What are some lesser-known uses for rice cookers?
Despite the name of the appliance, rice cookers can be used for other meals besides simply making rice. Some of these are dependent on the rice cooker. For example, some of these appliances come with their own steam tray for steaming meats and vegetables along with the rice before you serve them altogether as one meal.
However, there are a variety of other, more interesting uses for your rice cooker that perhaps you have never thought to try before. Here are a few interesting things that a rice cooker is good for besides making rice.
1) Making Breakfast
Making warm breakfasts like oatmeal is actually a very similar process to cooking rice, and one that a rice cooker was essentialy made for. Simply measure out the amount of oatmeal (or other cereal) that you would like to eat, pour the water/milk inside of the container (it is advised to use slightly less liquid than you would normally since rice cookers tend to be more efficient) and let it go. The rice cooker will cook your breakfast to perfection, and since rice cookers often come with their own warming function, you can eat the cereal whenever you are ready without worrying about it cooling.
2) Soups and Stews
The warming abilities of the rice cooker make it a great way to cook soup. Cleanup is a little less fun, but the ability to quickly and easily add ingredients to the bowl makes it a great tool for cooking soups and stews, and the “stay warm” feature of many of these rice cookers will make sure that the soup is still warm in time for serving, as well as for seconds.
3) Hard Boiling Eggs
Another interesting use for the rice cooker is creating hard boiled eggs. If you like to have eggs with your rice, you can easily hard boil them by simply laying them in the rice when you turn the appliance on. Once the rice is done cooking, the eggs will be as well, allowing you to enjoy two healthy foods at once without altering the flavor of the other.
4) Frozen Vegetables
Another popular use for the rice cooker is to quickly warm up frozen veggies. These appliances do all of the work for you, so that you do not have to sit there and watch to make sure that the vegetables are warming without boiling over.
5) Warming Leftovers
Finally, another interesting use for the rice cooker is to warm up foods you have already eaten. Everything from soups to vegetables – even some smaller breads and rolls – can all be warmed up in the rice cooker very easily, without having to damage the foods the way a microwave does.
Unlike many other types of appliances, rice cookers are designed to handle multiple types of food, rather than simply limiting its use to just rice. This makes the appliance a valuable tool in your home for a wide variety of meals, and gives you a reason to use your rice cooker every day.
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