Steaming Basics: Don't Burn

Steaming finishes to cook the rice gently while avoiding burning and sticking. Steam brown or wild rice for 10-15 minutes. While steaming, the doneness of rice changes from firm to tender, and the finish of rice changes from moist to fluffy.

When rice becomes firm remove heat. Drain any remaining water. Cover pot and steam rice until tender in its own heat and moisture. While steaming, the moisture finishes moving from outside to inside of the grain, making the rice fluffy, moist but not wet.

Keep the pot covered to keep the rice warm until ready to serve.

Tip: Add a paper tower or thin dish towel between pot and lid to keep steam. The towel will become moist and trap the steam.

Tip: Suspend rice in colander, and simmer small amount of water, covered, to steam cold rice.

Tip: With the perfect amount of water, the rice becomes firm just as the pot becomes dry. It’s difficult to measure the perfect amount of water, because water is lost to steam. Uncovered pots loose more water than covered pots. Wider pots loose more water than a narrow pots. Rapid boil looses more water than simmer. Longer cooking brown and wild rice looses more water than fast cooking white rice. A good rice cooker controls these different variables. Until the perfect amount is discovered, just use extra water, and drain.

Trouble: Once water is gone, the dry pot, without any cooling water, suddenly begins to heat above 100 C. This is when rice begins to burn and stick to the bottom of the pot. If this happens, add enough splashes of water to cover the bottom and begin simmering again. Use a wooden spoon to move some rice and check the water at the bottom of the pot. Don’t scrape or use the burnt rice.

Tip: With source heat removed, the pot and rice retain heat, and the rice continues to cook. As pot and rice gradually cool from simmer temperature (85 C) to hot temperature (50 C), the rice continues to cook. Remember that starches begin to gel from 55 C to 85 C, so they also continue to cook from 85 C to 55 C. If your rice has cooled too quickly, use a warm burner or warm oven to add enough heat so the rice finishes cooking. A rice cooker warm setting adds just enough heat so the rice doesn’t cool too quickly and finishes cooking.

Steaming Details: Rice and Water

Cooked rice, 60% moisture, is 60% water, by weight. Dry rice, 10% moisture, is 10% water by weight. So 50% moisture is added, during soaking and cooking, or +50% water by weight. A cup of rice (200 grams, 7 oz) and a cup of water (236 grams, 8 oz) weigh roughly the same. So the amount of water added needed to soak and cook rice is roughly 1:1. Nearly every recipe uses a total of 2:1 ratio, because half of that water is lost as steam during boiling and steaming.

Tip: With the perfect amount of water, the rice becomes firm just as the pot becomes dry. It’s difficult to measure the perfect amount of water, because water is lost to steam. Uncovered pots loose more water than covered pots. Wider pots loose more water than a narrow pots. Rapid boil looses more water than simmer. Longer cooking brown and wild rice looses more water than fast cooking white rice. A good rice cooker controls these different variables. Until the perfect amount is discovered, just use extra water, and drain.

Tip: With source heat removed, the pot and rice retain heat, and the rice continues to cook. As pot and rice gradually cool from simmer temperature (85 C) to hot temperature (50 C), the rice continues to cook. Remember that starches begin to gel from 55 C to 85 C, so they also continue to cook from 85 C to 55 C. If your rice has cooled too quickly, use a warm burner or warm oven to add enough heat so the rice finishes cooking. A rice cooker warm setting adds just enough heat so the rice doesn’t cool too quickly and finishes cooking.

Tip: Add a paper tower or thin dish towel between pot and lid to keep steam. The towel will become moist and trap the steam.

Tip: Suspend rice in colander, and simmer small amount of water, covered, to steam cold rice.

Tip: Pilafs cook rice in broth. During cooking, you want to concentrate the flavor, not dilute it, so you don’t want to add water. And after cooking, you don’t want to drain and waste excess broth. So getting the perfect amount of liquid is important for pilafs. When cooking a pilaf, keep a sauce pan of extra broth nearby, and add hot broth, not water. Water lost to steam reduces the broth and concentrates the flavor.

Tip: During the steaming step, recipes may also gently cook finishing ingredients like small fresh vegetables or delicate herbs and spices, such as fresh green peas, coconut or cilantro leaves.

