Canned Fish (Eel) Quinoa

Whenever whole grains such as quinoa or other multigrains are planned in our family meals, extras of chicken and seafood such as shrimps, canned fish are added while cooking these grains - not only to impart flavors; but more importantly to boost protein in the cooked grains. This is in addition to other main protein dishes that are being prepared separately. For example, One Pot Shrimp Quinoa and One Pot Shrimp Multigrains can be served with chicken (main protein) and veggies as a protein-worthy grain bowl. 

Sometimes when there is leftover grilled/roasted salmon, it can be as easy and simple as gently flaking leftover salmon into the cooked rice (or grains), fluff and mix salmon into the rice. When there is no leftovers, the often forgotten pantry-friendly canned fish becomes our friend. Canned sardines or canned mackerel if you have; but today, this canned version of braised eel with fermented black beans fits the bill of One-Pot Canned Eel Quinoa.


Which rice cookers or multi-cookers are you currently using? I am using this rice cooker which is one of the most common multicooker (cooks rice, steams/stews/braises dishes, cooks soups etc.) in many Taiwan households. It operates with simple ON-OFF and COOK-WARM buttons, its durability and reliability has been proven as my family has been using it for years (and hopefully, many more years).

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One-Pot Tomato Rice 电锅番茄饭

By this time, most of you in the social media food-groups must have come across the Internet one-pot tomato-rice sensation. Beside one-pot pasta, this one-pot (or one-pan) rice is also one-darn-good cooking idea for homecooks like us who need to think of "it's-gotta-be-different, better-be-new and hopefully-interesting" dishes to cook everyday. Truth is, we (rather, I) don't cook different and new dishes everyday.


However, once in a while, I do try to inspire myself to cook something different. I was even more inspired to put this tomato-rice as part of my regular cooking ritual/meal plan as it is a one-pot-everything dish. To me, this is similar to cooking one-pot biryani rice, just that this tomato-rice does not include the use of Indian-spices and leans towards home-style cooking. I would call it healthy "fried" rice.

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Easy Turmeric-Spiced Vegetables Rice 黄姜菜饭

Pepper up your turmeric-based curries! If you have heard, the alkaloid in black pepper - piperine, significantly enhances turmeric's curcumin bio-availability by as much as 1000% or even more (Source: HealwithFood). The next time you make any turmeric-spiced dish, make sure to give it a few good dashes of black pepper.


This is not the first time I am using vegetable "scraps" in a dish. Left with some broccoli stems and center-hard-cabbage core that have been sitting in the fridge for about two days (after using the broccoli florets and cabbage leaves the other day), it came a good chance to use up these vegetable leftovers. How about throwing in this odd-and-small quantity leftover vegetables (a.k.a scraps) to this turmeric-spiced rice?

This spiced-rice is not meant to be a one-dish meal (of course, if you want it as a quick-fix, you can!) but as a replacement to steamed plain rice to pair with other side-dishes such as Spiced Cauliflower Steaks, Roasted Cauliflower with Basil, and Red Kidney Beans Curry.

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One-Pot Chicken Congee/ Porridge 电锅鸡粥

What is becoming of me...?!? I am back to the "old" days, heavily depending on batch cooking a.k.a dump-everything-into-the-pot-to-cook. Winter "hibernation" has kicked in!

But, such method of cooking can be really "useful" during lazy days, especially when cooking for one (or, at most two); OR when attention is required elsewhere other than in the kitchen and at the stove.

Truth be told, this really does not need cooking skills and technique. And only during this time, Maths turns topsy-turvy with minimal effort yielding better than average results in terms of taste. Think slow-cooker stews and you get what I mean.

However don't expect a dish with exciting textures as everything will be similar to "baby food" texture, almost like this Spinach and Squash Millet Congee. Soft and mushy, almost.


Okay.What's in this pot of Chicken Porridge/Congee?

