Can I Use A Rice Cooker As A Steamer?

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Rice Cooker As A Steamer:

We all know that rice cookers brought the revolution in cooking and have been there for several decades. For many years the simple mechanisms of the rice cooker only allowed the rice to be cooked perfectly and not more than that.

With the passage of time, more and more innovations took place in the rice cooker, and it was able to jump further from the realm of rice cooking, e.g. cooking whole grains to several one-pot dishes and even cakes started to be cooked.

Nowadays, we can also prepare steamed food, mostly vegetables and meat, in rice cookers, saving time and energy and cooking two different foods simultaneously.

Why Is Steaming The Best Way To Cook Vegetables?

Steaming vegetables is considered one of the safest and most reliable forms of cooking. Although it’s not that cliché cooking, it allows the food to become semi-tender and easy to digest simultaneously.

The healthy nutrients in the veggies will remain safe and ready to be part of your body. Deep cooking mostly damages the healthy nutrients of the food and reduces the benefits of the food for the body; that’s why food experts recommend consuming steamed food in a regular diet.

Can You Use A Rice Cooker As A Steamer?

Steaming of Food:

  1. First of all, you need to wash the food that is going to be steamed.
  2. Chopped into small or medium parts will help to reduce the steaming time.   
  3. Some vegetables with hard coverings should be adequately peeled, and the inner part should be carefully chopped before its steaming. 
  4. You can also steam the meat, e.g. chicken, beef and fish etc.
  5. Please make sure to wash and cover the meat in foil paper before steaming it so that it doesn’t become too mushy. 

Can I Use A Rice Cooker As A Steamer?

Well, the good news is that we can use a rice cooker as a steamer to steam the food while the rice is being cooked in it; this way, you can save energy and time.

Doctors recommend adding vegetables to your daily meal because they can boost your immune system and fulfil your dietary needs in the most healthy way possible.

Many models of rice cookers in the market provide the option to steam cook the food while the rice is being prepared in the pot. 

Checkout The Following 3 Best Steamer Rice Cooker:

Can You Steam Vegetables In A Rice Cooker?

So first of all, chop the veggies into small pieces after washing them properly, then take 2-4 cups of water in the cooking pot of the rice cooker (this is when you are not masking the rice and only steaming the food).  

Place the veggies in the steaming tray provided by most modern rice cookers nowadays, put that tray on top of the water, and close the lid when pressing the cooking command button.

  • If you are using a single-button rice cooker as a steamer, you need to be more careful when it comes to the vegetables’ cooking time.
  • If you are using a digital version of a modern rice cooker with plenty of control options, simply choose the steam option, and the system will auto-adjust itself. You can also use the digital timer to make the food according to your choice.
  • The cooking time will be calculated from the boiling point of the water, and then the steam starts to enter the tray and treat the food in it. In this way, the real-time steaming will slightly exceed the time set on a timer.
  • You need to manually check the steaming food in a simple rice cooker.

Related Post: How To Steam Fish In A Rice Cooker?

How To Steam The Vegetables In A Rice Cooker Without Basket?

Yes, if you don’t have the built-in tray in your rice cooker you can still use that rice cooker as a steamer, you can use a little tricky way, like you can use a trivet that can simply fit on the inner top of the rice cooker and then steam the food. 

Please cover the top of the rice cooker with a lid so that steam leakage won’t occur.

And also, if you are steaming the meat, please cover it in foil paper, so the rice cooking below doesn’t mix the taste in them or vice versa. 

How Long Do You Steam Vegetables In A Rice Cooker?

There are many factors to count regarding the steaming time of foods. The rice cooker’s model and the food item’s type directly relate to this time. 

Usually, the veggies take 12-20 minutes to be adequately steamed, and the more you get the experience, the better you will make it. The meat will take roughly 20 minutes, depending upon the conditions.

My Advice About Steaming The Food In A Rice Cooker:

Talking to you personally, I can assure you that once you use steamed food In your diet, you will notice a sudden improvement In your health and feel its vibe.

A healthy lifestyle is the need of the hour, and you need to take control of your physical and mental health; you can’t take the risk of neglecting your well-being.

So please try the steamed vegetables and meet them for at least a few weeks and you will love and habit it in your life.     

Final Words:

Reading to this point, you have learned some very interesting points regarding the steaming of vegetables in rice cooker.

You should give it a try, and please choose the healthy food options in your daily life so you can live a healthy and safer life.

Related Post: 10+ Best Rice Cookers With Keep Warm Features