I’m a reasonably good cook. I can manage to follow a recipe with reasonable success…. except for… rice.  You would think that rice should be simple- rice and water. That’s all there is to it. Yet, rice has eluded me for years. One day I did ask my best friend (who is Korean and makes rice at least five days a week) what the secret was.

“Every self respecting Asian cook uses a rice cooker.” she said.

I thought about it…

It shouldn’t be this hard to cook rice….I mean, I can make Julia Child’s boeuf bourguignon…

But for some reason I resisted the siren call of the rice cooker. I muddled through with pan, rice, water….

Then the virus that shall remain nameless hit, and I knew that rice would become a staple in our diet. On my weekly run to score paper towels and wipes, I found myself going down the escalator at Target. I found myself in the appliance aisle. I found myself putting a rice cooker in my cart…

The rice is soooo good…

I am so grateful for my rice cooker.

Life. Changing.

108 thoughts on “Sette- Gratitude”

  3. My Korean-Canadian daughter-in-law would be proud of you! She shakes her head at my pot-water-rice approach. And, apparently, leftover rice in a rice cooker warms up well. You’re in business, LA!

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  4. This made me think of Minute Rice. Do you remember that stuff… those short, choppy grains of what looked like tiny styrofoam. We never had rice growing up, it was always potatoes, but I think there was one, years old box of Minute Rice in the cupboard. I made some on occasion as a kid then put butter and salt/pepper on it and ate it. Didn’t taste too bad- and I seriously believed this was what rice was supposed to be until I became an adult. 🙂

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  11. Never felt the need for such a specialized appliance. My son’s fiance got him a rice cooker because he screwed it up on his own. I use chicken broth instead of water and I find that it makes a richer tasting product.

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  13. I have had a rice cooker for decades. I use mostly basmati rice and I rinse it well and then let the rice soak in water for 30-60 minutes so it absorbs water. Then I follow the measuring instructions for the rice cooker. Enjoy!

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    1. Storing one was my big thing too, but I realized that I could handle shelter in place but not my rice…and it gave me a good excuse to rearrange my shelves…

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      1. My sister in-law bought me one and then she got mad at me and took it when I wasn’t home. Then she found out that she misunderstood what I had said to her (language barrier) but she never gave it back 😂

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      4. We live in Gramercy park adjacent, as my neighborhood is a small enclave of no name, but that’s how a real estate agent would describe it. Grew up in nyc suburbs, philly suburbs for college, city post college

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      5. I grew up in a city where the whole metropolitan area is around a million people. However, that population is spread across at least 15-20 miles. My home now is on three glorious, peaceful acres. Though I could never thrive in a place like NYC, I am truly fascinated by it!

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      6. My daughter has grown up here. She said it’s hard for her to imagine how other kids grew up. But I like the dense ness of it. But I get it’s a love it or hate it sort of place

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  30. I just can’t figure out why I should buy all these single function appliances. Panini maker, waffle maker, George foreman grill, rice cooker, instapot (ok, so the instapot is multifunctional)… I have a stove, 2 pots, 2 skillets, one knife. However, I have dozens of baking dishes and casserole dishes and pie pans and whatnot AND I DO NOT BAKE

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    1. I admit I have very few appliances, (mixer, food processor, blender, waffle maker and I think that’s it) and I resisted the rice cooker for awhile, but it’s really good.

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  33. I’m not a rice person, but I think you can cook it in an Insta-Pot. I cooked pasta in my InstaPot and it was perfect too – 4 minutes. But I have to admit the InstaPot takes up too much room on the kitchen cupboard so I seldom pull it out of it’s storage spot.

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      1. You don’t want an Insta-Pot, mine was a gift, not something I would have bought for myself. After making 5 or 6 different types of soup in it I put it away. While quick, it’s only useful if you use a lot of spice to cover up the bland steamed taste I was always kind of afraid of it blowing up too!
        I blogged on it a few years ago.

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  34. Have no idea what a rice cooker is, I cook mine in a pan, cover with water boil, when the water has boiled away to just below the rice turn off the heat leave the lid on and wait for 5/6 minutes, Perfectly cooked rice.

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  37. I can cook everything perfect, but rice, pasta and eggs. I can’t! It took me 10 years to make an omelette good and eggs without adding making them on butter and mixing all the time 😂😂👏🏻 Rice is too cooked or too hard, but I can make risotto and paella 👌 somehow. And pasta… al dente.. well it cooks too.much anyway mo matter the instructions and adding salt 👏🏻😂 boiled egg is good by my hands..

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  39. Ha ha! I love your friend’s comment 🙂

    My Mum is anglo-Indian and we all learned how to cook rice early on. It’s pretty easy actually. Tilda Basmati rice rinsed multiple times, then drained. Put into saucepan, cover with cold water so that there’s a knuckle between the top of the rice and the top of the water. Salt, cover and bring to boil, then turn down to lowest possible heat setting, DON’T REMOVE THE COVER and allow rice to steam for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, keeping covered while dishing up everything else. Dish up rice last.

    But yeah, a rice cooker means you can chuck it all in and forget about it. If everything runs over time, the cooker just keeps your rice ready. My Mum bought two when she discovered them 🙂 I don’t have the space in my tiny kitchen & Himself (who took over the cooking) prefers to microwave rice anyway.

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