excess water. Air tight means you can use slightly less water and the cooked rice has more texture/chewy and aroma than method 1. The cooked rice can also be left on "keep warm" for longer than method 1 or 3 meaning that this method is the most consistent. Most Asians restaurants use this type. Even with more money, they don't go for method 3. Brown rice is OK for this method. I find the heat and pressure isn't high enough to truly unlock and make a good brown rice.
Pros: Most consistent texture and results. Decently forgiving. Cons: Not the most features. Not the best possible rice texture and flavor IMO.
2.5 Instapot. Think forgiveness of method 1, but with the possibility to get a result between #1 and #3. Too much water and you get congee. There's barely any in between. It'll be good or meh rice outcome.
Pros: Pressure cooker features. Can also attain results on par if not exceeding #2 regularly. Stainless steel pot for scrubbing. Cons: Less forgiving than method 2. Straight up feels mediocre and a workaround as a rice cooker vs being a primary solution for rice.
3. Pressure rice cooker. If you want the highest amount of chewiness and aroma, this is the one you want. Although most of the ones here can do stuff like in category 2, if you have one of these you are typically not aiming to make that style of rice. We're not talking like Chinese restaurant or Jerusalem Shawarma texture rice here. We're talking another level up texture and moisture wise. However, this is not the style of rice some people like. This style reminds me of a special style of rice in Korea and certain parts of Japan and it is not common at all to styles in North American restaurants here. Think rice, but borderline mochi texture. It's hard to describe. These types of rice cookers have a ton of features, but the features honestly get kinda confusing after a while. I guess the only extra feature I use beyond rice cooking is the self cleaning mode (which I like a lot). The average person also just figures out the 1 or 2 out of 10-20 options and just basically does that over and over. With many that have high heat/turbo modes and if your keep warm setting is too warm, you can get a Maillard browning effect within an hour or two of keep warm that you wouldn't get with a method 2 type rice cooker even on 5+. I'm sure there is a setting that can be done to avoid this browning, but some people actually love this effect. I am not aware of the ability to do this easily with method 2, but it can be accomplished with some skill with method 1. Over watering wise, I think forgiveness is less than method 2. I think the overwatering forgiveness is maybe 5-10% only. Some of the programming is weird too. Settings wise, some of the adjustments I made like changing languages felt like putting in cheat codes on an NES. I still haven't figured out the keep warm setting to lower the temp. Improvements for brown rice and purple rice with this method is just next level superior with this method than other methods IMO. The gap isn't as apparent or huge or desired (occasionally) with white rice.
Pros: A unique type of rice texture/aroma others styles cannot easily imitate (regular or Maillard). Typically it can cook faster that other cooking types. Cons: Much more expensive (up to double). Style of rice isn't for all. So many features that it's kinda confusing to use. Some of the features are overpowered leading to more common Maillard reactions. Paying for lots of features you basically won't be using.
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Cookers:
1. Not recommending.
2. Tiger, Panasonic and Zojirushi good brands here. Cuc koo (Korea) are decent too but the first 3 always seem like they're better value or have more intuitive interfaces. Look for the words "Micom rice cooker" and look for the hinged lid. I've use a few brands in this category, I liked Zojirushi the best. $150-300 ish is a good range.
3. Cuc koo is hands down the brand here. Some cookers have additional features like crisp rice, GABA rice etc. Look for the specific words: "Pressure rice cooker". No experience with any other brand for this category. $250-550 ish is a good range here.
EDIT: And another facet to consider. Calrose rice is awesome. It's close/similar to sushi grain rice. I transitioned from Jasmine rice to this and I've never looked back, even with the price premium.
Last edited by DoubleF; 06-07-2023 at 11:22 AM.
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Only trust the opinion of anyone who uses this method.
Spoiler!
If you know, you know.
Actually, when I was growing up, I was told the proper method is a flat palm on the rice with the water reaching your knuckle. Rather than putting your whole damn hand into the pot though, a finger to the first joint is a good alternative.
I have a saucepan with a lid, never needed more than that
Absolutely it's not a need, but it's a fine appliance to have. Failure rates for rice drop drastically from stove top to appliance. Cooking on a stovetop is perfectly fine. I know older gen Asians who insist the only way to cook good rice is fire top + clay pot. Anything mechanical for making rice is artificial and bull#### to them.
I've made cheese cake so many times in my induction airtight rice cooker (Method 2). I've made bread in it a few times too. It surprisingly turns out really damn well. Method 2 is a good one and more versatile than just cooking plain rice.
EDIT: I've also made this tomato rice recipe in the Tiger airtight rice cooker (method 2). So good.
I don't think the bread or tomato rice works out as well if the rice cooker utilizes pressure cooker tech.
Nah, I make basmati rice pretty much exclusively, I cook well separated 'dry' grains of long grain rice, in the Indian style, rigorously wash the starch out of it, a little butter and salt and slightly less than a 2 to 1 water to rice ratio depending on if I am adding prepared onions, chicken, peppers etc at the end of the cooking, I haven't screwed up rice in 2 decades except a couple of occasions where I forgot how many cups of rice I used and so put too much water in, and nothing saves that, just not something I need
FYI, us Koreans traditionally like our rice wet and overcooked. So that is what the cuc koo makes.
I don't know if I'd call it overcooked, but anyone who has gone to a Korean restaurant and seen the rice will know it's moist, chewy and you'll be unlikely to easily pull of individual grains as you would for Indian, Chinese and Persian/Mediterranean styled rice. It'll stick together in a clump, but it's definitely a ways off from being a congee type mash.
That being said, using an airtight non-pressure type rice cooker for Korean and purple/black rice, it always feels like the rice is slightly uncooked after it is done. This even if you use the brown rice function etc.
The company that makes kitchen staples like CorningWare, Pyrex and the Instant Pot has entered bankruptcy proceedings in the U.S. and Canada.
Illinois-based Instant Brands said Monday that it has "initiated a voluntary court-supervised Chapter 11 process," due to an unmanageable debt load.
"Tightening of credit terms and higher interest rates impacted our liquidity levels and made our capital structure unsustainable," CEO Ben Gadbois said in a news release.
The company has $563 million US of debt on its books, according to Bloomberg, and doesn't currently turn a profit. Ratings agency S&P downgraded the company last week and warned that "absent external funding or debt relief, we anticipate Instant Brands will face a liquidity shortfall over the near term."
__________________ "...and there goes Finger up the middle on Luongo!" - Jim Hughson, Av's vs. 'Nucks
Actually, when I was growing up, I was told the proper method is a flat palm on the rice with the water reaching your knuckle. Rather than putting your whole damn hand into the pot though, a finger to the first joint is a good alternative.
The measuring point is not the joint, but you use your thumb as a moving depth gauge to judge the distance between the waterline and the top of the rice.
That's nuts. Great Canadian success story. It was all the hype then other brands like Ninja came in with their copycats and better models, then they made the ill-fated decision to merge with Corningware and the whole company became too bloated.
First attempt with my new Zojirushi and I'm happy I read this thread. Slick design and good features, but more importantly did a good job on the rice. Unlike my previous rice cooker, I was able to leave it on "keep warm" without burning rice on the bottom, and cleaning it didn't require soaking stuff stuck to the bottom overnight.
