Rice Cookers / Steamers

flyinglentris

flyinglentris

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I have an Instant Pot Pressure Cooker and it is supposed to be able to cook rice, but in truth, it doesn't seem to really support steaming rice as it doesn't have a container that will hold rice kernels above boiling water. Of course, this applies to steaming vegetables as well.

So I have two possibilities ...

1) Find a container and support that will fit in the instant pot.
2) Buy a real, true rice cooker / steamer.

I haven't seen anything to satisfy #1.

I have been looking at Aroma Housewares ARC-954SBD Rice Cooker.

Has anyone suggs on a better alternative in the same or less price range?
 
As you may imagine we have rice cookers over here. In fact they are essential and even prioritised ahead of a bed and television.

They come in all shapes, sizes and prices from as little as US$10.00 up to US$100.00 and above. We currently have three (please don't ask why).

Steamed rice in Thailand is not steamed as you would steam vegetables. The rice is placed in the bowl (after "rinsing") and a specified quantity of water added. The bowl is then heated and the rice absorbs the water. When all the water is absorbed the rice is cooked although another 15 minutes on keep warm is recommended.

This is how Jasmine rice looks after steaming it in the above manner.

With rice s.jpg

With rice s.jpg


Padt Krapow Gai
​
I am sure the cooker that you show is perfectly capable of cooking rice in this manner (the Chinese also use the same style rice cookers).

BTW, when I clicked your link the price of the cooker was shown as US$42.98 plus US$60.20 for shipping to Thailand!

[Edit: I found one at less than US$10.00)
 
Last edited:
Yorky said:
Steamed rice in Thailand is not steamed as you would steam vegetables. The rice is placed in the bowl (after "rinsing") and a specified quantity of water added. The bowl is then heated and the rice absorbs the water. When all the water is absorbed the rice is cooked although another 15 minutes on keep warm is recommended.
Click to expand...

That's how my rice cooker works, too. I've never known anyone to steam rice the way flyinglentris describes. Vegetables, yes, but not rice.

CD
 
caseydog said:
That's how my rice cooker works, too. I've never known anyone to steam rice the way flyinglentris describes. Vegetables, yes, but not rice.

CD
Click to expand...
That's also how mine works.

Mine is on the list to be donated soon, as I've added a couple of things to the kitchen and I need to enforce my "one in, one out" rule.

I figure I make rice, at best, about every six weeks, so I should be able to manage with the stovetop. Also, the rice cooker (like many small appliances) annoys the crap out of me because it's got an extremely short cord, which means it's got to be located damn near on top of an outlet, and it's not retractable or even wrappable around the bottom, so it's a pain to store. That stupid cord is too short on the countertop, and too long in the cupboard! 😠
 
flyinglentris said:
I have an Instant Pot Pressure Cooker and it is supposed to be able to cook rice, but in truth, it doesn't seem to really support steaming rice as it doesn't have a container that will hold rice kernels above boiling water. Of course, this applies to steaming vegetables as well.

So I have two possibilities ...

1) Find a container and support that will fit in the instant pot.
2) Buy a real, true rice cooker / steamer.

I haven't seen anything to satisfy #1.

I have been looking at Aroma Housewares ARC-954SBD Rice Cooker.

Has anyone suggs on a better alternative in the same or less price range?
Click to expand...

I found a steamer basket designed to work in the 6 qt. Instant Pot that I have. It was the last one the vendor had and they are now out of stock. It's a Hartigo steamer basket and I expect it to be delivered in a a couple weeks.
 
Yorky said:
Steamed rice in Thailand is not steamed as you would steam vegetables. The rice is placed in the bowl (after "rinsing") and a specified quantity of water added. The bowl is then heated and the rice absorbs the water. When all the water is absorbed the rice is cooked although another 15 minutes on keep warm is recommended.
Click to expand...

Philips HD3030 rice cooker bowl.

Philips HD3030 2 s.jpg

Philips HD3030 2 s.jpg

 
Here’s mine which I’ve had about 10 years. The switch has two positions: ‘cook’ and ‘warm’ and that’s all I need it to do.

33B2D38F-2504-48E3-9523-DE68B39271C2.jpeg
 
flyinglentris said:
The thing about the steamer basket I am getting is that it holds the rice and drains as it steams. It has holes in the sides to do this and holes are not big enough for kernels of rice to go through.
Click to expand...

I can't see how that will work. The rice has to absorb water to cook, as far as I know. I would guess that 90% of Asians eat rice cooked in the water. And that's a lot of folks.
 
Yorky said:
I can't see how that will work. The rice has to absorb water to cook, as far as I know. I would guess that 90% of Asians eat rice cooked in the water. And that's a lot of folks.
Click to expand...

I'll test it out when I get the basket. It should work as steam is water.
 
flyinglentris said:
I have an Instant Pot Pressure Cooker and it is supposed to be able to cook rice, but in truth, it doesn't seem to really support steaming rice as it doesn't have a container that will hold rice kernels above boiling water. Of course, this applies to steaming vegetables as well.

So I have two possibilities ...

1) Find a container and support that will fit in the instant pot.
2) Buy a real, true rice cooker / steamer.

I haven't seen anything to satisfy #1.

I have been looking at Aroma Housewares ARC-954SBD Rice Cooker.

Has anyone suggs on a better alternative in the same or less price range?
Click to expand...
My rice cooker was $12. It works perfectly. I've had it about 15 years. I'm not about to try to build a better mousetrap.
 
Is it possible that basket is for steaming meat/veg along with the rice? Mine had a rack contraption that was meant for that - which I promptly lost.
 
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