Living in Hawaii, you likely have a trusty, multipurpose appliance in your kitchen right now. We’re not talking about an electric pressure cooker or air fryer. We’re talking about your rice cooker!
Whether you have a $20 or $200 rice cooker, you can make one-pot meals and even desserts in about the same amount of time it takes to cook a pot of rice. Here are a few recipes that are sure to delight and awe.
Note: Depending on your rice cooker, you may need to cook your food a little longer. Use your best judgement to make sure everything you consume is cooked to your dietary needs.
JUMBO RICE COOKER PANCAKE
If you love pancakes, but don’t love flipping them on the stove one by one, you’re in luck! To make a jumbo pancake that will feed the entire family, just pour pancake batter into your rice cooker and let it do all the work.
If you have your own pancake batter recipe or prefer to use a mix, no problem. You just need 2 cups of batter. If not, we have a simple recipe for you.
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 1½ cups milk (we used low fat)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2½ tsp. baking powder
- 2 Tbsp. granulated white sugar (or sweetener of choice)
- Butter, fruit, syrup, whipped cream, or other toppings (optional)
Instructions
Mix eggs and milk in a large bowl until blended. Add flour, baking powder, and sugar and whisk until smooth (some lumps are okay).
Pour into interior rice cooker pot. Close lid and start your rice cooker.
For one-button rice cookers: Press the cook button and when it’s done, use a toothpick to see if it’s cooked through. If not, press the cook button again. If you can’t press the cook button, leave it on warm, checking every 15 minutes or so.
For multi-option rice cookers: Use the white rice setting and hit Start. When it’s done, use a toothpick to check if it’s cooked through. If it’s not, use the white rice setting again.
Note: My multi-option rice cooker took about 40 minutes and was perfectly cooked all the way through.
Open lid and carefully remove the inner pot. Place upside down onto a plate and the pancake should slide out.
Top with butter, fresh fruit, syrup, whipped cream, or whatever topping you want!
Slice and enjoy!
LUP CHEONG RICE WITH CHOY SUM
When our refrigerator broke, this recipe was a lifesaver! We couldn’t have leftovers and fresh food had to be used as soon as we purchased it.
Luckily, the rice and lup cheong are shelf stable and one bunch of choy sum made the perfect side dish.
I’ve always been a fan of these Chinese sausages since they’re sweet and salty. They pair well with rice and when cooked together, the flavors seep into the rice. Also, you can use white or brown rice, but since brown rice takes a little longer to cook, your lup cheong cooks longer, too, and it can sometimes get hard or too chewy. It depends on your rice cooker and preference. It’s best to experiment and see what works for you!
Ingredients
- 2 cups rice (we used short grain white rice)
- 1¾ cups water
- 1 package lup cheong
- 1 bunch choy sum (or any vegetable you want as a side dish)
Instructions
Add 2 cups rice to interior pot of the rice cooker and rinse until water is clear. Drain. Add water to the rice cooker.
Note: You can make the rice using the measuring cup that comes with the rice cooker and the water lines inside the pot. The typical measuring cup is ¾ cup, so there’s only a small difference between the traditional way and our way.
Remove lup cheong from package and separate. Place on top of rice (it’s okay if the sausages are immersed in the water).
Rinse choy sum thoroughly and cut off ends of stems if desired (some people eat the stems, some find it too fibrous).
For one-button rice cookers: Press the cook button and you’re done!
For multi-option rice cookers: Use the white rice setting and hit Start. That’s it!
Once the rice cooker finishes cooking, open the lid carefully. Remove the choy sum and lup cheong first. For ease of eating, chop choy sum and lup cheong into bite-sized pieces.
Then, scoop out rice onto plates and add choy sum and lup cheong. Dinner is served!
Note: Some people find that adding the choy sum or the vegetable of choice makes it too mushy for their liking, so you can boil or stir fry vegetables separately.
.jpg)
The first time I tried rice cooker mac and cheese was at a potluck 10 years ago. When I saw the mac and cheese in the rice cooker, I thought the person who made it, Monika, put the mac and cheese in there to keep it warm. Nope! She actually cooked the mac and cheese in the rice cooker. It’s so delicious and easy, I’ve been making it ever since.
Ingredients
- 1 cup elbow macaroni
- 2 cups chicken broth
- ½ cup milk (Monika recommended whole milk, but you can use skim or low fat)
- 1 cup shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 tablespoons cream cheese, room temperature
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Add macaroni to interior pot of rice cooker. Add just enough chicken broth to cover the macaroni, about 2 cups, depending on your rice cooker. Stir and close lid.
For one-button rice cookers: Press the cook button.
For multi-option rice cookers: Use the white rice setting and hit Start.
Once the macaroni is finished cooking, carefully open the lid. The macaroni should be al dente. If it’s not your ideal texture, leave it in the pot on the warm setting checking it every five minutes.
Add milk, cheese, and cream cheese and stir until incorporated. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Once your cheese is melted to perfection, add salt and pepper to taste, serve, and enjoy!
Note: You can use any cheese combination you’d like. You can also add cooked proteins and vegetables like chicken and broccoli.
STRAWBERRY STICKY RICE
Inspired by the popular Thai dessert, mango sticky rice, our strawberry sticky rice is delicious and easy to make thanks to our trusty rice cooker. Traditionally, you’d soak the rice overnight and steam in a bamboo basket. For our recipe, no bamboo basket required!
And of course, you can use mango or any fruit you want, but we chose strawberries since they’re easy to find at local grocery stores and reasonably priced.
Also, the type of rice you use is very important for this recipe. You need to use sweet rice, which is also called glutinous rice. It’s available at most grocery stores in Hawaii and you can always find it at Asian specialty stores.
Ingredients
- 2 cups sweet rice
- Water to rinse rice and more to cook rice
- Pinch of salt
- 1 13.5-oz. can of coconut milk
- 1 3.5-oz sweetened condensed milk
- 8 strawberries (you can use as much as you want)
Instructions
Rinse rice in inner rice pot until water runs clear. Drain.
Add water and salt and let sit for 40 minutes.
For one-button rice cookers: Press the cook button.
For multi-option rice cookers: Use the white rice setting and hit Start.
Note: My rice cooker has a “sweet” function, but when I tried it, the rice came out mushy. So stick to the white rice setting.
Mix coconut milk and sweetened condensed milk in a bowl and set aside.
After rice is done, let sit for 5 minutes.
Then, open the lid and scoop rice into bowls. Add strawberries and top with coconut milk and sweetened condensed milk mixture. Serve and devour!
More noms
We’re all about easy (and tasty) recipes. Check out some of our favorites:
