Everyone loves a delicious meal. And since food is still necessary for life, "recharging", you need to be competent and thorough in your attitude to food selection and cooking. It is not worth talking in detail about how harmful fast food, chips and other food that destroys the body is harmful. After all, even a small child knows what threatens their excessive use.
In this article we will consider how to eat healthy and tasty. In particular, we will learn how to cook a side dish - rice in a slow cooker.
What is a multicooker
A small electronic "saucepan" with a lid has long become an indispensable lifesaver of housewives around the world. Also, this appliance for cooking also took root quite well in Russia.
If anyone does not know, then the multicooker looks approximately as shown in the photo.
The only thing - depending on the manufacturer of the model, its appearance may differ. In addition, the set of functions varies. But most housewives claim that basically multicookers are almost identical to each other, so you can take a chance to cook any dish you like in them from all sorts of culinary sites and from cookbooks.
Is a slow cooker suitable for cooking rice?
For some housewives who have discovered a slow cooker, the question arises as to what dishes it is intended for. For example, is it possible to boil rice in a slow cooker?
So, if you say that the mulwark is suitable for cooking almost all types of dishes, this will not be an exaggeration. Because the culinary specialists, who over time study the functions, power, time required for full readiness, and many other important aspects, say that the crock-pot is a wonderful assistant in the kitchen. It produces delicious soups, cereals, side dishes, stewed vegetables, fried meat and fish, and the multicooker is also suitable for various pastries and yogurt.
And to cook delicious and crumbly rice in a slow cooker, just click on the appropriate button.
Is there a difference between the taste of food prepared in the usual way and in a slow cooker
The most important plus of the multicooker is its convenience and minimum cooking time. Because the manufacturers of such equipment claim that the hostess for cooking, for example, soup, you just need to put all the required ingredients in the bowl, close the lid, press the “soup” and “start” buttons, and then wait for the specified time. By the way, the multicooker will inform about the readiness of the dish with a special sound signal.
The taste of the same dish, cooked in a slow cooker and in the usual way - on the stove, varies slightly from each other. However, this does not mean that rice in a slow cooker will turn out to be tasteless. It is possible that one member of the family will be even more to his liking, and the other - on the contrary. After all, as you know, all people are different, therefore, everyone perceives the taste of food in their own way.
What you need to cook a rice side dish in a slow cooker
Before you consider a rice recipe in a slow cooker, you should find out what foods are needed. In fact, the ingredients are exactly the same as with the usual cooking method. Therefore, the hostess only needs to determine why and what kind of rice she needs.
For example, some women prefer to boil plain white rice in advance, freeze it in the freezer, and then get it out and use it at the right time for making cereals, milk soups or pilaf. Then they will need the appropriate kind of rice. If red or wild rice is required for a side dish, then it is necessary to fill it in the multicooker bowl.
Otherwise, the ingredients are similar: salt, spices and water. If desired, you can also lay fruits or vegetables, then more water will be needed. Basically, the amount of ingredients is indicated in the selected recipe.
How to cook regular rice (white) in a slow cooker
If the hostess just got acquainted with an amazing device and does not know how to cook rice in a slow cooker, the recipe presented below will help her. It is quite simple, so even beginners will succeed.
To measure bulk products in a multicooker, a small plastic cup is provided, which is called a multicup. The amount of ingredients in the recipe is indicated for one serving.
Ingredients:
- White rice (round-grain or long-grain) - 1 multi-glass.
- Water - 2 multi-glasses.
- Salt or sugar is optional.
Cooking method:
Sort the rice, rinse thoroughly under a tap, then rinse with water from a filter or teapot (most importantly, not hot). Now pour the rice into the multicooker bowl, add water, sugar or salt to it. Install the “rice” program and wait for the specified time.
Just in case, especially those who cook for the first time, you should look after your dish so that the water does not evaporate and the rice does not burn.
Steamed Rice Recipe
Experienced users of multicookers know that rice can be cooked not only in water, but also steamed. However, in this case, an additional device will be needed - a plastic bowl with holes, very similar to a regular sieve. Almost all multicookers come with it.
How to cook rice in a slow cooker, we found out, now we will figure out how to cook rice for a couple. In this recipe, the ingredients and initial procedure are exactly the same as described above. However, after preparing the rice, it is not laid out in a bowl, but poured with (not hot) boiled or filtered water and left for an hour. This procedure is necessary so that cooking steamed rice takes less time.
After the specified time has elapsed, pour 2 multi-glasses of water into the multicooker bowl, then install the tray (a plastic bowl with holes) and put rice on it. If the holes in the tray are very large - the rice will fall through, you must first close the bottom with gauze. Next, set the mode “steaming”, close the lid and wait for the end of the program.
Beginners should try both of the above methods of cooking ordinary white rice to determine which option is tastier. However, most experienced housewives claim that steaming produces more crumbly rice in a slow cooker.
Is the slow cooker suitable for making brown rice?
Brown rice is not so boiled so much, so it will take a little more for one serving. About a half glass. For the rest, the procedure for preparing brown rice does not differ from ordinary white.
Some people do not like to eat brown rice in its pure form, so they add vegetables to it. For newcomers who do not know which vegetables are suitable, experienced multicooker users will answer - any. The most important thing is to correctly calculate the time for their preparation.
Ingredients:
- Brown rice - 1 multi-glass.
- Water - 2 multi-glasses.
- Bank of green peas - 1 piece.
- Cherry tomatoes - a few pieces.
Cooking method:
Pour the prepared rice into the multicooker bowl, add water and liquid from the peas, stir and set the "buckwheat" or "pilaf" mode. At this time, you need to cut the tomatoes into quarters, and then after forty minutes add to the rice. Ten minutes later, send the peas. Many housewives claim that in the Redmond crock-pot rice is tastiest. Readers of this article can, if desired, verify this.