I'd second Bruce's post above. I have a Zojirushi and rarely use it; I prefer rice fluffy and separate rather than sticky, and I haven't been able to produce non-sticky rice in a rice cooker. My technique is very similar to Bruce's. All you need is a saucepan that has a tight fitting steamer insert top. Boil the rice in the bottom of the saucepan for 8-10 minutes in a volume of water at least 3 to 4 times more than the volume of rice. (you can add a little salt and/or butter to the water if you want.) After it boils for 8-10 minutes, strain it into the steamer insert at the sink; run hot water through the rice until it runs clear to remove excess starch. Put about an inch of water in the now-empty bottom of the saucepan, put it on to boil, place the steamer insert with the boiled rice on top, cover the whole shebang. When it comes to a vigorous boil cut down the heat to medium and start timing; ten minutes later the rice will be perfectly fluffy and separate. Basically boil for 8-10, drain & rinse, steam for 10. This works well with long grain American rice. It also works with basmati, although you won't get the exquisitely separate grains you'll find in Indian cookery.

LindaC, it's all in what you're comfortable with. Remember, I'm the person who has had a couple of house fires and so I don't ever light a fire in the fireplace and I refuse to burn candles. It's my own particular phobia... I do have an old Presto pressure cooker which I don't use a lot but I really like it for certain thins. Elery uses it to make beans, I'd prefer to just dump mine in the crockpot in the morning. I do use it to make chop suey for Ashley, even slightly tough round comes out fork tender. I don't like taditional chili in the crockpot, the ground beef "overcooks". I am a huge consumer of vegetables, though, and sometimes make a vegetarian chili that's delicious. Plus, like Chase, it gets used as a "warming" device for office potlucks, to keep soup warm and even to make oatmeal because I'm not a morning person and would never make oatmeal before I go to work, and I detest the instant stuff. Annie

FOAS, the last batch of my char siu bao I used a recipe from a book "Dim Sum, The Art of Chinese Tea Lunch" by Ellen Leong Blonder. When I first saw the book I was not impressed with the cover and presentation. It has that kind of humble appearance that doesn't attract one's attention immediately. After reading the book and trying out a couple of recipes, I became very impressed. As always, I modified her recipes for my own convenience. This is what I did for a bao dough: Make a sponge: 2 tsp active dry yeast 1 C lukewarm water 1/2 C sugar 1-1/2 C cake flour (I used part unbleached** and part cornstarch to make 1-1/2 C of flour mix) The recipe suggested proofing the yeast in warm water for 10 minutes prior to making the sponge, but I skipped this part. I knew my yeast was good so no need to do that. I simply added everything together, stir to smooth, let sit in a warm, draft-free place for an hour. To make the dough: 1/2 tsp salt 1 T rice vinegar (I used white vinegar) 2 C cake flour (once again, I used unbleached**/cornstarch mix), plus about 1/4 C for dusting the board 1 T baking powder 1/4 tsp baking soda (I skipped this) 1 TBSP vegetable shortening (Traditional Chinese buns used lard; I had some so I used it) ** If you don't want yellow-ish buns, you may want to use AP flour instead of unbleached. Even AP flour won't give you that bright white Chinese buns we see in restaurants, but AP flour definitely will produce whiter color than unbleached. For very white buns, you will need to use special flour i.e. Hong Kong flour, for the best results.** Stir the salt and vinegar into the sponge starter. In another bowl, sift together the 2 C cake flour (or the flour mix), baking powder, and baking soda (none for me). Stir the flour mixture into the yeast mixture. When combined, add the shortening (lard) and work it in with your fingers. The dough will become a sticky, somewhat shaggy mass. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board and knead it for about 15 minutes, or until smooth, adding flour as necessary. Grease a clean, large bowl with a little shortening, place the dough in the bowl, and cover it with a damp cloth or plastic wrap. Let it rise in a warm, draft-free place for 1 hour. (If you have made a bao filling ahead and refrigerated it, take it out now to let it come back to room temperature.) Lightly punch the dough down, and then proceed to shape the dough for wrapping. This recipe will yield 18 large or 24 medium buns, depends on the size you want. Placed wrapped buns on wax paper (2-3 inch squares), at least 1" apart, in steamer (I used bamboo) and let rise for 30 minutes. Bring the water in the steamer to a boil over high heat. Steam a single tier of buns at a time (I used two tiers together), over high heat for 12 (15 for me) minutes. Repeat 2 or 3 batches, if you steam one tier at a time, until all buns are steamed. Serve hot. I've built a unbleached flour sourdough starter last week and this morning it looked ready. I am playing with it now to see if I can make sourdough char siu bao with unbleached/rice flour. So far the dough looks very soupy. I am not going to add more flour until the dough has risen to double. If in four hours the dough is still spongy I will add more flour into it. Since this is sourdough, it will take 7-8 hours to get the dough ready. Probably won't know the outcomes until tonight. Even if this doesn't work out, I will learn something from the experiment and have fun with it. Keep smiling! Cheers! Al

It is tasty, IâÂÂm very happy with it! I cook for the High School Band so I try for 1) Easy to replicate 2) Tastes good! and 3) Economical. Therefore, I use Pace Picante Sauce (medium) since I can buy it in bulk at CostCo. :-) I usually throw the ingredients into my 60 cup rice cooker when feeding just the kids, but I will be feeding 150 at the upcoming awards banquet (parents invited), so I need to make more. I have access to the school kitchen (commercial ovens) - Yea! So preparing the rice in steam table trays seems like the best way to go. I made the 9 x 13 last night and it was perfect, and IâÂÂm half tempted to make a large one too, but I would be wasting so much! Oh! Perhaps I can freeze some and see how that works! Two tests in one might just justify the excess⦠My banquet meal will be Chicken Enchiladas (recipe below), Spanish Rice, Re-fried Beans, Mexican Caesar Salad, and Watermelon Slices. I think I can do all of this for about $3.00 pp. When I triple this recipe - I do 4 layers because the steam table pans are deeper, I use 12 tortillas per layer, and cook it for 75 minutes. I have done these before and they came out Great! Stacked Chicken Enchiladas - 10 1 Costco Chicken shredded (4 cups) 8 ounces sour cream 1 package Taco Seasoning (1/4 cup bulk) 1 can Black Beans 1 can Corn (or 1/2 bag TJâÂÂs frozen Roasted Corn) 15 Corn Tortillas 1 (28 ounce) can green Chile Enchilada Sauce (Yellow Label) 12 ounces Shredded Cheese Optional Garnish: Chopped Green Onions, sliced black olives, chopped tomatoes Directions Combine Chicken, Sour Cream, Taco Seasoning, Beans and Corn. Divide in half. Spray 9 x 13 pan with Pam. First Layer: Dip 5 tortillas into Enchilada Sauce and place on bottom of pan. Tear to fit if necessary. Spread 1/2 Chicken Mixture on top. Spread 4 ounces of cheese on top Second Layer: Repeat First Layer. Third Layer: Dip 6 tortillas into Sauce and place in pan. Sprinkle 4 ounces of cheese on top. Cover and cook for 40 minutes @350. Remove cover, sprinkle Garnish on top if using and cook until top looks nice.