Rice cookers are quite popular in Japan. These electric rice cookers are called Suihanki (炊飯器) in the Japanese language. Today they have become popular around the world, making life easier and enabling various things beyond just simple rice.
To cook rice in the Japanese electric pot is very simple. Just put in the washed rice, add water using a meter, close and wait. In about 10 to 15 minutes your rice is ready and the machine turns off automatically.
This ingenuity greatly facilitates the busy life of some japoneses. It is also capable of keeping the rice warm throughout the day and preparing some other interesting dishes that we will mention in this article.
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How did the Japanese rice cooker come about?
The first Suihanki was produced in 1945 by Mitsubishi. At that time, it ran on a coil, was made of aluminum, and did not have an automatic shut-off.
The first fully automatic electric rice cooker appeared in the year 1956 and was invented by Yoshitada Minami together with Toshiba. It was so successful that more than 200,000 pans were produced per month.
In the 80's these pans were already part of almost every Japanese house and they started to expand their business in China, Korea and later the whole world. Over time, the technology of the pans was improved, improving more and more the flavor and its popularity.
The countless possibilities with a Suihanki
Many people use the Japanese rice cooker just to make rice. Few know that these pans can make numerous recipes in addition to rice and derivatives. With that in mind, let's leave a list of possible recipes that you can make in a rice cooker, so you can decide to buy one.
When cooking anything other than rice in suihanki, just pay attention to the food and see if it has cooked enough or is not overcooked.
- Bean;
- soups;
- Sweet rice pudding;
- Breads;
- Pudding;
- Hot Chocolate;
- Fruit stew;
- Bread;
- Noodle;
- Savory pie;
- Frittatas;
- Boiled eggs;
- Meat;
- Steamed vegetables;
- Ground beef with tomatoes;
- Creamy corn;
- Sukiyaki;
- Couscous;
- Stroganoff;
- Chicken soup;
- Cheesecake;
As you can see, the possibilities with a Japanese rice cooker are endless and can help those who are too lazy to turn on the stove and prepare a gohan (rice).
- Quiz - Test your knowledge in Japanese cuisine
The rice cooker is much cheaper than an electric fryer and I guarantee it is much more advantageous. Do you have your rice cooker? Do you intend to buy one? Tell us your experience in the comments.