Saturday, October 29, 2022

The rice cooker

Is this my best blog post ever? Maybe not.

We are not Asian so we don't have a proper electric rice cooker but use a microwave rice cooker.  We eat rice at times but not that much. It is not our daily staple. 

I think this is our third microwave rice cooker and it is very good. It even came with a rice fluffing up spoon, that is also perfect for serving rice.

The whole unit goes in the dishwasher after being used and as it is plastic, it does not dry well, so I give it a wipe over with a tea towel and then assemble the individual parts. 

For about two or more years I have continued to make the same mistake before putting the rice cooker away.

I've dried the bowl.


Dried this bit of the rice cooker.


And put the lid on.

Then I remember the very well designed rice fluffer spoon. The spoon fits perfectly inside the bowl for storage.


So then I take off the the two rice cooker lid parts, put in the spoon and put the whole unit back together and put it away. I don't think I've ever remembered to put the spoon in before putting the cooker parts together. 

Maybe it is brain fog that causes me to continue to forget about the spoon, or early stages of dementia, but do give me some sympathy for my rather first world problem.

40 comments:

  1. We cook our rice in the microwave too - but have never invested in a rice cooker. We fluff with a fork.
    Old habits die hard? Each and every time I forget something I should know well I wonder about dementia. Not a comfortable thought. You do have my sympathies.

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    1. EC, if forgetting to put the spoon in is all I have to worry about, I must be ok. R is doing as you, thinking about forgetting and wondering.

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  2. My monies on you for remembering the next time:)

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    1. Sandra, you being a professional writer would know of the power of writing something to keep it in your memory.

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  3. We do our rice on the stove.
    Coffee is on and stay safe

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    1. Dora, it is so long since we have done that I cannot remember how.

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  4. I still cook it on the stove, like the icon of the ice age I am.

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  5. To steam rice is an art - at least to the eyes of Japanese for a good sushi rice recipe. Rice cooker from Japanese product line is of better quality since it is no brainer with their technology.

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    1. Roentare, I expect you are correct about Japanese rice cookers. Our microwave rice cooker does the job, but maybe not to Japanese standards.

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  6. I guess growing up in Hong Kong I became used to the idea of an electric rice cooker very early. It still produces the best rice. I cook masses and freeze it.

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    1. Caro, so after being cooked and frozen, do you just heat it in a microwave?

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    2. Thaw then steam over boiling water?

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  7. I live with a Chinese man and I suppose there are some days when the electric rice cooker is not used, but I doubt there has ever been (over many years) more than one clear day when that was the case.

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    1. MC, an essential but unnecessary part of all Asian peoples diets. Their first solid food would have been rice. Maybe Westerners are not so bad in that we are free of food habits and have a very varied diet.

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  8. I've never seen a microwave rice cooker. I too cook mine on the stove. We've begun eating more rice here. In fact, we are having it tomorrow night for supper (spanish rice, if you're curious.) You do have my sympathies. I am a frequently frustrated forgetter as well. We should have a support group. It doesn't matter that we're scattered across the globe. I'll set the date and time and place and then everyone will forget it straightaway, and that will take care of that.

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    1. Spanish rice sounds interesting Debby. A bit like paella? Remind in the morning, in twelve hours time about this support group. I do find if you have to remember something, write it down and just the action of that makes it stay in memory.

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    2. *sigh* I will try to remember.

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  9. I think it is because spoons do not normally get stored inside bowls. I have the same rice cooker, I think I used it once and now it lives in the cupboard. The spoon is in a drawer. I almost never eat rice anymore.

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    1. River, rice eaters may have legitimate arguments against me but I am not sure there is much nutrition in rice. We eat it with Asian style meals and it works really well with tuna mornay.

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    2. Brown rice has more nutrition, white rice is just "filler".

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    3. And River, white rice lead to the deaths of many Chinese coolies, berri berri, as they weren't getting vitamin B that comes in the rice husks.

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  10. I cook everything in my microwave when I cook ! I even make scrambled eggs in the microwave. With rice it's very easy ! I take a plastic bowl, put one glass of rice and 2 glasses of water and let it cook for 5 min and have the real good rice !

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    1. That's pretty simple Gattina. One glass of rice is quite a large serving for one. I guess you keep what is left.

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    2. No I take a quantity for one person, this was just an example, lol

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  11. I use one type of starch food each night, either potato, rice or pasta. Cooked in the microwave, then baked in the oven with the other foods..

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    1. Hels, many is the time we don't have starch even including oven cooked frozen chips. I never see starch as an essential dietary requirement, even if we enjoy our spuds, rice and pasta.

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    2. As long as you get some form of carbs, which are necessary for brain function.

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    3. So that's the problem River, and why I keep forgetting the spoon.

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  12. Well I had not heard of microwave rice cookers so I might invest in one. I believe that microwave cooking uses far less energy than the stove top or oven.

    Your confession is admirable and shows an ability to accept your mistakes. In creating this blogpost you will have surely won a few brownie points in the eyes of The Maker.

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    Replies
    1. YP, that is true about less energy. Brownie points in the eye of my maker? Is that like my parents. They never accepted their mistakes about the bringing up of Andrew and how they should have spoilt him.

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  13. Well, you are doing better than I am. I have no rice cooker (Jack hates rice) but I will get microwavable bags of rice.
    Well, the other day I put a bage of rice into the microwave and after a minute I heard Poof! I went over to the oven and the bag of rice had exploded! Let me tell you, it is not so easy to clean up a bag of exploded rice!

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    1. Maribeth, I wonder why that happened. I don't know about cook in the bag rice.

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  14. I have this triple container thing like a highrise (ha!) where I can cook meat/fowl/fish in one layer, veggies in another and then rice. I picked it up for about $5.00 at a thrift store sparkling new. It's quite wonderful for walkaway cooking.
    PS I love your red rice gear with matching spoon.
    XO
    WWW

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    1. M, that sounds so useful and what a bargain.

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  15. We buy partially pre-cooked rice in a little bag that pops into the microwave for 30 seconds et voila -- steamed rice!

    I like the handy spoon that comes with your cooker even if it is a pain to remember it!

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  16. Steve, that is so quick to cook or perhaps that's more about heating it up.

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  17. One day you will remember to put the spoon in and you will surprise yourself. I could rice in a saucepan, never tried to cook it in the microwave. Must try it.

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    Replies
    1. Margaret, the microwave rice cooker and its former models have worked well for us for many years.

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