How to cook crisp rice in a slow cooker?

Crumbly rice is a versatile side dish that goes well with fish and meat, vegetables, and seafood.Cooking it in a slow cooker is quite simple. But only subject to the technology of cooking.

It is possible to cook crumbly rice as a whole from almost any cereal. But it is better to use long-grain varieties for this purpose. They do not boil soft, do not stick together and allow you to get a crumbly side dish, delicious pilaf. Steamed long grain rice is also suitable, but it requires a slightly different preparation technology.

But round white rice is not very suitable for crumbly dishes. It contains more starch, and therefore boiled soft, glued. Round grain option is usually used for the preparation of milk porridges.

Returning to the issue of cereal for a crumbly side dish, You can recommend the Uzbek varieties, the most famous of which is "Devzira." This oblong round grain raw material, which is traditionally used for the preparation of pilau. Rice does not stick together, remains crumbly, pleases with excellent taste.

Another variety with similar data is Basmati. In the process of cooking, it does not increase in volume, but lengthens. Risinka easily separated from each other. "Basmati" is a rather expensive variety, instead you can take a cheaper product - "Jasmine". The latter also remains crumbly and is a long-grain white rice with a delicate creamy taste and a pleasant aroma. Another variety suitable for the dish in question is Indica.

If the soul is eager to experiment, then we can recommend several more varieties:

• "Camolino" - Egyptian transparent medium grain variety with a mild nutty aftertaste;
• "Arborio" - the variety itself has no taste, but actively absorbs aromas, being an ideal option for risotto with herbs and spices;
• "Valencia" - similar to the previous version, but intended to be combined with seafood, it is better to cook paella out of it.

Long grain rice is usually transparent, sometimes white (a sort of “Jasmine”, for example). To obtain a crumbly consistency, brown or brown rice, which undergoes minimal processing, is also suitable. Similar to the wild look. However, both species have a rather specific taste, not everyone likes it.

It is not enough to determine the grade of raw materials, it is important to ensure its quality. Groats should be uniform in color and size. The presence of dark or white spots indicates a violation of storage technology. It should not have broken off particles, contain a large amount of dust, impurities.

Quality rice, if you squeeze it in a fist, makes a slight creak. After the experiment, the croup should not break down or remain clumpy. You can try to get to the core. Ideally, this should not happen.

After the desired type of product has been acquired and its quality has been verified, rice should be prepared. Remove excess starch, which leads to the gluing of cereals during cooking, will help washing it. You can do this in one of two ways.

• In the bowl. Pour the cereal into a bowl and pour water, gently hand over and gently drain the liquid. Repeat the procedure until the water is clear. In the East, it is believed that rice should be washed in 7 waters.

• Under running water. Pour the cereal into a fine sieve (you can cover it with a layer of gauze so that it does not fall through the holes) and rinse under a gentle stream of water for 5-7 minutes. The criterion for the end of the process should also be clean water, which will drain from the sieve.

The next preparatory step is soaking the raw materials. This will allow to soak the grain with water and not absorb excess moisture during cooking, and in addition, reduce the cooking time.The important point - steamed rice can not be soaked! From this it becomes brittle and boils soft during cooking.

All other varieties are better soaked. Long grain rice should be left under water for half an hour. Wild, brown, and also "Devziru" it is better to withstand in a liquid for 2-3 hours. If round grain raw materials are used, a quarter of an hour is sufficient.

Turmeric or saffron can be added to the water, then the rump will turn yellowish and have a pleasant aroma. You need to use cool filtered, bottled or boiled water. After a specified time, after soaking, you should drain the water, squeezing the grain.

To obtain crumbly rice, 2 parts of water are taken for 1 part of rice. If the rice is pre-soaked, the amount of water can be reduced. These proportions are given for long and medium grain raw materials, for pilaf. He is preparing 25-40 minutes. On average, long grain and steamed rice is cooked for about half an hour. Brown rice can be cooked in 40-45 minutes. The longest preparing wild - about an hour. Of course, the cooking time depends on the power of the device, and the volume of cereals.

The classic recipe for crumbly rice involves the use of two glasses of cereals (pre-prepared) and four glasses of water (preheated). First you need to put in the bowl of the device, add water, add salt to taste. Close the lid and select the mode "Rice", "Buckwheat", "Pilaf". If the set of functions of the multicooker is minimal, then the “Cooking” mode (“Soup”) will do. Cook until beep or 30-40 minutes (depending on the type of grits).

Similarly, rice is cooked in a pressure cooker. At the same time, it does not need to be filled in more than half. First, the device must be put on a big fire, but the necessary pressure will hardly be reached, the intensity of the flame must be reduced, otherwise the rice will boil.

As a rule, it is enough to keep the rice on the fire for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat and wait until the pressure drops naturally (do not open the lid). At this time, rice "comes" to readiness.