Trouble: Once water is gone, the dry pot, without any cooling water, suddenly begins to heat above 100 C. This is when rice begins to burn and stick to the bottom of the pot. If this happens, add enough splashes of water to cover the bottom and begin simmering again. Use a wooden spoon to move some rice and check the water at the bottom of the pot. Don’t scrape or use the burnt rice.

Spicy Baked Potato Wedges

Excellent snack or side. Can modify spice mix to taste. Make a few extra along with any burgers. Most other potato wedges recipes include fats and oils. Fats and oils are unnecessary with the full flavor spice toping, which sticks well with just the potato starch and moisture. Even more flavor comes from dipping in tomato ketchup or barbecue sauce. This is a whole plant food recipe. This recipe is vegan and low fat, but not low salt. Leave out salt if you want. Serves 4. One potato serves 1 person. I often make a few extra for leftovers. One baking sheet holds ~6 cut potatoes.

Ingredients
4 medium potatoes
2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp paprika powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1/8 tsp black pepper powder
1/8 tsp chili pepper powder

Preparation
Peel and cut potatoes into wedges. Measure spices into ziplock freezer bag and mix. Add potato wedges and shake until coated evenly.
Cook on non-stick baking sheet or baking sheet with parchment paper in 350 F oven for 30-40 minutes.
Test with fork. Once done, use broiler to brown top, 2 minutes Serve with side of ketchup or barbecue sauce.

Mixed Bean Chili

Spicy Central American bean stew. I grind dried chilies in the spice mix and simmer beans from scratch, to really control the flavors, adding some corn and olives for color and texture. Tasted different variations in Chicago and St. George Island, Florida on my recent summer vacation. Serve over rice.

Ingredients
BEANS
1/2 cup dry red beans (kidney), soaked
1/2 cup dry black beans, soaked
1/2 cup dry white beans (pinto), soaked
2 cloves garlic, whole, crushed
2 bay leaves, whole
1/4 tsp black peppercorn, whole
1/4 tsp cumin seed, whole
1/8 tsp salt
SAUCE
1/2 onion, chopped
1 can tomatoes, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed, sliced
1 tbs ppaprika
2 tsp cumin, ground
2 tsp coriander, ground
1 dried red chili (Guajillo Chili); ground
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper, ground
1/4 tsp black peppercorn, ground
1/8 tsp salt
MAIN
1 cup yellow corn
1/2 cup black olives, sliced
FINISH
bunch green onion, chopped
handful cilantro, chopped

Preparation
Prepare by soaking beans overnight, keeping each bean color separate, at least 8 hrs. If mixed together, colors will bleed. Retain the soaking liquid for cooking.
To simmer beans: In large pot add beans, soaking water and extra water, and whole spices. Bring to boil, then turn down and simmer, 2-4 hours, until tender. Tender beans require both overnight soaking and a long time slow cooking. Drain and set aside.
To grind whole spices: Grind whole chili, cumin seed, corriander seed, black peppercorns, and red chili into coarse powder in spice grinder. Set aside. This step can also be done while browning onions, along with chopping base vegetables.
To start base: In large pot, brown onion, lowering heat once it colors, 10-12 min. Add splash of water, tomato, garlic and ground spices, and simmer 2-3 min. Result should be chunky fragrant vegetable mix, without much excess water, which would only slow cooking. Cover with 1-2 inches water and blend coarsely, with hand blender.
Main: To large pot with vegetable base, add beans, corn and olives, and cover with 1-2 inches water. Bring to boil, then turn down to simmer, 1 hours until flavors blend together.
Finish: Add green onion and fresh cilantro to garnish.

Spicy Carrot Soup

Spices are inspired from the Caribbean mixture of American, African and Asian cuisine. Though I first tasted from the menu a fancy Italian restaurant in Berkeley, California, at the beginning of a summer vacation trip back east. The hint of curry comes from cardamom and turmeric. Allspice is Caribbean, and I picked up whole allspice berries from West Side Market in Cleveland, Ohio, on the same trip. Vegetable base is onion and carrot, with potato for thickening; all roots that keep well. Cooked during the vacation, and adjusted spices back home.

