My first rice cooker - what do I do wrong? (it sticks in pan)

[aldriglikvid]

Hi, 

 

I bought my first ever rice cooker - https://www.lazada.co.th/products/sharp-11-ksh-d11-i124706351-s130659310.html - and I've now tried it twice. Both times there's decent enough of rice sticked to the bottom, which makes the whole thing equal or worse to a regular pot (in terms of washing time). 

 

However, I'm pretty sure this dual-university-degree nobody (me) simply ain't doing it right. Would you guys mind helping out? 

 

1. Rinse the rice 

2. Apply water according to instructions "1 cup of rice - pour water to the "1" mark in the pot" 

3. Hit on - eat when "cook" turns to "warm" 

 

 The only change up I've made was to rinse if even more and once I also left it on at "warm" for a couple of minutes. (The first time I pulled the plug when it was cooked). Normal rinse/high rinse or/and normal cook/cook+warm produced layers of glued rice to the bottom. 

 

 

 

So - lets please remember this is my first time ever using a Rice Cooker. 

 

- Is it supposed to "boil over" like this? Pic. 

- Could it be the rice brand/type? 

 

 

[MJCM]

According to my wife that's normal and it depends on the Rice Cooker if the Rice sticks or it doesn't !

 

And also according to her, about the boil over, is that you  used too much water for the rice or too much rice for the rice cooker ?

 

She only uses about 1-2 cm's of water over the rice. How much water you need is something you have to find out by experimenting

 

Good Luck

Edited September 3, 2018 by MJCM

[JaiMaai]

It shouldn't boil over.  According to my wife, the water level should be at the first knuckle on the index finger (from the tip) above the rice...

[Thian]

Some ricecookers have small stripes in the pot...those stripes are the waterlevel for 1 or 2 or 3 cups of rice.

 

Our ricecooker has those stripes for all kinds of rice and it works great, even i can make rice with it.

 

 

[Jingthing]

I assume you bought one without the proper coating to prevent sticking. I didn't bother to translate your lazada listing but based on the color of the pan that's my assumption because it's just silver. The one's with a coating are darker. I made the same mistake. Gave it away. Cleaning it was a nightmare.

[Jdietz]

Looks normal.

 

To clean:

1. Fill with water

2. Forget about it

3. Remember and depending on interval:

4a. Pour out the rice sludge, done.

4b. Drink the rice wine.

 

[MJCM]

Just now, Jingthing said:

<snip>Cleaning it was a nightmare.

What we do is, just fill it water and leave for 2-3 hours, then you can clean it easily. What we also do is once in while is: Put it on the gas stove, fill it with water almost full, put in a couple of teaspoons of salt, when the water boils turn the gas off and  leave it to cool down. After it cools down clean it and just use it as normal.

[Jingthing]

1 minute ago, MJCM said:

What we do is, just fill it water and leave for 2-3 hours, then you can clean it easily. What we also do is once in while is: Put it on the gas stove, fill it with water almost full, put in a couple of teaspoons of salt, when the water boils turn the gas off and  leave it to cool down. After it cools down clean it and just use it as normal.

Easy is relative. I tried that. Still a pain. 

If I feel the need to buy a new rice cooker, next time it's a COATED one or nothing!

 

[Thian]

10 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Easy is relative. I tried that. Still a pain. 

If I feel the need to buy a new rice cooker, next time it's a COATED one or nothing!

 

Best is to buy one from around 2500 baht, a japanese brand...they have many programs and are easy to use...and nonstick of course.

 

Ours can also make japanese rice which i use for sushirolls....it's always perfect. And for japanese rice you need the one from japan, not grown in thailand cause it's inferior.

Edited September 3, 2018 by Thian

[Samuel Smith]

8 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Easy is relative. I tried that. Still a pain. 

If I feel the need to buy a new rice cooker, next time it's a COATED one or nothing!