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Rice-Cooker Nasi Lemak Rice 电锅椰浆饭

Consider it lucky for being successful in my first attempt cooking Nasi Lemak rice using Tatung indirect-heat rice cooker - 大同电锅. In case you are puzzled by this "luck" remark, I am saying that because cooking the perfect Nasi Lemak rice is already tricky with the ratio of coconut cream/milk to water to rice, now played up by what is used to cook the rice.


Even when tasked with the routine regular chore of cooking plain rice - the ratio of water to rice usually needs to be adjusted accordingly to either cooking the rice over the stove or in the rice cooker (and different types of rice cooker). In this case, it is not a fuzzy logic rice cooker, or the traditional direct heat but an indirect heat rice cooker.


Now, to cook coconut-flavored rice, it is also not just playing the water and rice ratio but another third variable (ingredient) being involved: coconut cream/milk. The ratio of coconut milk to water to rice has to be more precise as using too much coconut milk and water may render the rice too wet and sticky.  Moreover, there is also this tricky business of using coconut cream or coconut milk and even in this case, light coconut milk.

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Krill (Dried Shrimps) Cabbage Rice 磷虾/虾皮菜饭

How does this bowl of rice look?


Basic? Simple? Strange? Unfamiliar? Well...

Fragrant, delicious, homey, easy to prepare and cook.  LOVEeeee!

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Sweet Potato Porridge 番薯粥

Of all the fall/winter bounty of pumpkin, butternut squash, acorn squash etc. - I can handle none at this moment due to my injury! Thankfully, I could still turn to the sweet potato - it's easier to peel, at least.

Late last week to early this week, the temperature around the Bay Area has been dipping fast. On such cold frosty nights, I decided to cook some sweet potato porridge or congee - 番薯粥 (Fan Shu Zhou) for dinner. So good to have piping hot congee to warm myself inside out, and it really feels comfortable. This congee goes well with side-dishes such as  Chokos, Cabbage and Mushrooms Stir-Fry, Pickled Leaf Mustard with Chicken, steamed side-dishes or even a light melon stew.


Instead of white rice, I used brown rice and millet 小米 (both grains are more nutritional than white rice). Millet also fluffs up rather well when cooked, so it renders the congee a more gruel-like consistency.

The above stainless steel pot is part of my TATUNG TAC-6G RICE COOKER that I am currently using. Ever since my Rice Cooker Cookbook has been completed (and published), I have switched from a conventional rice cooker to this multi-functional rice cooker and steamer.

It cooks rice, congee and soups really well by using indirect heat on the food contents in the stainless steel inner pot (See diagram above). For example, fill the inner pot with food contents and water if required, then place the inner pot back into the cooker that is also filled with water. When Cook Switch is turned on, the food contents in the stainless steel inner pot is in effect, indirectly "steamed" to cook by the surrounding boiling water in the cooker. It has a "Keep Warm" function as well.

I like this way of cooking my soups as the indirect heat does not allow the soup in the inner pot to boil off so quickly (since it is the water in the cooker that is boiled off). This is similar to a double-boiled method. In short, you don't have to re-add much water to the soup while the soup is cooking, thus maximum nutrition and flavor is retained. Once the water in the cooker is boiled off, the cooker turns to "Keep Warm" function automatically.


Tag: sweet potato, sweet potato porridge

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Peas Peppers Garlic "Fried" Rice - no-mess, garlicky, delicious

With roast chicken recipes out there that call for 40 cloves of garlic, I don't see why you can't do it with rice. I mean, not 40 cloves of garlic in rice but the idea of getting garlic-infused rice. Garlic Fried Rice with (Chinese) Dried Anchovies, Sweet Peas and Red Peppers. First, does it look like fried rice to you?