Ingredients
BASE

1 onion, chopped

8 carrots, chopped

1 potato, peeled, chopped

SPICE

1/4 tsp allspice berries, ground

6-12 pods green cardamom seeds, ground

1/8 tsp black peppercorn, ground

1/8 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp paprika

1/8 tsp salt

Preparation

To grind whole spices: Remove cardamom seeds from pods, and grind allspice berries, black peppercorn and cardamon seeds. Set aside. This step can be done while browning onions, along with prepping the main ingredients.

To start base: Brown onion, lowering heat once it colors, 10-12 min. Add splash of water, carrot and potato, and simmer 10-15 min, adding water as necessary. Result should be soft vegetables. Puree in blender and return to pot. Add spices and continue simmer 30 min.

Finish: Garnish with croutons and fresh parsley or cilantro.

Exotic Tastes: Fenugreek and Tamarind

So far, all of my recipes used a base set of common spices.

However, the Indian soup Sambar requires fenugreek and tamarind. So it's time to explore off the beaten path spices. Luckily, these are easy to find these at Indian or other Asian grocery, which are almost everywhere.

Spices: Fenugreek (Bitter) and Tamarind (Sour)
- Fenugreek is signature bitter flavor in Indian Sambar Powder, a common spice mix or curry powder for popular Sambar Soup. Dried seeds and fresh leaves, used similar to celery in Middle Eastern and Asian recipes.
- Tamarind is sour flavor in Asian sweet and sour sauces. Sauce or paste from pulp of fruit. Used similar to lemon in Asia. (Also sour ingredient in Worchestershire Sauce.) Indian grocery sells concentrate in plastic bottles and glass jars. The tamarind concentrate in plastic bottles is "jello"-like and very concentrate. The tamarind concentrate in glass jars, which I used, is sauce-like and closer to fresh home made paste, which is squeezed pulp with seeds and fibers strained.

Black Beans And Veggie Bean Broth

Great black beans are cooked from scratch. By cooking from scratch, you get more flavor and more control of taste. But keep a few cans handy for when you can't cook from scratch.

Great beans are slow. They soak all night, and they cook all day. Beans require even longer soaking than whole grains like brown rice or whole wheat, which require a couple hours of soaking, which you can start in the morning or afternoon and be ready for dinner. Beans require soaking for hours, usually over night. And while whole grains can be cooked in under an hour, simmering beans to a soft texture may takes a couple of hours. A good habit is soak over night, start simmering in the morning, and then use both the beans and bean broth for both lunch and dinner meals.

I don't worry about soaking time, or cooking time. I just soak overnight, and start cook in the morning or afternoon, giving me plenty of time. The beans are ready for dinner. (You can find tables of how long to soak and how long to cook different varieties of beans. I find that's too much to remember.)

You can make large amounts, and refrigerate or freeze. Or cook small amounts just in time. I cook small amounts, because I like to adjust the spice and flavor. Dry beans will double in volume. 1/2 cup dry, 1 cups wet, is per person serving.

Ingredients

BASE

1 onion; chopped

2 carrots; chopped

4 sticks celery; chopped

SPICE

2 cloves garlic; crushed and sliced thin

2 leaves bay

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp cumin; ground

1/8 tsp black peppercorn; ground

1/8 tsp sea salt

MAIN

1 cup dry black beans; soaked overnight, 2 cups wet

Preparation

Prepare by soaking beans overnight, black beans at least 8 hrs. Retain the soaking liquid. (I prefer to keep the soaking liquid for its nutrition.)

To grind whole spices: Grind cumin seed, black peppercorns, bay leaf and oregano into coarse powder in spice grinder. Set aside. This step can also be done while browning onions, along with chopping base vegetables.

To start base: In large pot, brown onion, lowering heat once it colors, 10-12 min. Add splash of water, carrot, celery, garlic and ground spices, and simmer 2-3 min. Result should be chunky fragrant vegetable mix, without much excess water, which would only slow cooking.

Main: To large pot with vegetable base, add beans and soaking liquid, and cover with 1-2 inches water. Bring to boil, then turn down to simmer, 1-2 hours until beans are soft. Use strainer to drain retaining the liquid bean broth.

Finish: Add fresh cilantro to garnish.