Last summer, we featured easy and delicious rice cooker recipes that were a big hit! We didn’t just cook rice; we made mac and cheese and a gigantic pancake. These one-pot wonders can save you time cooking and washing a sink full of dishes. Here are four more rice cooker recipes we know you’ll love.
Note: Depending on your rice cooker, you may need to spray the pot with nonstick spray to prevent burning or sticking.
RICE COOKER JAPCHAE
Japchae is one of my favorite Korean food dishes. The chewy noodles combined with fresh veggies always hit the spot. The traditional way of preparing this dangmyeon, or sweet potato noodles, is to stir-fry it on the stovetop. When I saw there was a way to make it in a rice cooker, I was intrigued. Would the noodles cook as well? Does the meat cook all the way through? Does it still taste delicious? The answer to all of these questions is yes!
We incorporated our favorite vegetables, but you can use whatever you like or have on hand. And if you don’t want to use meat, which we recommend marinating overnight, you can substitute tofu or simply omit the protein.
Ingredients
Main
- 1 lb. sweet potato noodles
- Room temperature water for soaking noodles
- ½ cup water
- Toasted sesame seeds (for topping)
Beef marinade
- ½ Tbsp. garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp. shoyu
- 1 Tbsp. sugar
- ½ Tbsp. toasted sesame oil
- 3 Tbsp. water
- 8 oz. beef, thinly sliced (we used pre-sliced shabu shabu beef)
Vegetables
- 4-5 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 1 small onion, sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- 1 carrot, peeled and julienned
- 1 bundle choi sum, sliced
Sauce
- ¼ cup shoyu
- ½ Tbsp. toasted sesame oil
- 2 tsp. sugar
- ½ tsp. garlic, minced
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. black pepper
Instructions
The night before, mix marinade ingredients in a bowl and add beef. Marinate overnight (or at least a few hours).
The next day, soak sweet potato noodles in room temperature water for at least 10 minutes, but no more than 20 minutes. If you don’t soak it long enough, the noodles may not completely cook. If you soak it too long, it will become mush.
Prep the vegetables and set aside. Mix sauce ingredients in bowl.
Drain noodles and add to rice pot. Add ½ cup water and sauce.
Remove meat from marinade and add to rice pot. Add vegetables.
Close rice pot.
If your rice cooker has different settings, set to white rice and hit the ‘Start’ button. If not, press the button to start cooking.
Once the time is up, open the rice pot. Mix everything well. Top with sesame seeds and serve!
RICE COOKER OKONOMIYAKI
Originating in Japan, okonomiyaki is a popular, savory pancake-like dish. Depending on the region, there are different ways to prepare it. Some of the most popular styles include:
- Osaka-style okonomiyaki: Ingredients are mixed before cooking, similar to a frittata.
- Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki: The okonomiyaki is built in layers, beginning with the batter, followed by cabbage, and then additional ingredients. It’s like making a pizza!
- Modanyaki: This is an Osaka-style okonomiyaki that incorporates yakisoba noodles.
- Monjayakai: You’ll find this variation of okonomiyaki in Tokyo, which has a looser batter, resulting in a melted-cheese-like consistency.
While “okono” translates into “as you like it” and “yaki” means “grilled,” we’re making our okonomiyaki in a rice cooker. During busy weeknights, being able to set it and forget it is much easier than making individual okonomiyaki on a griddle.
This is just a basic recipe, and, as the name suggests, you can add anything you’d like!
Note: In Hawaii, we’re lucky to have several Asian specialty grocery stores that carry okonomiyaki flour. If you can’t find it in the store, regular all-purpose flour is fine. If you want to make your own okonomiyaki flour, Just One Cookbook, a Japanese cooking blog, has an easy recipe.
Ingredients
- ½ cup okonomiyaki flour or all-purpose flour
- 1 cup water, divided
- 2 eggs
- 3 cups cabbage, shredded
- 2 slices pork belly, chopped (approx. 3-4 oz.)
- 1 6-oz. package precooked yakisoba noodles
Optional toppings
- Okonomiyaki sauce
- Japanese mayonnaise (or American/Western is fine)
- Aonori (seaweed flakes)
- Bonito flakes
- Red ginger
Instructions
Mix flour, ½ cup water, and eggs in a bowl to create a batter. Mix cabbage into batter.
Add remaining ½ cup of water to rice pot. Next, add pork belly followed by yakisoba noodles. Pour the batter on top. No need to mix everything together.
If your rice cooker has different settings, choose white rice and hit the ‘start’ button. If not, start the rice cooker.