I am a lazy cook. I hate washing the wok with the aftermath of fried rice! Well, in order for the fried rice not to stick to the wok (I don't use a non-stick pan), I have to use lots of oil and high-heat cooking too - which is incidentally NOT my style of cooking. So I pre-fried all the ingredients (including aromatics) WITHOUT the rice, in the wok. At the same time, have the rice cooked separately in the rice cooker. The advantage? You don't even need a huge wok to contain all the rice in the frying wok! Just a normal pan to pre-fry the ingredients (and aromatics) will do.

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Steamed Cakes - 蒸鸡蛋糕

Alas. Desserts.

Finally. Cakes.

I seldom (never) bake. So my bad, for not paying attention to details. I can only focus on making the cake work, not make it beautiful. I drop some chocolate chips to the bottom of some of those molds (to get some chocolate versions), pour the cake batter over, and allow it to steam.  My Steamed Egg Cupcakes 鸡蛋糕 - made simply with egg/flour batter. Find it at Chapter 19 : Desserts - Steamed Egg Cupcakes in The Everything Rice Cooker Cookbook (Everything Series)


The other egg-dessert that you may want to try is Steamed Egg and Milk Custard/Steamed Milk Pudding. It is not difficult to make your own at home. Previously, I made another version of egg-custard: Steamed Ginger Egg Custard (姜汁炖蛋.

The only "special tool" you need is a steamer (of course, rice cooker with steamer insert, works too).





Tag: rice cooker, rice cooker cakes, steamed cakes

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Healthy Tasty Dim Sum Alternatives

Healthy Dim Sum for you and me! How about some Glutinous Rice in "Lotus Leaf" (糯米鸡 Nuo Mi Ji in Mandarin; also named Loh Mai Kai) using Black Glutinous Rice?

Healthy Alternative: Use black glutinous rice instead of the normal cream-colored glutinous rice. For the same calories, black glutinous rice is certainly more nutrient-dense. Where to buy: Organic Black Glutinous Rice (Organic Black Sweet Sticky Rice) - 1 Lb

Pre-fry the seasoned chicken and mushrooms with minced garlic, then steam with pre-cooked black glutinous rice in the steamer.


And healthy Dim Sum Chicken Siu Mai with Ground Chicken and Spinach?

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Rice Cooker Fish, Corn and Shrimps for Appetizers, Snacks, Starters

In the past, I have used a Basic (Cook/Warm) rice cooker. The recipes in the The Everything Rice Cooker Cookbook (Everything Series) are mostly created using this basic/conventional rice cooker. Basic and serves me very well.

Currently, I am using the TATUNG TAC-6G(SF) White 6-Cup Rice Cooker Steamer which uses a stainless steel inner pot. I have decided to do without non-stick cooking surfaces, even in my rice cooker! It is a good change for me.

When the post on Braised Fragrant Pork was up, most of you were more excited over the kind of desserts I will be featuring next. What desserts will Tigerfish be featuring in the rice cooker? She can't bake! What desserts can she bring us? Well, before going to that, I did say Dim Sum? And prior to that, I wanted to make it complete by following up on Haw Mok Pla...(Chapter 3: Sensational Starters - Spicy Fish Custard, Pg. 37)...and some others.

If you have bought the book - Paperback /Kindle (thanks for the support!), here are some pictorials for you. Sorry, photos were not required in the book. Nevertheless, I do have some photos taken and to the benefit of those who have the book, you have my blog to refer to. When in doubt, select tag "rice cooker" under Search Ingredients at the column to the right. I have selectively covered a few rice cooker topics, with photos to the recipes in the book. Hope this helps.

Spicy Fish Custard

Further, remember that post on Hot Shot Sweet Corn (Chapter 3: Sensational Starters, Pg. 31) that sets some of you guessing the spices I have used?

I'll SHOW you the answer! :)

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RiceCooker "Braised" Pork, Babi Chin

This can be cooked over the stove-top. But how can I forget, "promoting" the use of a rice-cooker to cook this...^o^

In my cookbook, I call this Braised Fragrant Pork (Pg. 188), also otherwise known as Babi Chin in Nyonya Cuisine. The sweetness from the generous use of shallots with the aroma of star anise and coriander seeds marks this dish - Delicious!. Of course, the sliced red chili ups the notch.


