Cook rice evenly with a rice steamer.
For a perfect pot of rice, steaming has advantages over boiling. The rice cooks more evenly, and there is less risk of the it burning. Having an appliance devoted to cooking rice may not be a necessity in some households, if you cook a lot of rice, it can make your life easier -- and your rice consistently well-cooked.
Stove Top Steamer Pot
A stove top steamer cooks rice on the stove with indirect heat. The design is similar to a doubleboiler, but instead of a solid-bottomed pan sitting over a boiling water bath, the pan had small holes in it. Water is placed in the bottom pan, and measured rice into the top pan. When the water boils, it steams the rice without touching it. You have to time the cooking based on the type of rice; long grain white rice takes about 20 to 25 minutes.
Electric Rice Cooker and Steamer
A basic electric rice cooker/steamer will cook your rice in about 15 to 20 minutes, then either shut itself off or switch to warming mode. Measure the rice and water -- usually two parts water to one part rice for long grain white rice -- pour it into the pot, and turn it on. To reduce the amount of starchy residue that can stick to the warmer -- and the rice -- rinse the rice in a bowl before cooking it: Pour cold water over the rice and stir with your hand until the water is cloudy, then drain and repeat until the water stays clear.
Microwave Steamer
A microwave rice steamer works in the same way as a stove top steamer, but it's made of microwave safe material, usually a type of plastic. Microwave steaming takes less time for small amounts of rice, but can the same amount of time or more for larger quantities. For 2 cups of cooked white rice, it takes about 15 minutes. Microwave steamers are easier to clean and store than electric steamers, and are usually less expensive.
Bamboo Steamer
A bamboo steamer is a traditional type of rice steamer. It works in the same way as a stove top steamer, with hot steam from a pot or wok cooking the rice, which rests in a bamboo basket. The pot of a Thai sticky rice steamer can be placed directly on a stove top burner to boil the water, or it can be heated with coals. Round basket steamers are designed for use in an electric or stove top wok; water is heated in the bottom of the wok, and the basket of rice is placed on top.
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