Once the rice cooker is finished or shuts off, open the lid. Carefully flip the okonomiyaki onto a plate. If you’d like, add toppings. Slice and serve!
EASY MANDU RICE
My friend Summer claims she’s not a good cook, but I don’t believe her because she once told me about a mandu rice dish she makes in the rice cooker. She said she was inspired by Easy Peasy Jordan, saying, “If a kid can make it, maybe I can, too!” Summer recommended adding crispy garlic chili oil to the finished product, which took the dish from delicious to out of this world.
Ingredients
- 2 cups uncooked rice (we used brown Jasmine rice)
- 2 Tbsp. shoyu
- 1 Tbsp. sesame oil
- 1 Tbsp. garlic, minced
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 10-12 pieces mandu of choice (fresh or frozen)
- Crispy garlic chili oil
Instructions
Add rice to pot and rinse until water is clear. Fill with water using the appropriate line in the rice pot. Add shoyu, sesame oil, garlic, and salt and pepper. Mix. Place mandu on top.
If your rice cooker has different settings, set it depending on what kind of rice you’re cooking and hit the ‘start’ button. If not, start the rice cooker.
Once it’s done, open lid and mix thoroughly. Serve with crispy garlic chili oil and dig in!
RICE COOKER BUTTER MOCHI
Ever since I tried using a microwave mochi maker that resulted in a goopy mess, I’ve been searching for mochi redemption. While scrolling through Easy Peasy Jordan’s Instagram, I saw that he had made a mochi cake as part of his rice cooker series, and I knew I had to try it!
“Why don’t you just make mochi the regular way?” you may be asking. The answer is, I could, and I have, but if a rice cooker can do it for me, why not try? And to quote Summer from the previous recipe, “If a kid can make it, maybe I can, too!”
Upon closer inspection, Easy Peasy Jordan used a butter mochi mix, which is an option. But here’s a recipe inspired by a local utility company, modified so it’s slightly healthier. This means we cut as much sugar as possible without affecting the taste!
Ingredients
- 1 16-oz. box mochiko flour
- 1½ cups white sugar
- 1½ tsp. baking powder
- 4 eggs, beaten
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- ½ cup butter, melted
- 1 12.5-oz. can coconut milk
- 1 14.5-oz. can evaporated milk
Instructions
First, mix the dry ingredients. Then, add the wet ingredients and mix until well combined.
Once the batter is lump-free, pour half, or 8 oz., into rice pot.
If your rice cooker has different settings, choose white rice and hit the ‘start’ button. If not, start the rice cooker.
Once the cooking cycle finishes, open the rice cooker lid, carefully flip mochi onto a plate, and let cool. Once the cake is cool to the touch, slice and enjoy!
Cook the remaining batter as a separate batch by adding to the rice cooker and hitting start.
Note: The first time I attempted this recipe, I added all of the batter at once, and the middle didn’t cook through. For the second attempt, I only used half the batter. While the finished product came out a little flatter than mochi baked in a pan, the texture and flavors were still perfectly satisfying.
More easy (peasy) meals
Here are some tasty recipes you may want to add to your culinary repertoire.
crunchy taco cups
You don’t need a deep fryer to achieve the satisfying crunch of these taco cups. The secret is baking the wonton wrappers in a mini muffin tray without any toppings first, so the bottoms get nice and crispy. Adding tortilla chips also elevates the crunch factor. We used plant-based meat for the filling, but feel free to substitute lean beef or turkey.
kimchi grilled cheese
There are few things as satisfying as biting into an ooey, gooey grilled cheese sandwich. The kimchi adds another level with crunch and a mild heat that blends well with the melty cheese.
easy chicken panang curry
Save time and money with this better-than-takeout Thai curry. While the recipe calls for canned chicken, you can use whatever protein you’d like. You can also switch out the panang curry paste for yellow, green, or red.
pappardelle with tomatoes and kale
Pappardelle is a wide, flat pasta that’s perfect for holding and absorbing sauces. We paired it with a tomato-based sauce packed with leafy kale and cannellini (or white kidney) beans for a hearty, but not heavy, meal.
strawberry caprese pasta salad
If you love Caprese salad, this dish is for you! Our version is packed with fresh basil, sweet strawberries, and creamy avocado.
tortang talong
Also known as Filipino eggplant omelet, tortang talong is simple to make and combines the fresh and light flavor of eggplant with the rich flavor of egg.
Speaking of easy …
We launched a new e-cookbook featuring quick and easy weeknight dinners. You’ll find photos and step-by-step instructions to help make cooking painless.