When you set the rice cooker to "Warm", it simmers and cooks at low heat.

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Rice Cooker "Stir-Fried" Cabbage

Cooking "stir-fry" cabbage in a rice cooker is technically not a stir-fry if you define stir-fry as brisk-frying with some definitive moments of "wok hei". So I call it un-creatively Rice Cooker Cabbage here, which is the same as my cookbook 's Stir-Fried Cabbage (Pg. 248), just naming it differently.


1) Add 1tbsp of vegetable oil in the rice cooker, cover rice cooker, set to "Cook". After about a minute, the oil gets hot, throw in some thinly sliced shallots and minced garlic, and fry briskly (Note: use a wooden ladle that does NOT scratch the bottom surface of rice cooker pot). Then add thin shreds of cabbage, combine with shallots and garlic.


2) Cover the rice cooker, continue set to "Cook", let the cabbage cook till they turn tender and reduce. Note that the shallots have also caramelized a little.

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Chicken Daikon Soup 白萝卜鸡汤

There are some popular Chinese sayings: 秋天 萝卜是人参,十月萝卜小人参 - meaning the Radish (Daikon) harvest during Autumn/Fall season is equivalent to Ginseng, heightening the nutritious benefit of radish (daikon). Daikon is sometimes known as Oriental Radish or Chinese Radish. If you have never thought so highly of Daikon, perhaps you should do so..and EAT MORE!

I love pairing chicken and daikon in a soup. How do I make it my "special" soup:

(1) I add tomatoes for the "X-factor" (try it and you will know what I am talking about). Tomatoes are known to elevate the "umami" (savory/deliciousness) taste in many dishes. No doubt the Vitamin C might be partially lost in the boiling but anti-oxidative property of lycopene is retained. In fact - Note - lycopene is insoluble in water, so you need to have organic solvents or oil to tap the benefit - meaning if you eat raw tomatoes, you are not extracting the benefit of lycopene. Cooked tomatoes (in a little oil) release more digestible lycopene than raw ones.

(2) I also add turmeric for anti-inflammatory benefit (other benefits) and that little mild color.

(3) And can you see the leaves in the soup? Those are from the daikon (daikon leaves, yay!) and I only discovered quite recently that these leaves packed a power! Leaves: Vitamin A is 3x more than green veggies, calcium is 4x more, Vitamin C is 10x more than lemon. Also the leaves contain iron, beta-caroten, vitamin B. Super, right? :)

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The Everything Rice Cooker Cookbook

My book has only been in stores since August 2010 and what else could make me happier when I heard from the publisher that sales has been pretty good. I want to thank you all again, if you have bought my book as a form of support; and even if you have not, I also appreciate your encouragement over here at my blog.

If you are considering to buy any book, Barnes and Noble is currently having 50% off their Halloween collection.


Oh, just to promote The Everything Rice Cooker Cookbook again, it is also available in Barnes and Noble.

Rice Cooker Steamed Ribs with Garlic-Chinese Black Bean Sauce

Working on a cookbook is no easy feat, especially when you basically do everything from the proposal, to the cooking/experimenting; to writing/typing all the contents and to the final close of proofing the final manuscript/s. I worked on the proposal beginning of last year and before I knew it, the first deadline for manuscript was up. :O

Of course, a lot of the recipes can be done over the stove-top or partial stove-top then finished-off in the rice cooker. However, that was not the intention of this book. To make it a solely rice cooker cookbook cookbook, the publisher suggested it was best to keep most of the recipes to the rice cooker. Makes sense. So while working on the proposal, I had to remind myself: to keep the cooking in the rice cooker as much as possible. I need to prove the concept works.

