Rice Cooker or Steamer ?

Rummer

Quasar that sounds fabulous! I had a steamer for years but we didn't really use it to it's full advantage and ended up freecycling it. A rice cooker seems like a lot to spend for one function. I would go with the gadget Quasar has or if that doesn't exist anymore a steamer.

tsstss7

septemberblues wrote: »

How do you cook rice in a steamer? Ive got an electric steamer (the three tiered one), I never use it as I think it takes too long to cook, so I steam with a colondar over a pan of boiling water.

I cook rice in a normal pan, but the non-stick coating has gone so it sticks to the pan!

So if I could cook rice in a steamer that I already own that would be great, instructions please

SB I have a plastic container that goes in the steamer to put rice into but I think you could probably use any heat proof container that fits, you then cover this with water and steam for about 30 mins (depending upon how much you are doing) - it always comes out lovely and saves me lots of faffing about with pans etc.

Tish_P

I have a tiny rice cooker that I bought online (I think from Scotts of Stow) that cooks 1 or 2 portions of rice. It's really handy if you don't have many people to cook for - I think it's one of the few gadgets worth having as it means you can forget all about the rice while you faff with the curry / chili / whatev.

I steam things on the stovetop with one of those metal saucepan inserts which doubles as a colander. Seems to work fine!

BexInLondon

Quasar wrote: »

I have a Tefal slow cooker that is also a steamer and rice cooker. Works well and I highly recommend it but it's not the cheapest around - I think it cost me £30 for the smallest size.

I've got this too. I left it in the box for a year at first then one day got it out to try. Since then I would estimate I use it 5-6 times a week. The version I have is 4-in-1 - porridge too! All the functions work very well (I had been suspicious that it would be a lame rice cooker and a lame steamer) and you can programme a delay to the rice cooker function so put it on in the morning and come home to a nice rice dish. The keep warm function is useful, and it's very easy to clean as the non-stick is very good. Sometimes we steam things on top of the rice as it cooks so it can do a whole meal.

It was quite expensive (approaching £50) but was, in my opinion, worth the money, and I wish I'd got it out of it's box sooner. I'll stop now - I sound like an advert!

tsstss7

BexInLondon wrote: »

I've got this too. I left it in the box for a year at first then one day got it out to try. Since then I would estimate I use it 5-6 times a week. The version I have is 4-in-1 - porridge too! All the functions work very well (I had been suspicious that it would be a lame rice cooker and a lame steamer) and you can programme a delay to the rice cooker function so put it on in the morning and come home to a nice rice dish. The keep warm function is useful, and it's very easy to clean as the non-stick is very good. Sometimes we steam things on top of the rice as it cooks so it can do a whole meal.

It was quite expensive (approaching £50) but was, in my opinion, worth the money, and I wish I'd got it out of it's box sooner. I'll stop now - I sound like an advert!

I've been looking at this online today but it comes in at over 60 quid most places :eek:- also I was wondering how long it takes to do rice as the description doesn't say and some of the dedicated rice cookers only take 15mins!

BexInLondon

tsstss7 wrote: »

I was wondering how long it takes to do rice as the description doesn't say and some of the dedicated rice cookers only take 15mins!

It's about 15 mins for white rice I would say, so no slower than a conventional rice cooker!

Peartree

I've got the Morphy Richards Intellichef 9 in 1. It does all the above but you can fry in it (so you can brown meat prior to slow cooking) and bake in it (never tried it). It has a wider range of temperatures than a normal slow cooker so you can boil things, do a fast reheat, etc, etc.

I got it as a bargain in Costco (but it was still nearly £60) and it is eye-poppingly expensive elsewhere. However, I now think it was worth every penny having used it nearly every day since I bought it. If you've got a small kitchen it is well worth thinking about as you can chuck many of your slow cooker and half your pans away!

tsstss7

Peartree wrote: »

I've got the Morphy Richards Intellichef 9 in 1. It does all the above but you can fry in it (so you can brown meat prior to slow cooking) and bake in it (never tried it). It has a wider range of temperatures than a normal slow cooker so you can boil things, do a fast reheat, etc, etc.

I got it as a bargain in Costco (but it was still nearly £60) and it is eye-poppingly expensive elsewhere. However, I now think it was worth every penny having used it nearly every day since I bought it. If you've got a small kitchen it is well worth thinking about as you can chuck many of your slow cooker and half your pans away!

Ooh another contender that one looks good too - now how do I choose between them?

septemberblues

tsstss7 wrote: »

SB I have a plastic container that goes in the steamer to put rice into but I think you could probably use any heat proof container that fits, you then cover this with water and steam for about 30 mins (depending upon how much you are doing) - it always comes out lovely and saves me lots of faffing about with pans etc.

Do you have to use a lid? from memory somewhere is a little plastic bowl that came with the steamer, it's very small and has no lid. Also, how much water/rice would I use? I'm very keen to give this a go!

tsstss7

septemberblues wrote: »

Do you have to use a lid? from memory somewhere is a little plastic bowl that came with the steamer, it's very small and has no lid. Also, how much water/rice would I use? I'm very keen to give this a go!

no, no extra lids needed - just pop the rice in the plastic bowl, cover with cold water and steam.