Microwave Rice Cooker

[Waldo]

My daughter is home from college for Christmas break. She says we should buy a Pampered Chef Microwave Rice Cooker. Says a friend has one and they are great for individual portions. My wife and kids don't like rice and are happy with mashed potatoes from a box. I will not eat them. I like rice, no body else does. My wife bought an electric rice cooker some years ago. It always boils over and is generally a job to clean up. I am wondering if the microwave one would be any better? I looked on Amazon, they have some for around $10.00, the Pampered Chef one was more. Has anyone ever used one? Any brands to look for or stay away from? Any advice would be appreciated. It is not so much the money, we have a kitchen full of stuff we don't use. Thanks, Waldo

 

[blujax01]

Well I don't microwave my rice and you did ask for any advice so here goes:
Got tired of Minute Rice and got adventurous. There is a bit of variety in the "Ethnic" food aisle at the grocery store. The Missus and I prefer Jasmine rice (Thailand) and steam it in an Oster brand electric ricer. The ricer is about $20 - $25, the Teflon coated cooking bowl insert is dishwasher safe but on the downside it is another gadget you will need to store. Makes good rice though ...

 

[cmort666]

My daughter is home from college for Christmas break. She says we should buy a Pampered Chef Microwave Rice Cooker. Says a friend has one and they are great for individual portions. My wife and kids don't like rice and are happy with mashed potatoes from a box. I will not eat them. I like rice, no body else does. My wife bought an electric rice cooker some years ago. It always boils over and is generally a job to clean up.

If your electric rice cooker is boiling over, you're doing something wrong, probably using too much water.

I am INCREDIBLY lazy when it comes to food preparation. I simply HATE to cook. I've had an electric rice cooker for years, and if it were as much trouble as you indicate, I'd have tossed it the first time I used it.

For 5 cups of rice, I use 5 1/2 cups of water by measure. It works perfectly every time.

I started out with a microwave rice cooker. I bought the electric and have never looked back.

One of these days, I'll get one of the Korean rice cookers that serenades you with tones at various stages of the cooking process.

 

[JcMack]

Using my George Formans, and microwave simultaneously I've got meal prep down to 10 mins. max.. I used to like Uncle Bens instant rice. I'd rather go brown rice, but the instant variety is pricey and not that great. How long to cook regular brown rice in a steamer. Is microwave faster? I've been eating a lot of fresh vegetables like broccoli, brussels sprouts, and spinach on a daily basis in attempt to at least maintain my current weight since I retired last year. I actually like the stuff too.

 

[Pasifikawv]

My wife likes rice and steamed veggies. The lazy guy that I am, I often use the mircowave to prepare her dinner. We had a Pampered Chef thingy (not sure it was a rice cooker) that I used for the rice. It worked well, but had to be monitored or it would boil over in the microwave. I really liked it, however, and it did a good, quick job with the rice. Ours was accidentally left too close to a burner on the stove and was damaged/melted and had to be tossed out.

 

[s&wchad]

I do believe this is our first rice cooker thread! If this goes epic, maybe it'll make the notable index.

My daughter is home from college for Christmas break. She says we should buy a Pampered Chef Microwave Rice Cooker...
It is not so much the money, we have a kitchen full of stuff we don't use. Thanks, Waldo

Just ignore her.

We have kitchen gadgets that haven't been touched in years, all they do is take up space. Some are in plastic tubs in the basement. A Pyrex dish with a glass lid works fine in the microwave if that's how you want to cook your rice. I prefer to cook it on the stove in a pot that fits in the dishwasher. Rice cookers do a great job, but I don't need or want one. The secret to good rice is to leave it covered for 20 minutes after it's done.

There's a reason most of the world lives on rice, it's cheap and it's good. A 25# bag is under $5 at Sam’s club. At that price, it doesn't need a lot of protection!

 

[Rule3]

Let's see.

Small pot with cover

1 cup water

1/2 cup rice

salt/butter (optional)

20 minutes and you have one serving.

Don't mess with it while cooking. Fluff when it is done.

I cook also, also

 

[djohns6]

Rice is simple to cook on the stove , and another gadget just takes up space . That's my advice . Your mileage may vary ...

 

[cmort666]

Rice is simple to cook on the stove , and another gadget just takes up space . That's my advice . Your mileage may vary ...

...if you want to watch it. I don't have to watch the electric rice cooker. I HATE to cook.

