Introduction
Rice is a staple food in most parts of the world. A rice cooker helps in cooking rice as per your convenience. Not only for cooking rice, but the best Quality Rice Cooker can also be used for steaming vegetables and other food items. If you are wondering how to steam using rice cooker, then this article will guide you.
Rice cooker is an efficient multi-use cooker that can be used as an instant pot to cook rice, steam and also slow cook. With just buying one appliance, you can get a lot of your daily cooking done easily.
How to steam using rice cooker?
Most rice cookers come up with a steam basket. Check out the latest reviews of gas cookers. If you do not have this tool, you can easily buy this one separately with your rice cooker. This basket is a very handy tool that allows you to use this device for more than just cooking rice. The steam basket can be used for steaming tender vegetables and cook rice at the same time, thereby saving time and space. You can also place your vegetables for dumplings for steaming above your rice in a tray. Steaming vegetables this way enhances the nutrients and flavor of the rice.
What to do if your rice cooker does not have a steam basket?
Even if you do not have a steam basket, you can check the instruction manual to check whether the cooker can double up as a steamer. Sometimes, a separate steam tray is provided for steaming if the steam basket is not there. Also, check whether your rice cooker has a preset steam setting.
Which food items can be steamed in a rice cooker?
If you are wondering how to steam using rice cooker, you can first check with tender vegetables. To use the steam function, first, clean the vegetables well and cut them before you place them in the steam basket or tray. If you want to steam vegetables with hard skin such as pumpkins, then you can steam them by turning them flesh down. Not only vegetables, but you can also tenderize other food items like meat or pulled beef or pork.
When you want to steam fish in your rice cooker, you can use a foil so as to prevent the flavors of the meat from mixing with the aroma of the rice during the steaming process. Not only steaming and cooking, the rice cooker can also be used for keeping the rice warm so that you can have at your convenience.
How long does it take to steam vegetables in a rice cooker?
The time taken for steaming food items and vegetables varies and it depends upon the toughness of the vegetables and meats. White rice usually takes 35 minutes to cook while vegetables require a shorter time period for steaming, around 5 to 15 minutes.
If you want to place both the rice and vegetables together for steaming and cooking, then you need to add the vegetables part-way through the rice cooking process, else they will get over-cooked. You might need to steam larger vegetables such as pumpkin and squash in more than one batch by cutting them in small sections that can fit in the basket. But, keep in mind that the steaming cycles are faster in a rice cooker and so you can steam large vegetables in multiple cycles quite efficiently.
How long does it take to steam meat in a rice cooker?
Meats require a hotter temperature than other food items. When you are steaming meat, you need to check your meat’s temperature using a meat thermometer to make sure that the meat reaches a safe cooking temperature. The ideal temperature for chicken and poultry is 165 F, while pork and beef should be cooked to at least 145 F.
Many people today are trying to find out how to steam using rice cooker. Not only basic steaming of vegetables and meat, but people are also experimenting with different everyday food items too. The Best Rice Cooker works by using moist heat over a period of time to cook food and trap the flavors within the pot. There are many uses of this Instant pot. Hope now you have understood how to steam using rice cooker.