Rice cookers with multiple functions are my friend... also... I am an instinctive cook. I will "follow" a recipe, but... Not usually to the letter. I'm like a pirate following the pirate code... "The code is more like guidelines really"...😛
That being said my kids (2 & 3) LOVE the recipe I concocted for "fried rice" in the rice cooker. That way I can dump it all together, push a button & forget about it till the beep. So I can get the table set & any "extras" prepared.
Recipe is:
2 cups white rice, rinsed
Water added according to rice cooker directions
Chicken bouillon, oyster sauce, hoisin, soy & butter to taste. I usually start with 1 tsp each then work up from there depending on the crowd I'm feeding & how they like it.
Set it to the "white rice" setting & walk away. It'll be done in 20 min give or take.
While that's cooking, if you like extra gravy like my kids do, it's 2 cups water, soy, hoisin, oyster to taste (yes you need to taste as you go; I'm a firm believer in tasting along the way.) 1 tbsp Sugar or molasses or sorgum depending on your taste preference. 1 tsp of ginger. 4 garlic cloves minced, or garlic powder to taste. Start with ½ tsp & go up from there. & for those who like a bit of a nip... ½ a smidge of rooster sauce. Kids & I don't, but hubby does.
After I've set the gravy to simmer, I start in on veggies. Usually frozen, but that's just for convenience, nothing says you have to use frozen, or that you're stuck with "peas & carrots & cabbage". Other things can include mushrooms, zucchini, yellow squash, broccoli... Pretty much anything that tickles your fancy. These veggies can either be added to the raw rice & cooked all the way through the process, placed in the streaming tray and streamed all the way through, or held back till the last 10 minutes. The scrambled egg can either be cooked separately, chopped up & added last, or cooked in the steamer tray using the egg poacher gadget. Just make sure you're whipping the eggs & not ACTUALLY poaching them just like they come it if the shell... That TASTES ok, but does not look as nice...
Once your gravy is beginning to boil, taste it. Make adjustments as needed to suit your preference. Then thicken. I prefer a slurry of corn starch... But others might prefer flour and water. It really doesn't matter how you get it thick... Just go with it. Then eat! My kids DEVOUR this.
