When you hear about an appliance named a "rice cooker", you would naturally think that it's used to make ... surprise! Rice. And that's true. But in addition to being able to make a perfect pot of rice, a rice cooker is a secret meal helper in kitchens all over the globe. Everything from rice-based stews to soups to legumes to specialty grains can benefit from a rice cooker and a creative cook.
Rice cookers operate on a very simple principle. Water boils at a specific temperature and, in the absence of it, a dish will rapidly rise in temperature. Add a method for registering that temperature change and a way to switch into a warming (or off) mode, and you've got a basic rice cooker. It's an ingenious way to make perfect rice -- brown, white, sushi or basmati -- it can handle it all.
But, you can also use the same appliance to make any number of other great dishes. Since there's no substitute for getting into the fray, I'm going to offer a few great dishes to illustrate my point and introduce you to the joys of a rice cooker.
