Rice cookers have become the most useful kitchen appliances

Photo Credit: Jay Abrantes via www.pexels.com

This is so by virtue of the facilities it provides. Furthermore, as said by many recognized chefs, preparing Mexican-style rice in a rice cooker is a rewarding experience because of the seasoning and texture this appliance gives.

A general opinion is that cooking rice requires a certain amount of attention, given the risks of overcooking, sticking, etc. involved. Many tricks have been tried to avoid these risks, however the best solution is to use a rice cooker.

Mexican rice is prepared almost every day in many homes in Mexico. Because of this, people look for ways to make it as fast as possible without losing flavor and quality and so continuing to please the palate of diners.

The rice cooker contributes to that. It helps prepare quality rice, and control the heat and cooking time so that the cook only needs to add the ingredients, press the power button and choose the type of cooking program, which can be steaming or fast cooking.

So, how to prepare Mexican rice in a rice cooker? The use of this appliance is extremely simple and convenient. Once all the ingredients required are ready, it is only necessary to:

  • Open the rice cooker and remove both trays.
  • Cover the lower compartment (metal bowl) with cold water. This should correspond to the quantity and type of rice to be used for this Mexican rice recipe. It is suggested to follow the recommendations indicated on the rice package.
  • Add salt also to this bowl.
  • In the steam tray (steamer basket), add the desired amount of rice and the other ingredients.
  • Close the appliance and program it according to the desired function.

An easy-to-prepare Mexican rice recipe can be found at the rice cooker mexican rice link, which provides instructions for an authentic, homemade preparation.

During the cooking process in the cooker the heat is released and then is converted into the steam that cooks the rice.

Specifically, this appliance starts with a precooking program in which the water goes from low temperature to high temperature. When the required temperature is reached for the water to boil, this is maintained. Finally, once all the water introduced has evaporated, cooking continues at a lower temperature until the rice has reached the desired texture.

For this preparation the typical ingredients of a homemade rice recipe required are: white rice, vegetable oil, chicken broth, large tomato, white onion, chopped garlic clove, salt to taste.

The main advantage of preparing rice in a rice cooker is mainly its convenience. It is just required to introduce the ingredients in it and choose the right program.

It also saves a lot of time. The cook does not have to be monitoring the rice cooking process and can do other tasks.

Other important advantages of rice cookers are:

  • The rice cooks equally regardless of whether the grains are located at the base of the pan or on the surface.
  • Electric rice cookers can keep rice warm for up to 24 hours, which helps to avoid the danger of food poisoning caused by rice due to the bacteria known as Bacillus cereus.
  • Besides preparing Mexican rice with different types of rice (white rice, basmati, brown rice, sushi rice, among others), it is also possible to cook oatmeal and other cereals such as barley, wheat, etc.
  • The rice cooker is able to prepare more sophisticated rice dishes such as rice pudding, risotto, rice with lentils, etc.
  • There are a large number of recipe books on the market for this type of appliance in which dishes that do not include rice as an ingredient are prepared. Such is the case of chicken mussels with mushrooms, pasta, soups, or even chocolate truffles.

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