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Cooking for Dummies

August 17th, 2010 at 06:41 pm

When it comes to cooking, I think I'm a bit of a quack. But that isn't to say this awkward little duckling does not dream of being a culinary swan some day. Ah, but every great adventure starts with a single waddle, and it may look something like

Text is this LifeHacker article here and Link is http://lifehacker.com/5614388/master-the-art-of-low+effort-cooking
this LifeHacker article here.

Most of you may have yawned at the article for its remedial, Hooked-on-Phonics-like content, but to me, it's still something of a revelation. For example, did you know you can also cook things other than rice in a rice cooker? Actually, I knew that too because I've seen my mom do it with hers, but it never occurred to me that perhaps I could do that too! It was as though it's some kind of Asian dark arts that I am not suppose to speak of or fathom.

Well, I'm pumped! And seriously, doesn't that picture look delicious?



By the way, does anyone use a rice cooker for their cooking? Does anyone know what's the difference between the rice cooker and the crock pot? Also, since I already have a crock pot, is it worth buying a rice cooker or is that redundant?

8 Responses to “Cooking for Dummies”

  1. MonkeyMama Says:
    1282070535

    I was thinking it was more like a crock pot, in this picture. Not sure, though. Could be redundant.

    Looks good though.

  2. whitestripe Says:
    1282084623

    When we didn't have a stove or oven for 8 months I realised how much of a life saver my rice cooker was!

    My understanding is that a crock pot is a slow cooker (?) and that they cook items fairly slowly. The picture you have above definately looks like a rice cooker - is that some type of fish? You would definately only cook that for a short while - as well as the egg - which is what a rice cooker does. I used my rice cooker for boiling pasta, as well as making miso soup and vegetable dishes. Ours has a steamer tray as well, so sometimes as a quick dinner we have rice with steamed vegetables, it is so easy and quick because you just drop everything in one pot and turn it on. (With items that cook quickly - like the egg, or spinach, capsicum, bok choi etc, you would wait while the rice and other vegetables cook for 10-15 minutes before putting it in.)

  3. Miss Vicki Says:
    1282085287

    I have a rice cooker and a crock pot (slow cooker). I don't eat meat so I use my rice cooker a lot! It works well to steam vegetables too. A crockpot will cook slowly over the course of hours while a rice cooker will cook faster (mine is 15 minutes) in a "pressurized" cooker. Both are used quite often at my house. Smile

  4. Broken Arrow Says:
    1282086476

    I see, so a rice cooker cooks faster.... Yeah, I can definitely see myself using one then. Interesting responses so far! Thanks!

  5. rob62521 Says:
    1282086870

    That book on slow cooking that I blogged about and you asked about had a ton of recipes for a Crockpot like baked potatoes and using the Crockpot for cooking rice too. I've never had a rice cooker, but hey, go for it and blog about it.

    And, don't get discouraged if the first time you try something it isn't perfect. That's how we learn to cook. Those fancy folks on T.V. didn't just learn to make stuff. Ina Garten says she always tries a recipe two or three times before she'll even serve it to her hubby.

  6. baselle Says:
    1282286756

    The revelation for me of that article is supreme irony - Roger Ebert writing a rice cooker cookbook. Can't talk, can't eat. That bi bim bap in the pic looked mighty good though.

  7. Jerry Says:
    1282339581

    We had to leave our rice cooker at home when we moved overseas, but I do think that it leads to a faster cooking time. Still, we are able to get by without it because my wife is half Asian, and she is pretty much the Rice Whisperer. =) We didn't want to buy another one over here (we're not exactly trust fund/annuity babies or anything), so she cooks it with a saucepan. Boom, perfect, every time. She's amazing.
    Jerry

  8. Broken Arrow Says:
    1282356614

    Haha, Rice Whisperer, that's awesome. That's very cool of you to regard your wife so highly.

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