The majority of the people have a misconception that the rice cooker is a one trick pony.
If you are someone who eats rice everyday then the rice cooker can be of great use to you. However, most of the people do not even think about cooking other dishes in the rice cooker.
In fact, the rice cooker is not a one trick pony, as they can be used for many other cooking tasks.
One of the major advantages of the rice cooker is that it allows you to cook a large quantity of rice at one time. You can even prepare other dishes in a large quantity with the help of the rice cooker. Most rice cookers are specially designed in such a way to preclude any type of cooking methods other than deep heating. It is not advisable to overheat the rice cooker, as there is a significant chance of it bursting – yes I said that right!
Bursting, or more correctly, exploding (!) is the major reason behind having a whistle on some rice cookers.
The whistle that is placed on the cap of the cooker plays a major role in informing you that your food is ready. This will also avoid overheating the cooker.
Some of the other dishes that can be made in a rice cooker are mentioned below.
Steel-cut oats
If the rice cooker has a congee setting or a porridge setting then you can use the cooker to make the dish, which is called as steel- cut oatmeal. You might find it difficult to use the correct proportion of ingredients required for this dish. The major ingredients used for this dish is oats and water at the ratio 1:3 respectively. It is advisable to soak the oats at night and switch on the cooker in the morning when you are getting ready. Add cinnamon, nuts and dry fruits to enhance the taste as well as flavor of the dish. Therefore, this is the recipe for you to make steel cut oatmeal, which can be an ideal breakfast meal for everyone.
Polenta
Polenta is another delicious dish that can be made with the help of a rice cooker. Lot of stirring is required to make this dish. The huge space present in the rice cooker will make the stirring process easier for you. You can also make a large quantity of this particular dish with the help of rice cooker.
Beans
The exact cooking time required for the beans depends upon the quality of the beans that you have bought. Low quality beans will take more time to cook when compared with the high quality ones.
Lentils are made in the rice cooker using water and beans at the ratio 2:1 respectively. You can read more about how to cook lentils in a rice cooker in this article
Stews and soups can also be made with the help of the rice cooker by simmering.
So, as you can see it not just rice! These are some of the major types of foods other than rice that can be made with the help of a rice cooker. Hopefully I have managed to convince you that the rice cooker is not a one trick pony!
