The Rice and the Cooker

I had always believed there was no reason to buy a fancy rice cooker, that a $20 basic model would suffice: measure rice, add water, press button, wait 25 minutes and voila. For many cooks, that belief rings true.

For our wedding, my husband, Eric, and I received a Krups all-in-one rice cooker/slow cooker/steamer, which was as fancy a rice cooker I'd ever used. But the rice-cooking function broke within a year, which was disappointing for something that cost about $60. I still managed to use it for more than four years by using the steam function to cook the rice. It wasn't perfect, but it did the job. It wasn't until I threatened to buy a $20 rice cooker from the drug store that my husband finally agreed to discuss replacing our Krups. (You see, for Eric, form often precedes function when it comes to kitchen appliances, which means that my $20 all-function-no-form rice cooker would offend his sensibilities.)

I have always been curious about the Zojirushi cookers that Waji sells, but the price point has been a deterrent. Some models are several hundred dollars -- though they feature induction heating. We settled on a Tiger Jag-B cooker that we found for about $90. It resembles the lower-end Zojirushis, but at a more affordable price. What sold me was that this type of rice cooker has settings for different kinds of rice: three settings for plain rice, as well as options for sweet rice, brown rice, and congee. How great is that? I wonder why I never bothered to look under the hood, so to speak, of this style of rice cooker. I guess I was always put off by the price tag. The first pot of rice I made with the Jag-B was so delicious that I immediately started chastising myself for putting up with the broken Krups for all this time. I have good knives and good pans, why not a good rice cooker? Rice is the core of a Chinese meal, after all.

If you've bought rice recently, you may have noticed the "new crop" label on bags. New crop rice available from November through February tends to be the "freshest." It's probably more accurate to say that new crop rice contains more moisture. Rice aficionados swear by the flavor difference of new crop. It's worth spending the extra money for a brand such as Tamanishiki. Just look for the golden yellow bag with the "new crop" label. It is an absolute revelation to taste rice this good. One bite will make you understand why the Chinese believe that rice is the centerpiece and the accompanying dishes are considered "condiments."

Chinese Breakfast

Any Chinese meal, no matter how basic, can be a study of contrasts and balance. Breakfast is no exception: It can provide the ultimate comfort and still possess flavors that dance on the palate.

Congee, or rice gruel, is relatively plain if eaten on its own. But it is a utilitarian food for any morning or as a soothing antidote to an upset stomach. There are two general approaches to making congee. The first is to simmer uncooked rice in chicken stock with ginger until the grains split and create a thick consistency. Often, it's made simply with leftover cooked rice with either stock or water.

This morning, I made congee using leftover rice and water. Once the water comes to a slight boil, you turn down the heat to medium-low and let it simmer as you prepare the accompaniments. Breakfast was on the table within 20 minutes.

I had some Chinese sausages and a quarter of a napa cabbage. I sliced the sausages and seared them in the wok. Once some of the fat had been rendered, I added sliced cabbage and let that cook down and release some of its moisture. For seasoning, I added a little more than a tablespoon of soy sauce, a splash of rice vinegar and a teaspoon of chili bean paste. It was a tad salty, so I added a splash of water to balance it. The sweet and charred taste of the sliced sausage was great with the hot-sour-salty flavor of the sauce. It's the kind of dish that the Chinese say "goes down with rice" easily, meaning that it's exceptionally savory and makes you want to eat more rice -- which is considered the center of the plate, so to speak. Any cooked dishes are considered accompaniments to rice. 

I normally like to have preserved duck eggs with congee, but I didn't have any this morning. Other dishes I might have with congee include stir-fried tomato eggs or spicy yu-choy. I settled this morning for some pickled turnips and a sauce of finely minced ginger, chopped green onions and cilantro, soy sauce and a drizzle of sesame oil. This adds a great dimension to the congee.