27.6.07

My new toy


Ok, I´ve done it. After years of holding back, I´v finally bought a rice cooker.
Look, I know I´m not Asian, hence don´t eat rice twice every day. I don´t have to feed a family of ten. I don´t have a lot of counter space. I-don´t-care! I´ve decided to cut potential sources of worry out of my life, and rice was one. Even though I consider myself to have mastered the trick of perfect white rice , it´s still something that has to be anxiously watched over and timed.

So this morning, after a brief consultation with Lydia( I firmly beleive Lydia knows everyting) I trotted off to the Chinese shops around the neighbourhood. The third produced the desired rice cooker with a hinged lid. The instructions were in Chinese, but the sales lady was very sweet, and patiently explained to me how it works, and a few recipes, even.

So I´m in a small bubble of global-village contentment today. Globalization means Starbucks is evil and wants to take over the world, sure, but it also means that I can email a friend in Rhode Island, have my advice back in five minutes, and spend a happy half hour unravelling detailed explanations in broken Spanish for Chinese food. I loved it.

So far I´ve made one batch of rice I hated. Then I realised I hadn´t pressed one of the buttons, whatever it is. Second batch was perfectly marvelous, and now I´m trying out some basmati. And all this while I finish two books, scan drawings for a wedding seating plan and answer emails!

I really don´t see why I´ve made myself wait so long to have a rice cooker, I swear I don´t.
The drawing, by the way, is not laziness but an attempt at expressing my fuzzyheaded happiness.

12 comentarios:

Anónimo dijo...

Congrats on the new kitchen toy! (I love the drawing, it DOES speak to your giddiness today.)

I can do sushi rice w/no problems, but non-sticky? Not yet.

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) dijo...

Ximena, so glad to help. The best presents are the ones we buy ourselves for no reason at all, just because it's time for a treat. Have fun!

Kalyn Denny dijo...

Oh dear, it's possibly the one kitchen gadget I don't own besides an ice cream maker, and now you have me wanting one. I do firmly agree, Lydia knows everything!

tytty dijo...

hi there,

cute illustrations!

as a life long user of rice cookers (i'm asian <: ) i can assure you it's well worth it. a good traditional one would also have a setting for congee, you just gotta put extra water. i've seen modern digital ones which have settings for the different types of rice..!

sometimes when i want something quick, i flavour the water (chicken stock, tomato-based sauces, oyster sauce + pepper) and dump in my veg and diced meat a little bit later and just let the cooker does it thing.

and sometimes we use it as a hotpot for a chinese steamboat.

(:

xps dijo...

Me encanta el dibujo. es de tan buen humor....

lobstersquad dijo...

cdc: good, I feared I wouldn´t be understood
lydia: I feel like I gave myself a diamond bracelet!
kalyn: as the number one rice-cooker bore I´ve become, I say, get it. It´s magic, I swear. I had an ice cream maker and thought it not that great an idea, but this? a must.
tytty: thanks! this is my number two step, flavoured rice, I can´t wait to try that for lunch
xps: lo voy a llevar a casa, vas a flipar

Anónimo dijo...

mira xime q bien, a ver si me deja esto postearte q no me deja en la puñetera vida... esa era tambien la ilusión de la vida de pedrito y se la compró hace un mes... te puedes creer?!

Anónimo dijo...

I bought one during a trip to Vietnam and have no instructions what so ever! I could never get the rice as I wished. It always stuck to the bottom. Please some suggestions...

Jerry dijo...

My friend swears that a rice cooker is one of her favorite toys. With the fact that I burned rice in a microwave, I should probably by one.

Anónimo dijo...

I love rice cookers! Make sure to use good rice. I use the Japanese brands, although as you discovered, basmati ain't bad either!

Anónimo dijo...

Hello Ximena,

Stumbled onto your blog recently; love the little drawings that accompany your posts!

If it makes you feel any better about waiting so long before buying a rice cooker, I'm an Asian and I eat rice twice a day, and I don't have a rice cooker. The years of being a poor student made it necessary to learn to make steamed rice in a pot on the stovetop. So even now after I've started working it doesn't seem necessary to buy a rice cooker anymore...

an9ie dijo...

Congee/rice porridge is one of my favourite meals - delicious with sliced fish or pork mince in it, and a great way of using up left-over rice.

My mother also uses the rice cooker to make steamed chicken with rice. Yum!

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