Cookbook gives new life to an old staple Recipes highlight uses for special rice cookers

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THE ULTIMATE RICE COOKER COOK BOOK, by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann, Harvard Common Press, Boston, 380 pages, $24.95.

Rice was almost certainly one of humankind’s first staples. Just think, tens of thousands of years ago, people huddled around pots, and scooped out starchy flecks. Rice has been cooked by, and sustained, billions. Today it is the chief staple of more than half the world’s population. Many people survive almost exclusively on the stuff. Yet, I always burn it.

All right, I don’t always burn it. Sometimes it just comes out as a starchy soup. So I’ve always been keen on getting a rice cooker. After all, I eat a lot of rice, so it may at least be edible, right? My partner always stood in the anti-rice cooker camp, claiming they were pointless. Millions of other Americans seem to agree, feeling that a stove and a pot are more than adequate substitutes.

Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann have set out to change that attitude with “The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook,” and have given me a decent excuse to go out and buy one.

Rice cookers today come in two basic styles: on-off cookers, and fuzzy logic cookers, and can range in price from about $15 for a basic on-off model, which will cook your rice and turn itself off, to several hundred dollars for a fuzzy logic machine that will apparently do almost anything short of feeding the cat.

When Janice Cole of “Cooking Pleasures” magazine compares the rice cooker to the toaster in terms of versatility, she couldn’t be more wrong. Hensperger and Kaufmann exhaustively demonstrate through about 250 recipes that plain white rice is just the first thing you can do with a rice cooker. Even the most basic of models can adequately prepare pilafs, beans and legumes, or easily convert into a steamer for the purposes of puddings or dim sum. If you’re extravagant enough to purchase one of the fuzzy logic models, you’ll be able to easily get grits, breakfast cereals or polenta out of your cooker.

I have one of the cheaper models – costing about $20 from a local discount outlet – and can safely say I’ve already found it far more useful than any microwave oven I’ve ever owned. Forced to choose one plug-in appliance for a cramped apartment, a rice cooker would be near the top of the list, especially if I was also equipped with this book.

Weighty is one word that springs to mind with respect to “The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook.” Devoid of illustration, the book is heavy on timing tables and lengthy descriptions of the wide array of edibles you can cook with your cooker. Even avid chefs may be unfamiliar with some of the ingredients here. Quinoa, farro and kampyo all get a look in. And where common ingredients are used, they almost always get interesting treatments from Hensperger and Kaufmann, as they load their cookers.

Steamed halibut steaks and scallops with red pepper sauce are probably one of the last things anyone would think of subjecting their rice cooker to. Much the same goes for pears and Grand Marnier, but the recipes are here if you’d like to give them a go.

I’m pretty convinced by this book, and it’s allowed me to persuade others that my purchase of a rice cooker was not just another male gadget-collecting exercise. All right, maybe it was a little, but at least this gadget has turned out to be useful. Nevertheless, I will offer a word of caution. Many of the more exotic recipes here do make use of larger cookers in the 10-cup range or, worse still, are only suitable for the fuzzy-logic cookers that can easily cost close to $200.

Still, don’t let that deter you from going the cheap route. We’ve managed some pretty tasty and stress-free meals from “The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cook Book.”

Thai Curried Rice is deceptively substantial, loaded with dried fruit and nuts, and simmered in coconut milk. Lime juice and chili sauce help elevate the dish from a potential morass into something with a surprising complexity of flavors. It is perfect as a meal in its own right, scooped steaming from bowls, or perhaps as an accompaniment to some simple and light grilled fish or meat.

Meanwhile Dried-Mushroom Risotto will have risotto purists blanching. Sure, there is a penance aspect to making real risotto, standing over the hot stove and stirring your way to perfection. But the cheats’ method here provides a perfectly delightful alternative, both rich and yet subtle in its dense creaminess.

Better yet, neither recipe leaves too much washing up – just a rinse of the nonstick rice-cooker bowl.

Rice cookers have been considered as essential as ovens in Asia for decades. As ever more Americans look east for food ideas, they are overdue a rise in popularity here. “The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cook Book” is the perfect place to begin an exploration of new and simple ways of preparing food.

Thai Curried Rice

Serves 4

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger

1 cup domestic jasmine rice

1 tablespoon mild or hot curry powder

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons chicken stock

? cup canned unsweetened coconut milk (can be light)

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Grated zest of 1 small lime

1 teaspoon Chinese hot chile sauce

Pinch of salt

? cup dark raisins, dried tart cherries, or dried currants

? cup slivered blanched almonds

1/2 cup minced green onions, both white and green parts

Preheat oven to 325F.

Set the rice cooker for the Quick Cook or regular cycle. Place the butter in the rice cooker bowl. When melted, add the ginger and rice. Cook, stirring a few times, until the grains are evenly coated and hot, about 10 minutes. Add the curry powder and stir.

Meanwhile, in a large measuring cup, combine the stock, coconut milk, soy sauce, lime juice and zest, chile sauce, and salt. Add the stock mixture and raisins to the rice; stir just to combine. Close the cover and reset for the regular cycle, or let the regular cycle complete.

While the rice is cooking, place the almonds on a baking sheet and bake until lightly toasted, about 6 minutes. Remove from the baking sheet and let cool to room temperature.

When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, sprinkle the rice with the toasted almonds and green onions. Close the cover and let the rice steam for 15 minutes. Fluff the rice with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon. Serve immediately.

Dried Mushroom Risotto

Serves 4 to 5

1/2 ounce dried mushrooms

13/4 cups hottest possible tap water

About 11/2 cups beef, chicken or vegetable stock

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1/2 cup minced onion

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons medium-grain risotto rice (superfino arborio, carnaroli or

vialone nano)

To Finish:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter or more if desired

2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

Freshly ground black pepper

Salt

Place the mushrooms in a small bowl and add the hot water. Let stand for an hour or longer. (Or combine the mushrooms and water in a microwave-safe container, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and microwave on high power for 5 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.) When the mushrooms are soft, remove them from the liquid, squeezing gently to extract as much liquid as possible. Slice the mushrooms into pieces about 1/4 by 1 inch, discarding any tough stems. The exact size is not important, but if you cut them too small, their flavor will not be as intense. Carefully pour the mushroom soaking liquid into a measuring cup, leaving any grit behind. (If the mushrooms are especially gritty, you may want to pour the liquid through a coffee filter-lined strainer, but in general this is not necessary.) Add the stock to the mushroom soaking liquid to equal 3 cups.

Set the rice cooker for the Quick Cook or regular cycle. Place the olive oil and butter in the rice cooker bowl. When the butter melts, add the onion. Cook, stirring a few times, until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the wine and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the rice and stir until the grains are evenly coated and hot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the grains are transparent except for a white spot on each, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the stock mixture and mushrooms to the rice; stir to combine. Close the cover and reset for the Porridge cycle, or for the regular cycle, and set a timer for 20 minutes.

When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle or the timer sounds, open the cover and stir with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon. The risotto should be only a bit liquid and the rice should be al dente, tender with just a touch of tooth resistance. If needed, cook for a few minutes longer. This risotto will hold on keep warm for up to 1 hour.