The Ultimate Rice Cooker by Julie Kaufmann Page A

It requires less water to cook than long-grain rice. You may use this rice in pilafs, as well as in paella.
    Medium-Grain White Rice

    medium-grain white rice

    This is the recipe to use for basic steamed rice or the Japanese daily rice, okame , made from the white rice known as seihakumai . Remember, if you bought a bag of rice labeled “new crop,” shinmai (which is fresh every autumn), you will decrease the ratio of water to rice to 1:1 (that will be 1 cup of water here). The method of washing described below is more extensive than what many cooks actually do. If you’re pressed for time, just swish and drain a few times. If your rice is labeled “Musenmai” or “Rinse-free rice,” the washing is optional. (If you don’t wash it, use a bit more water.) This recipe is geared to domestic medium-grain white rice, which is grown either in California or Arkansas. Use brands like Nishiki, Homai, Botan, Konriko, Tamaki Classic, and southern medium-grain brands, not domestic or imported Arborios. These are the same proportions to use for haigamai , partially polished white rice. For 1½ cups rice, use 2 cups water.

MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;

fuzzy logic or on/off

CYCLE: Regular

YIELD: Serves 3 to 4

1 cup medium-grain white rice

1⅓ cups water

¼ teaspoon salt (optional)
    1. Wash the rice. Place the rice in a bowl and fill the bowl about half-full with cold water. Swirl the rice in the water with your hand. Carefully pour off most of the water, through a mesh strainer or by holding one cupped hand under the stream to catch any grains of rice that are carried away with the water. Holding the bowl steady with one hand, use the other to rub and squeeze the wet rice, turning the bowl as you go so that all the rice is “scrubbed.” The small amount of water in the bowl will turn chalky white. Now, run cold water into the bowl, give the rice a quick swish, and carefully drain off the water as before. Repeat the scrubbing and pouring-off process twice more. By the third time, the water you pour off will be nearly clear.
    2. Place the rice in the rice cooker bowl. Add the water and salt, if using; swirl to combine. Let the rice soak for 30 minutes to 1 hour with the cover shut, time permitting. At the end of the soaking period, set for the regular cycle.
    3. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, let the rice steam for 15 minutes. Gently but thoroughly fluff the rice with a plastic or wooden rice paddle or wooden spoon. This rice will hold on Keep Warm for hours. Serve hot.
    japanese white rice with umeboshi and sesame

    Tart and salty, pinky red umeboshi pickled plums are an acquired taste to some. To others, it is just another comfort food along with miso. Anyone who has taken a macrobiotic cooking class gets hooked on umeboshi. On a visit to Japantown, our lunch boxes always have a bright, shriveled pickled plum plunked into the mound of fresh white rice. Prepare the condiments while the rice is cooking; you want to be ready to serve as soon as the rice has finished on the Keep Warm cycle. Umeboshi plums are sold in Asian groceries and natural foods stores. This recipe—inspired by Hiroko Shimbo, author of The Japanese Kitchen (Harvard Common Press, 2000)—has quickly become a favorite quick lunch on the run.

YIELD: Serves 2 to 3

2 umeboshi plums, pitted and minced

2 tablespoons minced fresh Italian parsley leaves

1½ tablespoons toasted Japanese sesame seeds

3 cups hot cooked medium-grain white rice

Sesame oil (not toasted), for drizzling Tamari (a thick, strong soy sauce; reduced-sodium, if desired), for drizzling
    1. Place the umeboshi, parsley, and sesame seeds in separate small, shallow serving bowls.
    2. Place the rice in a medium-size serving bowl, sprinkle it with the condiments, and drizzle with some sesame oil and tamari.
    Serve immediately.
    note: Japanese sesame seeds are sold toasted; you can toast them again in a dry skillet for more flavor.
    riso

    Riso is Italian for rice,