Another win-win option to get crumbly rice is to steam it. Groats should be prepared in advance. In the bowl unit pour water (the maximum possible volume) and salt. Special compartments for steaming will also be required. Since it usually has pretty round holes, it should be covered with gauze folded in 2-3 layers.

Put on the gauze grits, close the slow cooker and cook in the program "Steaming" for about half an hour. You can not salt the water, and fill the finished dish with soy sauce (2 tablespoons) and rice vinegar (1 teaspoon).

These recipes are basic, such rice is usually served as a side dish for meat, fish. If desired, they can be modified by adding vegetables, spices and herbs. If you cook rice with meat or fish at once (and, especially, cereals and multicookers allow it), you will be able not only to get a tasty and flavorful dish, but also to save time and effort.

You can change the seasonings and spice mixes, each time getting a new version of the dish. Saffron, turmeric, curry, cumin, cardamom, zira, hops-suneli, cinnamon, cloves are well combined with rice.

Finally, there is another way to get rice in a multicooker, while not resorting to soaking the cereal. To do this, you need to wash the rice, blot it with a napkin and fry it in butter in the program "Frying". Groats should get a beautiful golden hue.

After that, put salt and spices and pour in hot water. The ratio of liquid and grits is preserved - a glass of rice requires 2 glasses of water.Further actions are no different from the standard technology - turn on the "Rice" or "Pilaf" mode and cook until the sound signal.

Dietary version of the side dish, which will decorate any meal and give a feeling of satiety without unnecessary weight. The advantage of the dish is that it is suitable for fish, seafood, meat and even offal. You can serve it as a separate dish. This recipe uses frozen vegetables. They can not be defrosted. The main thing is that they do not have too much ice, otherwise the balance of liquid and grain will be disturbed.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of rice;
• 4 glasses of water (instead of it you can take vegetable broth, then the taste of rice will be more saturated);
• Onion, tomato and carrot - 1 pc. each;
• 350 g of frozen vegetables;
• salt, black pepper, paprika;
• vegetable oil.

Peel carrots, onions and tomatoes (make a cross-cut into a tomato, scald with boiling water, remove the skin) and chop. Extinguish in the appropriate mode for 10 minutes, after having smeared the bowl with vegetable oil.

Pre-prepared cereal put in the bowl of the device, on top - frozen vegetables, salt, spices. Pour hot water or broth and cook in the program "Rice" or "Pilaf". 5 minutes before being ready to open the lid and mix the dish, continue cooking until the end of the program.

Brown rice contains more nutrients and fiber, therefore, it is recommended for the diet menu. The technology of its preparation, in particular, the volume of water and cooking time are somewhat different from other types of cereals. In this recipe, vegetables and garlic are added to the grits for juiciness and piquancy. Take:

• quarter cup brown rice;
• glass of water;
• 1 onion and carrots;
• 2-3 cloves of garlic;
• salt, saffron, black pepper;
• tablespoon butter.

Soak the rice for 1.5 hours. Vegetables (except garlic) peel, chop and fry in oil in the "Frying" mode for 5 minutes. Add prepared rice, add water, add salt and spices. Set the “Rice” mode, cook until ready. After switching off, put garlic pressed through a press into the dish, mix, put in the “Heating” mode for 5-7 minutes. Optionally fill with soy sauce (in this case, put less salt).

Classic Italian cuisine - risotto. It is made from special rice (“Arborio”, “Carnaroli”), but any medium grain variety that does not boil soft will do as well. As a liquid, the classic recipe usually involves the use of meat or fish broth. It adds meat, rice or vegetables, as well as grated Parmesan. In this case, offered a risotto with vegetables. For preparation we take:

• 2 cups cereals;
• 3 cups hot broth;
• 2 onions;
• 1 glass of white wine;
• 500 g of champignons;
• 50 g of Parmesan (or any hard cheese);
• 2 tablespoons butter;
• salt, spices (for example, saffron or paprika, a mixture of dried herbs).

Mushrooms need to cut into thin plates and fry for 5-7 minutes with onions in the appropriate mode. Wash the croup and soak, then send to the mushrooms, pour wine and broth, add salt and spices, oil. Close the lid and cook in “Pilaf” mode for 30-40 minutes.

After the specified time, mix the dish, grate with cheese and put in the program “Heating” for 5 minutes. Serve, sprinkled with herbs and chopped walnuts.

If you want to get pure white rice, then you need to add some milk to the boiling water. It will be enough 50 ml. Do not forget to subtract the same amount of water to keep the total amount of liquid required.

Ordinary table vinegar will help to make a crumbly dish. It needs to be poured into cooking water - 50 ml per 2 multi-cups of rice.

To learn how to cook rice in a slow cooker, see the next video.