There are many benefits to a rice cooker that may not be so obvious at first glance. For example, many rice cookers can keep the rice warm even after it has been cooked, so you do not have to worry about all your food not being ready at the same time.
You just fill the rice cooker and turn it on, then you just wait.
The same goes for cooking times. You don’t have to keep track of any cooking time or worry about getting watery, or burnt, rice. The rice cooker does all that automatically. All you have to do is fill it with the right amount of rice and water.
Here’s how you go about cooking rice in your rice cooker
If you cook jasmine rice or basmati rice, the rice should be rinsed first. This is done to rinse starch from the outside of the barley. The rinse also removes residues of pesticides and other things that may have stuck to the rice during transport and storage. (Pairboil rice, the usual matrix does not need to be rinsed.) Measure out the amount of rice you want to cook, (a deciliter of dry rice will correspond to about 1.5 dl of finished rice, ie about one serving) and pour it into the dish for your rice cooker. Fill with water until the bowl is full and stir with a spoon. Change water one or more times. Then turn off the water.
(Optional: You can leave the rice to soak for 30 minutes if you wish. This gives stickier rice but is absolutely not necessary. If you do not want to soak, go to the next step.)
The amount of water needed varies a bit with your rice cooker, so read what is in the instructions. For a regular matrix you usually take twice as much water as rice, while for basmati and jasmine you will need 0.5 dl extra water, ie if you take 1 dl of rice you will take 1.5 dl of water.
You can also mix in some butter or oil and salt if desired.
Make sure the rice is evenly distributed and that it is below the water surface. Wipe the sides of the container before placing it in the rice cooker.
Turn on the rice cooker and let it cook until done. The vast majority of rice cooker models turn off when ready. Never lift the lid of the rice cooker until the rice is done! The cooking is dependent on the steam in the container, and if you let it out, the rice will not be cooked properly.
Allow the rice to rest in the rice cooker for at least ten to fifteen minutes before serving. Of course, the rice cookers that have automatic hot-holding can stand considerably longer than that.
