Rice Chronicles 2: The Empire Starch Back

If you have filled your shopping list from my last post you are almost ready to make a one pot, no fuss, delicious meal. I must warn you, though. There will be science content in this post, and I will do a few things that most people swear you shouldn't do. The first step in making a delicious pot of rice is to decide how much you want. Most rice cookers come with a small cup to measure out a serving. After only a few pots full, you'll figure out how much you like. I use one full scoop, and that suits me just fine. Next, load your dry rice into the cooking pot and then rinse it. I know that lots of places say you shouldn't wash your rice before cooking. They say it washes a lot of the vitamins down the drain. It may do that, but it also washes the dirt, and a fair amount of surface starch away too. If you do not wash your short grain rice then you'll have glue when it is done cooking. Don't worry about "washing away the starch." There's PLENTY in short grain rice. Fill the pan about half way with cool water, and gently slosh the rice around in the water. Pour off the water and repeat until the water no longer gets cloudy. Next you need the proper amount of water. Like with the rice cup, most modern rice cookers will have marks on the inside of the cooking pot to show the water levels that correspond to the plastic rice cup you used earlier. For this reason it is NEVER a good idea to lose the rice cup with or mix it with another rice cooker. The next step is easy. Put the pot into the cooker, put the lid on, and flip the switch. It's probably a good idea to turn the pot so that the "steam vent" is pointing away from anything that will be damaged by steam. Also the steam will have dissolved starches in it and I have seen it coat the wall with a nice shiny film. I usually just put a big cutting board against the back splash and point the vent at that. You can now go about your business as the rice cooker knows what it is doing. It will turn off at the right time. How does it know the right time? Well that is science, my friend. Water boils at 212 degrees most places. The only way it gets above that is if it is steam or in a pressure cooker. So classic rice cookers have a temperature sensor in them that measures the temperature of the pot while it is cooking. While the rice cooks, the temperature will hover near or below 212 degrees. As soon as the temperature rises above 212 degrees, the cooker knows the water must all be gone and shuts off the heat. Or in the case of my cooker it reduces the heat and shifts to "keep warm" mode. Most coffee pots use this same idea so you don't burn up the heating element. Newer rice cookers have all sorts of crazy ways of working including magnets. I read one the other day claiming it used "fuzzy logic." The term "fuzzy logic" is a more or less made up term to impress the clueless. it basically just means "a computer is in control and will decide what to do." They will adjust the temperature up and down during cooking if needed. While the rice is cooking, go dig out the rest of your stuff: the Chinese sausages, the carpet shavings, and an egg. Since you have time and you also have water, go ahead and put the egg in a tall glass of water. If it sits on the bottom it's a fresh egg. If it stands on the small end it's good, but fading. If it floats it's bad. I learned this the hard way once, and will never make that mistake again. While we're playing with eggs, spin the egg on the counter. If it spins easily then you have a hard boiled egg. If it spins briefly then wobbles and then stops, you have a raw (uncooked) egg. You can learn a lot about an egg without even breaking the shell. I crack eggs with one hand. It's an old trick that I find comes in handy while cooking. No need to put down the spatula or fork. I have also found that if I have put the egg in water, that it crack easier for me. I think the wet shell makes it easier to grip with my fingers. I have no scientific proof of this, just anecdotal evidence. I am sure you are now wondering why we're playing with egg. Well, the rice is almost done boiling so it's time to start adding the good stuff in. When all the water has boiled out, you need to let the rice sit in the cooker for about 10 minutes to finish steaming. As soon as it clicks from boil to steam you need to quickly take off the lid and crack the egg on top of the rice. Now you see why one handed cracking is so useful. I also have learned that you should aim the egg for the middle. If the egg cooks on the side you'll need a jackhammer to get it off later. Once the egg has been placed, quickly add in your sausages. My rice cooker is a bit smallish, but I can usually fit in 2 sausages around the egg.All of this adding needs to be done QUICK. Thus the reason you should be practicing good Mise En Plac!" Get the lid back on quick!! Then walk away. Normally you need to let the rice sit for 10 minutes to steam. With the addition of the sausages I let it go 15, just to be safe. The egg will poach in 10 minutes easily, but due to the steamy surroundings, it won't turn to rubber if you extend the time. I have, in the past, put the sausages in when the rice was still boiling. It works, but I find the sausages get a heavy coating of rice starch and it's less appealing.After the rice and toppings have steamed for about 15 minutes, it's dinner time! Grab a bowl and you rice paddle. (The plastic spatula that comes with all good rice cookers.) I usually just use the paddle to chop the poached egg into large chunks and scoop it out along with the rice, finally placing the sausages on top. And last but certainly not least, a liberal sprinkling of carpet shavings on top.There's no need to soy sauce. The carpet shavings provide that salty flavor. The sausages give it a sweet meaty texture and the eggs are just delicious. All you need is a fork and a place to sit. I suppose chop sticks might work, but I can't use them. And if, like Adam, you have a taste for fish food and aquarium gravel, then pour some of that on, too! I'll pass. I would assume you can leave the leftover rice and any uneaten eggs and sausages in the pot to keep them warm for a while. I never really have leftovers, so I don't know. I would say "I'll try it." but I know deep down I won't be leaving any "uneaten eggs and sausages" if I can help it. Come to think of it, if you wind up with any uneaten rice, chinese ausages, and eggs, call me. I'll be right over with some carpet shavings, a bowl, and a fork!