I can ask the TV for her method as its usually great.
When we finally got the visa sorted and the TV moved back to the UK permanently - we had to make room in the little suitcase space she had for this…I thought she was mad, but can’t live without it now.
Yeah, I was going to post this but only have 3 proper Chinese mates so thought my data pool was low. But all 3 have rice cookers. As did my mother in law (Indian - the cooker we inherited) and all her mates had them too.
I think white people are most critical of them (I was one of them) but are the people most in need of them (I was one of them).
“Cook rice the normal way in the rice cooker …then add a few spoons of a mirin + sugar + white vinegar mixture and leave to cool.”
The rice doesn’t necessarily need to be Sushi rice, normal short grain is great. Also that mixture is the equivalent of “rice vinegar” you can get in supermarkets.
I have an electric one that cost a tenner, wasn’t bothered with the idea but I think it is great. I know the method for doing it in a pan but this is literally just add water and rice using the cup it comes with, switch it on, it cooks it and keeps it warm automatically and you can pick up the internal pot and take it to the table. Takes up no more space than another saucepan. It is perfect every single time without me touching it. There is one in every Asian household (so I am led to believe anyway) like a kettle or toaster is here so I’m happy it is authentic. If there was such a thing as a pasta cooker that would be ridiculous as you just boil that, but rice can be dry or soggy rather easily if you don’t cook it and time it just right.
We use sushi rice in rice bowls/poke, so get through a fair bit.
As littleforts says, you need to wash it through a few times beforehand (I do it four times). I’ve never added anything but water to it to cook it though.
How much water is it telling you to put in?- mines a 1:1 rice to water ratio and it’s never been gloopy at all
I’m thinking about buying a 2nd rice cooker and maybe giving my current one away. It works just fine but is too big for doing a single (big) portion at a time, the ratio of crispy bottom rice to regular rice is off. But I’m still 100% team rice cooker