 

Enjoy eating the flakes of coating with your rice, as the coating fails ? 

[Thian]

7 minutes ago, Samuel Smith said:

Enjoy eating the flakes of coating with your rice, as the coating fails ? 

The japanese ones don't have coating flaking off....

 

And for Thai it doesn't matter to eat Teflon, my neighbours frying pan is almost clean of Teflon, they ate it all and when i told them about it they said mai pen lai...pan works good...

[metisdead]

We took Thai rice to the USA for Mom and she had this problem with the rice sticking in the rice cooker as well.  It was found that rinsing the rice before cooking fixed this problem.

[bobbin]

If rice is sticking to the pan..it's a crap rice cooker. Seems a couple of posters are making a virtue out of a necessity. Soaking, heating, salt. They just have a crap rice cooker.

 

I have owned several (including some given as gifts). Only the name brand cooker I bought here in Thailand had this problem. Like JT, I gave that one away and bought a more expensive Toshiba. End of the stuck-on rice problem. If the rice is sticking, why use a rice cooker.. as one poster already noted.

[bobbin]

2 minutes ago, metisdead said:

We took Thai rice to the USA for Mom and she had this problem with the rice sticking in the rice cooker as well.  It was found that rinsing the rice before cooking fixed this problem.

Always rinse the rice. Every rice-eating culture rinses the rice first. Two times seems to be an accepted number of times. Oh..and the rice we can buy here is fresher than Thai rice in western countries, so use a little bit less water than you might be used to using.

[aldriglikvid]

I appreciate all the answers. 

 

I'll try with less water than the instructions/markings in the pot and I'll try to rinse the rice 3 times instead of just 2. 

 

A couple of you mentioned that it might be the material (that it's non-stick). If that's the case, and this is normal, I can't for my life understand what's the purpose of a rice cooker of this sort is.

 

Again, I appreciate all the feedback. I will try it one more time and then consider it a failed purchase. 

 

 

[james.d]

- Try rinsing the rice as many times as necessary until the water runs clear, really clear then the starch has gone.

- If no vent hole on the lid then try to prop the lid open with a small implement to allow the steam to escape. The photo seems to show the lid is lifting through cooking process.

 

Good luck.

[Poppadom]

You will always have that issue with cheap rice cookers. We have a Toshiba RC-18NMF which comes with a massive, thick bowl. It's a dream to use it really. Fork out the 2-3k and you won't regret it.

[dinsdale]

1 cup of rice 1.5 cups of water is the general rule of thumb. I usually use a bit more water just depends how you like your rice. Also when your rice cooker dies (and it will) buy a more expensive one. Something like this (this is the same model I use. About Bt1,100) with the click down lid. Far superior.?

p.s. I've been using rice cookers here in Thailand for 10+ yrs.

Edited September 4, 2018 by dinsdale

[ChiangMaiLightning2143]

Character cooker or naff rice, I’d reckon.
I have a Zojirushi nuero-fuzzy multimode cooker many years. Jasmine , Japanese(imported) , brown rice, mixed. Never seen anything like that and no boil over! I use drinking water (room temperature) to make rice

For the rice to burn like that must be getting way to hot on the bottom?

[sometimewoodworker]

SWMBO said 

1) too much water (however much rice only enough water over it to cover the first joint of your index finger.

2) not rinsed enough for this rice

3) some varieties sick more tha others (change the variety)

4) some rice in that cheap a rice cooker will always stick

5) probably trying to get all the rice out when it's hot, cook more than 1 time rice, when it cools down it should be much easier to get the rice off the bottom 

 

 

more expensive cookers have thicker pans that stick less or not at all

[alanrchase]

My rice cooker tends to bubble over if I only cook a single measure of rice, no problem cooking two or more measures. Try cooking larger amounts of rice or buy a smaller capacity rice cooker. Sharp is a known brand so would be supprised if the cooker is at fault.

[NanLaew]

Cheap rice cooker. End of.