Besides, I don't cook much on the stove, having gotten out of the habit. It took my landlord a couple of years to finally keep the birds out of the ducting with hardware cloth. Until then, I'd come home and find dead birds in the fan on the stove hood, and feathers, blood and bird crap on top of the stove. Every time that'd happen, I'd have to handle it like a biological warfare attack, washing everything down with bleach. The rice cooker and the microwave work a LOT better than all of that. The problem seems to be fixed now, but I only ever boil water for tea, and make spaghetti on the stove.

 

[djohns6]

You don't have to watch rice cook , BUT , if you're not a stove and pot kind of guy , then buy the damn cooker . Good luck .

 

[LouisianaJoe]

I have cooked rice for years in the microwave. Use 1 cup rice and 2 cups water. Use the 1 to 2 proportions if you want more or less. I cook mine in a covered corning ware pot. Cooking time will depend on your microwave. I have seen this take from 12 to 20 minutes depending on the microwave. My current microwave is 15 minutes.

I usually freeze left over gumbo in serving size containers. I make a single serving of rice by putting 1/3 cup of rice with 2/3 cups of water. This only takes 10 minutes in my microwave.

You just need to experiment with the time for your microwave. I have found that if you let the rice cook until the water is almost absorbed and then let the rice finish absorbing the water before removing the cover that you get a fluffier rice.

Also there will be some boil over and you should clean that up before it dries or you wish that you had.

 

[cmort666]

You don't have to watch rice cook

...unless you like your rice NOT burned. Been there done that.

I like Japanese/Korean style rice. In fact, that's the ONLY way I'll cook it, until all of the water is gone and it's sticky. Makes it easier to eat with hashi. Soy sauce only.

I had canned tuna, rice and kimchi for lunch for the last three days. The only reason I'm not today is because I'm out of tuna.

 

[Rule3]

Like LA Joe says. Just use a covered micro safe dish. Why do you need to buy another gadget?

 

[cmort666]

Like LA Joe says. Just use a covered micro safe dish. Why do you need to buy another gadget?

The electric rice cooker gives me five cups of perfect rice EVERY time.

 

[Onomea]

Say, Cmort, you like that electric rice cooker?

We have an electric rice cooker, as do about 99.9% of households here in Japan. It has a built-in clock and timer, so the wife can fill it up and set the timer so it'll be ready whenever she plans to serve dinner. Like Cmort says, it even plays a tune when it's done.

The rice we buy needs to be rinsed off thoroughly prior to cooking.

My wife mentioned the microwave device as possibly something to take when we travel, but she decided to just stick with the stovetop approach if where we stay on the road does not have an electric ricemaker. Or, you can buy a cheap one for $15.

Over here a very hot seller, so much so that the manufacturer can't keep up with orders and has stopped taking them temporairily, is Sanyo's new device which makes bread from rice. Some people are allergic to wheat products and can't eat regular bread. ThIs new devce makes bread from rice, but it costs $400 or $500 bucks. Price will come down, for sure.

 

[Rule3]

The electric rice cooker gives me five cups of perfect rice EVERY time.

Stick to guns. We can't help it you can't cook something as complex as rice.

Besides, I think the thread was microwave cooker.

 

[djohns6]

...unless you like your rice NOT burned. Been there done that.

I don't stand over the pot and watch it cook , and I don't burn my rice either . That doesn't mean you can go out and mow the lawn . Not sure what you did wrong .

 

[cmort666]

I don't stand over the pot and watch it cook , and I don't burn my rice either . That doesn't mean you can go out and mow the lawn . Not sure what you did wrong .

I know exactly what I did wrong. I let the rice cook after the water cooked out of it. I don't have to worry about that with the rice cooker. It shuts itself off when it's ready.

Regarding the microwave rice cookers, my best friend's Korean wife doesn't trust them. She's afraid that you end up eating plastic residue with the rice. I don't know that that's true. I don't know that it isn't either.

 

[JcMack]

I love cooking gadgets. Tomorrow I'm gonna buy an electric rice cooker. There's a couple that have settings for white and brown rice. That's what I need. About 8 years ago I put my stove outta commission via a fire in the broiler. I over reacted and blasted it with a multi purpose fire extinguisher. Since then I've collected small appliances that complete individual tasks on their own, with their timers and little electronic brains.

 

[DeathGrip]

I haven't had a microwave in a couple of years.Once we tried the rice thing in one and it can get out of hand in a hurry.I don't like cooking with plastics because I don't trust the chemicals and Pyrex gets real hot.I'd much rather clean a pot than a microwave that's something's been blown up in.