Slow cooker is today’s best devices when it comes to preparing a delicious meal. When it comes to a cooking showdown, slow cookers rank number one in all aspects.
It is everyone’s secret to making a wholesome dinner without any stress and worries. But how about cooking rice? Can you cook rice in a slow cooker?
Truth be told! A slow cooker can cook rice perfectly if it is done correctly. Preparing a hot rice meal for your family will give them an energy boost for their daily activities.
Don’t waste your time by turning on the hot stove, and instead, use your holy grail in cooking. This guide will detail the steps to perfectly manage cooking rice in a slow cooker. Learn more about what your slow cooker can do and have the best rice meal in your arsenal.
Can you Cook Rice in a Slow Cooker: Detailed Steps
Rice is considered a staple food in the region, and everyone there depends on it. Rice is a native grain from South East Asia, and Asians can’t even have their meals without it. It plays a critical role in feeding families to end malnutrition and hunger.
Rice is known in Southeast Asia and over the world and even in the US. According to Kew, half of the world’s population considers rice as their main source of energy.
With that, there are many ways to cook rice, but below are the best steps to cook a bowl of perfect rice in a slow cooker. Here’s how to do things:
1. Have Your Rice A Teenie Rinse
Slow cookers’ way of cooking is to not let the food burnt or undercooked. This is the best reason why this little kitchen gadget amuses people.
Most importantly, using a slow cooker can have many benefits. It will save you time from having a perfect rice meal, and it can also save space on your countertop! When it comes to cooking rice, you won’t need a rice cooker anymore, and your slow cooker will do everything from head to foot.
Get one cup of rice from your rice bin and place it in a bowl or strainer. Pour enough water on it, then thoroughly rinse the rice with your hands.
Squeeze every portion of rice until the water becomes cloudy. Repeat the process until the water becomes clear. That will become the signal that the rice has been rinsed off properly.
2. Throw It Inside
Before throwing the rinsed rise inside, grease the interior of the slow cooker with butter. The butter will make the rice more flavorful and help you clean it afterward since it prevents the rice from sticking inside the slow cooker.
After dumping inside the freshly-rinsed rice, spread it evenly onto the slow cooker to make sure it is distributed equally to make one perfect rice finish.
Others prefer to add boiling water before slow cooking because it will start to cook the rice right away rather than waiting for it to heat gradually.
This might save you some time, but it’s your choice to make, and it depends on how busy you are.
Throw the rinsed rice into your slow cooker, then add 2 cups of water. Sprinkle a pinch of salt on the top and add a tablespoon of butter for every cup of rice that you will cook in your slow cooker.
Remember: 1 cupful of rice is equivalent to 2 cups of water
3. Add Some Flavors
Others want their rice meal to be flavorful and tasty. If you want to make it tasty, then add the seasoning of your choice. Pour the seasoning inside the slow cooker with the rinsed rice and stir it to make it even.
Others even use chicken stock and a sprinkle of garlic powder or black pepper to season it without disrupting the fresh aura of the rice.
4. Cook Slow and Low
Once you’ve added everything, cover the slow cooker with its lid and secure it properly. Cook it slow and low for about 3 hours maximum until the rice absorbs the water.
This method is best when you just want to prepare and wait for it after a walk. But if you want it to cook faster, you can set it in its high setting.
Don’t forget to set a timer so that you will be alarmed if it is time to check your rice on your slow cooker already. Wait until the rice becomes tender. To know if it is tender enough, dip with a fork or spoon. Then serve while it is hot.
5. Still not done? Don’t worry!
Is your rice still mushy after the hours of cooking? Is it still crunchy, perhaps? If ever the rice hasn’t been cooked yet after the 3 hours of cooking from your slow cooker, don’t worry about it.
It just means that your slow cooker isn’t cooking the rice hot enough to be tenderized. You will need to extend the cooking time in order to fix that.
Just add an additional ½ cup of water and cook it again for another 30 minutes. In that way, the rice should be cooked evenly. Taste the rice first to get the texture that you want. Then serve it immediately.
Related Article: Can I Cook A Ham In A Slow Cooker, Can I Cook A Frozen Roast In A Slow Cooker
Do I need to rinse the rice before putting it inside the slow cooker?
Rinsing rice before putting it inside the slow cooker is worth it when it comes to the cleaning part. By doing it, you won’t have more experience with rice grains that cling to the insides of your slow cooker. That would make it harder for you to clean it.
Moreover, rinsing the rice will remove the excess starch grains that will create a tenderized finish. It takes time to rinse it thoroughly, but it will become worth it.
Also, if you don’t rinse it properly, the rice will become mushy. You don’t want to have a rice meal so sticky that they would cling to each other, forming a rice ball.
Take time to rinse the rice properly before putting it inside the slow cooker. Later on, after throwing it inside, you will return with a perfect rice meal for yourself and your family.
The best thing about having perfect rice is it can be partnered with any food. Learn more about it below.
How long does it take to cook rice in a slow cooker?
Cooking rice in a slow cooker depends on the cooking temperature of the device. The quantity and type of rice can also be a factor.
Normally, it takes up to a range of 2-3 hours to cook one cup of rice using a mini slow cooker. Though if you cook more than that, it might be longer than usual.
What are some rice recipes that are best partnered by using a slow cooker?
There are lots of rice recipes that you can partner with your slow cooker. Let’s start with making chicken shawarma. This kind of food is best enjoyed with a rice bowl because of its texture and taste.
It can balance out the rice grains which melts into your mouth. You can also partner your slow cooker with pork chops. Enjoy having a sumptuous dinner with this one-pot meal that you can munch for a while.
If you want to crave a rice salad, then your slow cooker is the best thing for making that recipe. This recipe will satisfy your mouth combined with flavorful rice and refreshing green leafy vegetable.
Oh! And don’t forget to make curry, whether you use pork, beef or fish. Nothing is yummier than eating a hot rice meal combined with the curry juice you have waited for.
These mentioned recipes are just a few of the many recipes you can combine with your rice. It is a matter of what recipe you will decide for any daily meal, and keep your hands getting busy into making new recipes each day. Your slow cooker will help you make things possible and have a perfect rice meal finish.
What is the best slow cooker for cooking rice?
Finding a slow cooker is indeed difficult for many, but when it is to cook rice, the Cuisinart MSC-400 3-in-1 Cook Central Multi-Cooker (4 Quarts) is the best there is.
This slow cooker opens a new door for cooking rice in a versatile manner. Its warm setting works really well for cooking rice, and its inner lining coating will help you from cleaning left-over rice since it won’t stick much to it.
This will give you the best means of cooking rice in any recipe you want. You can’t say enough with this slow cooker because it is budget-friendly and perfect for having rice meals all the way.
Final Thoughts
Cooking rice is made simpler because of a slow cooker. You don’t have to monitor it while it does the job for you.
All you have to do is get the rice and let your slow cooker do its thing. Having a perfect rice meal will give you the energy that you need in your daily activities.
Don’t let yourself get busy monitoring rice on a stove. Instead, have your slow cooker do it since it requires less attention.
Partner it with many recipes that will make your day wonderful, and let yourself be filled with every love that your slow cooker only can give.