Korean Job Discussion Forums

[passport220]

I would like to give my rice cooker a try. I have read online the basics about how to use it but I have a few of questions:

I was surprised when I first came to Asia how many different kinds of rice are available. I would like to make just plan old standard rice, I think that would be Jasmine. How can I identify it in a Korean market.

The information I have read says you should wash the rice before you cook it. I am looking for convenience, is there a type of rice that is �pre-washed� that I can use to avoid this step?

From a food safety point of view, if I cook up a batch of rice can I refrigerate it and reheat it over a few days?

Would be easer to just find a Korean wife?

[eamo]

[bignate]

Hell, I have reheated rice I left in the rice cooker, no refridgeration required, although, I am a freak and the cure to the next plague will likely be found in my genes, so I don't really suggest it...

[Return Jones]

It's super easy like making macaroni and cheese. You'll be embarrassed you waited so long to learn how.

Scoop out however much rice you want from your big rice sack. Remember that it expands considerably once cooked, so don't take out too much. Don't use too too little either because it can burn if there's too little in the pot. Estimate for 2-3 people if you have a small cooker.

Put the rice in your cooker pot and fill the pot over the rice level with cold water. With your hand gently swish and grind the rice together. You'll notice how the water gets milky white very quickly. Do this for about 30 seconds and drain the water. Repeat 2-3 more times until the water no longer goes white when you fill the pot. It will always go white if you continue to swish and grind. Don't worry about that, just look for clearish water when you simply fill the pot.

Once the rice is clean, fill the pot with water just slightly over the level of the rice. A good benchmark for a small-medium batch is to put your hand, palm down, flat on top of the rice. The water should cover your fingers right up to the "V" at your knuckles. If there is water covering the back of your hand, drain it off a bit.

Next, close the lid and start the cooker. In about 20 minutes you'll have rice! If you have one of those deluxe cookers, you may need Korean help translating the numerous functions. Choosing the simplest cooking method is best.

I've been refrigerating and microwaving rice for almost 5 years in Korea without problem. I let it cool to room temperature before putting in the fridge. I wouldn't, however, refrigerate a large batch, reheat all of it, then re-refrigerate any leftovers. Just put portions into tupperware containers and reheat them indivually. Like most foods it may get funky if you refrigerate and reheat several times. I do it only once. I keep it for about 2-3 days in my fridge.

Hope this helps.

[passport220]

[cruisemonkey]

[Jeonnam Jinx]

When I first came to Korea, people showed me how to clean and wash the rice and measure the amount of water with the knuckles of my hand. I could never seem to get the correct amount of water. My current cooker comes with a little plastic cup equal to one person's serving, and there is a line in the cooker's pot itself which shows how high the water should be (like a measuring cup). However, my K friends still do the hand measurements. Maybe my friends have freakishly big hands or I have freakishly small hands.

I have never refrigerated rice here. I always just make enough rice for two to three days and just let it sit in the rice cooker. That's what Korean people do and I find the rice perfectly edible even after two or three days. Any longer than that and the rice starts to get a little dry and less fress. The idea of refrigerating and re-heating rice more than once doesn't sound too healthy to me, but, then again, I still can't get used to not refrigerating eggs, although I've eaten hundreds of them and have never had a problem.

[Novernae]

[tzechuk]

Return Jones, my parents told me not to wash rice excessively because the more you wash it, the less nutritious it is (I guess they mean the starch?)...

Anyway, rice is relatively clean, so you just need to rinse it a bit before you cook it.

[bignate]

And Christ all mighty, don't wash the rice in the rice cooker ...... apparantly it will scratch the surface of the pot and then you will all die.....that's what I was told....

[pet lover]

My Korean roommate back in the States used to cook up huge batches of rice and then freeze it in individual portions stored in little plastic sandwich bags. She never died from it.

I'm thinking about doing the same now as sometimes I cook a pot of rice and then decide I really feel like bread. Sure, the dogs love getting to eat all that rice, but I think it'd be nice to just freeze some of it to have on hand when I get a rice craving.

[eamo]

It's interesting that Koreans tend to use the knuckle method.

My Chinese friend back in Ireland was taught the tipping the pot method. His parents have had a Chinese takeaway for 30 years.

Put in the rice.
Put in what you estimate to be enough water.
Tip the pot slowly until the water at the bottom reaches exactly halfway across the rice and the water at the top reaches the rim.
Allow any excess water to come out into the sink.

This, I'm assured, will insure the exact amount of water needed.

[maeil]

I didn't hear about the knuckle method, but when I was in the states my friends taught me the hand method:

Wash your rice (of course), then put your hand flat on the surface of the rice. Fill it with water up until the crease in your wrist - your whole hand should be covered.

I find this works better for brown rice, since it takes a little more water to cook brown rice thoroughly.

[brento1138]

Ah, the rice cooker. There's a phrase in the west that goes something like this: "its the best thing since sliced bread." However, here, they say "its the best thing since rice cookers." Perhaps man's best friend, besides dogs and women of course.

[Summer Wine]

Damm some one made the point before me.