If you are living in Korea, then you are bound to own a rice cooker. But unless you are eating a mound of rice every day, yours is probably sitting in a corner somewhere, dusting down. However, this is a wondrous piece of equipment that can be used for far more than cooking rice, you can make a whole host of tasty and delicious recipes using this nifty little gadget alone. So no more complaints of “I can’t cook because I don’t have the equipment.” It’s time to get in the kitchen now!
1. Cake
Who doesn’t like cake? Everybody likes cake , and now you have no excuse not to whip one up yourself. No more can you cry I don’t have an oven. Whether you like chocolate or lemon, you can check out my recipes on afatgirlsfoodguide.com .
2. Soup
The winter staple of most Korean diets, but did you know you can make it in the ricecooker? Just pop all your ingredients in, switch to cook and go to work. When you return you will have an amazing dinner to come home to. Try this chicken with wild rice soup from Lisa Dinner Time Dish.
3. Bread
Baking your own bread is easy if you have a rice cooker. Once you have risen the dough, just pop it in and watch it grow. Check out this easy recipe from A Modern Girl.
4. Stew
Lamb, beef, or chicken, they can all be made in the rice cooker. Just add stock and veggies and slow cook your way to the stew of a lifetime. Try my Moroccan lamb stew with bejewelled couscous.
5. Yogurt
Yogurt in Korea has always been hard to find, at least those varieties that aren’t filled to the brim with sugar. But did you know it’s pretty easy to make your own. Just get some milk and and pot of yogurt, bim bam boom you’ve just made yogurt.
6. Pulled pork
As a stable of the Korean diet, pork is not only plentiful in korea, it’s also pretty damn cheap too. And the shoulder that’s used to make it is the cheapest cut to buy. You don’t have to be as fancy as Linus and smoke it for hours on end, just bung it in the rice cooker with a few herbs and spices and a bottle of BBQ sauce to recreate this meaty favourite.
7. Chickpeas
Chickpeas are nutritious and delicious, and the main ingredient of middle eastern favourite hummus. But if you have ever tried to cook them at home you will know that they take hours and hours of boiling. And if you aren’t careful it’s pretty easy to start a small kitchen fire. So use my easy trick and slow cook them in the rice cooker and you’ll soon be churning out hummus by the bucketload. Try my deliciously spicy jalapeno hummus.
8. Lasagna
Missing your favourite Italian pasta dish? Well who knew you could whip one up in the rice cooker. Just layer up your ingredients and watch it do its work. Check out this recipe from Making Life Better.
9. Frittata
No frying pan, no problem. You can make an egg-cellent dinner in the ricecooker. Check out this recipe from justbento.com
10. Chili
Chili is the hearty everyman meal that practically anyone can make. Ground beef, tomatoes, beans and a few spices will be transformed after a few hours in the ricecooker. Serve with rice, or pile it onto nachos like I did, check out my recipe here.
So what are you waiting for? Pull yours out and start cooking! Or for those of you who have already mastered rice cooker recipes, share your favourite in the comments section below.