"I like rice. Rice is great if you are hungry and want 2000 of something." – Mitch Hedberg
Cooking rice and stuff with half the energy!
Also called 'hay box' or heat retention cooking...
This is how we make rice and other grains at our house, using only half as much as energy. This can be applied all over the world, saving millions and millions of whatever it takes to cook them now. It is super easy, cost free, and takes only a little more time to cook.
The method consists of cooking normally for the first half of the usual time. Then the cook pot, with lid still on, is wrapped up in some insulating material, and simply set aside to finish cooking in its residual heat.
You can use two or three thick towels for wrapping, or a blanket, or even zip it up into a puffy parka. You can even construct a well insulated box, if you like. You can cook this up to an hour in advance, and the grain will still be warm and perfect when the meal commences. And your rice will not have any risk of burning from being on too long. (More on "heat retention cooking":)
Here is a recipe for mixed grains we enjoy here at The Mothership:
Nice Rice
Spices, salt, oil, rice, water – have everything at the ready before you start
This recipe works with all kinds of rice, millet, quinoa, teff, maybe even polenta.
I use whole spices and grind them right before adding them to the hot oil. If this is inconvenient, you may use ground spices. If using ground spices, you will need to be more careful not to burn them, as they will have less moisture.
4 cups water
2 cups brown rice (or a mix of brown and forbidden rice, or a mix of millet, red quinoa, white quinoa and teff, or any other grain mix featuring grains of similar cooking times.
Add to the rice:
a teaspoon of ground turmeric
a teaspoon of salt, and
two teaspoons of onion granules
Put the following into a coffee grinder and grind for 10 seconds
2 teaspoons whole cumin
2 teaspoons whole coriander
2 teaspoons whole brown mustard seed
½ teaspoon whole black pepper
¼ teaspoon crushed chili flakes
Add this mixture to two tablespoons of hot olive oil and fry the spices for 10 seconds. If the olive oil is already hot you can take the saucepan off the stove to fry the spices.
Add the rice and spice mixture and stir vigorously. When all grains are coated add the water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer grains for half the recommended time, then wrap the covered pan in two or three big towels for 20-30 minutes while you prepare the rest of your meal. Your grains will be hot, unburned, well-cooked and tasty when you are ready to eat.
Recommended times for various grains:(cook on stove, half the time, then wrap)
rice with bran (like forbidden rice and brown rices) 45 minutes
all quinoas (quinoas like 2 ½ or 3 times water) 25 minutes
polished rices (jasmine, white, basmati, etc.) 22 minutes
teff – just cook teff with other grains, it’ll be fine
In China a typical greeting, instead of “How are you?” is “Have you had your rice today?” A greeting to which one is expected to always reply, “Yes”.
Yes!
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