Let's take, for example, the classic Fermented Chinese Black Bean Pork Ribs (豆豉排骨).  One way to cook this dish is to saute the aromatics (garlic, ginger, red chili, green onions) with the fermented black beans in a pan over the stove-top, then set the fragrant aromatics to steam with the pork ribs over a steamer. Another way is to braise/simmer the pork ribs to cook with the aromatics, after pre-frying the aromatics in the same wok or something?

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Rice Cooker Lemony Chicken with Onions and Herbs

My rice cooker cookbook at Amazon actually has one customer review? Oh wow. Good or bad, feedback is always good as a working cycle. To continue my rice cooker repertoire (soups, stocks, etc.) of recipes, here is another simple dish you could do - Lemony Chicken with Caramelized Onions and Herbs

Sounds easy and really easy.

Prolonged cooking of onions lending sweetness! Sweet, tender, caramelized. Herbs...aromatic.Squirts of lemon...citrusy. (Note: Cut 3-4 dices of smaller lemon wedges out of the regular lemon wedge to make it more "individualized" or "customized". One mini diced lemon per chicken tender strip. Isn't that good?)

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Ricecooker Soups - Clam & Corn, Cabbage & Tomato, many more

You must be super darn lucky if you order a clam dish, then each and every clam has its flesh still intact to the opened shell.

Clams sometimes detached from their shells in the process of cooking and can be found "swimming loosely" in the gravy, sauce or broth in which they are cooked.

In the event you picked up some clams (shells already "opened" - cooked), waiting to savor those juicy tender clams from the shells but OH-NO..."empty" clams shells, the clams are not there!!! Just sip the essence of clam-based gravy/sauce/broth from the shells...yes...but how nice it is if you can nibble on some sweet bursty corn kernels? That's a bonus. Lost and found. Lost something and found another?


This word: seafoodiness. Weird word but best describes clams - taste of the sea. Salty. Clams typically turn out savory in a dish so by adding sweet corn kernels, the balance of flavors leveled up.

Clam and Corn Soup [Recipe in The Everything Rice Cooker Cookbook].
How to start:

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Rice Cooker Soup-Stocks in The Everything Rice Cooker Cookbook

It was less than five years ago when I found that root vegetables: celery, carrots and onions are common in soup-stocks (chicken-stock, and/or vegetable stock). I don't remember Chinese adding such vegetables in their chicken stock. The only ingredients I recalled often used by Chinese are ginger and green onions and probably chicken bones/carcass when making chicken stock  (or even soups). Of course, there are many "secret" ingredients used by Chinese chefs and cooks the same, such as ikan bilis (江鱼仔, dried anchovies), and soy beans (黄豆).

What's in your stock?

Chicken Stock in the making

Yes. To my chicken stock goes: chicken carcass/bones; and I like to add celery, carrots and onions. And very often now, I enjoy adding tomatoes (Note: small amounts relative to other ingredients - sometimes just three wedges can be magic!) and cabbage (green cabbage or napa cabbage works for me). Then ginger, green onions and garlic too.

If you find cooking pasta and meat sauce a challenge in your rice cooker, maybe stock-making will start you easy. You will find some rice-cooker-friendly soup-stocks in my cookbook. Remember...it is not the recipe details...it is the ideas you can open up to. ^0^














Tag: chicken stock, vegetable stock, soup stock

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Chinese Meat Sauce Macaroni

Thank you Bee Yinn, for the shout out to my cookbook at Rasa Malaysia. ^o^

Recently, some recipes do not appear in my postings because I am just TIRED of typing another recipe after 300 times of doing similar (typing recipes in my manuscript) for the past many many months. Of course, the other reason being: I can't be publishing the same recipe here when it is in my book. However, this blog will be the place to enjoy photos and pictorials of my rice-cooker cooking. So hopefully, when you do get the book anytime now, my blog is complementary to the cookbook.

What says you if I made my Chinese meat sauce...and a meat sauce macaroni comes out of it ?

Wooooo...this is very yummy...believe me...

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