[Kerryd]

I used to have a lot of problems cooking rice as well. Tried a smaller cooker (as I was cooking "for one" anyways) and then bought a better cooker.

 

Still had problems using the directions on the rice bags. Usually too much water.

 

Thai friends told me about the "first knuckle" trick. I "wash" the rice for 20-30 seconds, drain it (get most of the water out but don't get anal about it).

I then add cold water and give it a "swish" so that the rice is level on the bottom.
For a single cup of rice, I put my index finger on the bottom of the pan and if the water is 3/4 or a bit more to the "line" of the first joint, that's usually good enough. (Results vary depending on how long you "wash" the rice or leave it site between the washing and the cooking).

If I'm doing 2 cups of rice, same thing except I put the tip of my finger on top of the rice (it's only a couple of mm's difference, if I touch the bottom of the pan then the water level would be pretty much right on the "line" of the first joint).

 

If the rice comes out a little "dry", add a 1/4 - 1/3 of a cup of water, give it a stir and let it sit for 5-10 minutes (with the lid closed). If the rice is a little "wet" (too much water), I let it sit for a couple of minutes with the lid open.
Since I started doing it that way I've never had an "overflow" problem and most of the time the rice comes out great (well, maybe "OK" but I'm not too picky as it usually get's drowned in soup or curry soon afterwards anyways).

 

Edited September 4, 2018 by Kerryd

[Laza 45]

15 hours ago, Jingthing said:

I assume you bought one without the proper coating to prevent sticking. I didn't bother to translate your lazada listing but based on the color of the pan that's my assumption because it's just silver. The one's with a coating are darker. I made the same mistake. Gave it away. Cleaning it was a nightmare.

Actually cleaning it is quite easy.. just soak for a while.. 

[janclaes47]

Buy your cooked rice on the local market, 5 baht for 1 portion, or 15 baht for 3 portions as it can be kept in thee fridge for 3 days.

 

I buy my Berryrice that way, however I have a decent rice cooker, but for that small money I can't be bothered and doubt I can do it for that price myself.

[1FinickyOne]

14 hours ago, aldriglikvid said:

I appreciate all the answers. 

 

I'll try with less water than the instructions/markings in the pot and I'll try to rinse the rice 3 times instead of just 2. 

 

A couple of you mentioned that it might be the material (that it's non-stick). If that's the case, and this is normal, I can't for my life understand what's the purpose of a rice cooker of this sort is.

 

Again, I appreciate all the feedback. I will try it one more time and then consider it a failed purchase. 

 

 

Yes. Non-stick is worth the extra... the purpose of it is to provide a cheap alternative for those hwo do not havethe extra money.

[phkauf]

I have a similar cheap cooker (Sharp) and had the same sticking problem. I read that if you leave the rice in the bowl for about 10 minutes after the cooking cycle is done, it reduces the stick to the bowl problems. It seems to work for me, there is always a bit left stuck to the bowl, but much less than before. I just let the bowl soak in water for a while and it seems to get clean.

[BigT73]

I found the easiest way that worked for me. 

1) grab rice

2) throw in bin

3) go big c buy pork ,potatoes, cabbage

4) put in rice cooker with stock, dash red wine ,season to taste

5)leave in all day

6)your welcome.

[ChiangMaiLightning2143]

Thanks for what Making me Hungry?
Off to lunch....

[Jonnapat]

17 hours ago, aldriglikvid said:

I appreciate all the answers. 

 

I'll try with less water than the instructions/markings in the pot and I'll try to rinse the rice 3 times instead of just 2. 

 

A couple of you mentioned that it might be the material (that it's non-stick). If that's the case, and this is normal, I can't for my life understand what's the purpose of a rice cooker of this sort is.

 

Again, I appreciate all the feedback. I will try it one more time and then consider it a failed purchase. 

 

 

Most packs of rice indicate rinsing once