I used to think rice cookers were just for rice (go figure), but after seeing people cook entire meals in them, I finally had to get one. With our kitchen currently torn apart for renovations, it felt like the perfect time to actually give it a try too. So earlier this week, I fired it up for the first time and what better way to try out an appliance you’ve never used before but to jump straight into making a full meal, right?
Sidenote: the rice cooker I bought is a $15 mini model with exactly two settings: on and off (ok it’s actually “cook” and “warm” but that doesn’t sound as dramatic) It cooks up to 7 cups of rice and hardly takes up any room in the kitchen.
Anyway, back to the cooking. I was inspired by this recipe , partly because I already had many of the ingredients and partly because it involved eggs. (It is also a good way to get some extra fiber) What I ended up with was a super easy (you can call it lazy if you want) version of fried rice, cooked entirely in the rice cooker with barely any effort. Eggs, ham, peas, rice, all in one go. I might never make this dish any other way again.
The recipe
Ingredients I Used:
• 2 cups of uncooked basmati rice, rinsed (In hindsight, I would use just 1 cup, 2 was a bit too much, it took us days to eat it.)
• Water (standard rice to water ratio… but I accidentally added a bit too much. Also I don’t know why I didn’t use stock)
• Frozen peas and frozen diced ham – a handful of each (no defrosting)
• 2–3 eggs
Step by Step Process (if you can call it that)
Step 1
I added the rice to the inner pot with water.
Step 2: In go the extras
Also Tossed in the frozen peas, the ham and cracked three eggs on top.
Step 3: Lid on. Switch down.
Closed the lid, flipped the switch to “cook,” and let the rice cooker do its thing.
Step 4: The reveal
Some minutes later (I forgot to time it), it clicked to “warm.” I lifted the lid and found nicely cooked rice that looked a whole lot like proper fried rice. The eggs were still whole pretty much, so I broke them up and fluffed the rice up with a fork.
At this point, there were no sauces or seasonings in the mix, just the ingredients but it still tasted pretty good. You could definitely add soy sauce, oyster sauce, chili oil, or anything you like.
The verdict: This might be the easiest “fried rice” ever, a full meal with no stovetop, frying pans, or cleanup, aside from the rice cooker’s inner pot, which is very easy to wash.
So if you have a rice cooker sitting around and think it’s just for plain old rice, try tossing in your usual stir fry ingredients. It’s perfect for low spoon days, even if your kitchen is currently non existent like ours.
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