Here are the steps for making a whole food plant based (WFPB) soup or stew in a Rice Cooker. I'm illustrating an Asian-inspired dish but there are endless variations on this theme for you to create!
Equipment needed besides a rice cooker (preferably with stainless steel or ceramic bowl and with a steamer): a wooden spoon, a cutting board, a knife, a measuring cup, and a small strainer. You don't need a stove or any other pots and pans.
(I like this small Oster Rice Cooker with steamer from Target: https://www.target.com/p/oster-174-duraceramic-6-cup-rice-cooker-black-ckstrc61k-teco/-/A-50972594#lnk=sametab&sneakTo=50972594 As of this writing the price is around $20.00.)
Ingredients are in bold type. These ingredients are just examples! This post is meant as a springboard for your ideas for your own dishes!
The "Elapsed Times" will give you an idea of how much time you will actually spend preparing the dish. But once prepared, this dish could easily be the basis for at least three other meals. These times are for a dish using brown rice or small lentils. For a dish using quinoa or small lentils or pre-cooked beans the times will be shorter! (See the Super Quick Meals post for this).
1. Total Time elapsed: 0.
Coarsely chop an onion (or 1/2 onion if you wish) and one or two jalapeño peppers. Also if you wish, fine chop a clove or two of garlic and/or some thin slices of fresh ginger.
Place the above ingredients in about 1/2 C water in the rice cooker bowl and set on cook. The rice cooker should start simmering in about 5 minutes, so let the veggies simmer for about 5 minutes more before adding anything else. Do not remove these veggies.
(This will make the basis of a flavorful broth, but if you prefer, you can substitute a salt-free veggie broth such as Kitchen Basics throughout this recipe.)
Measure (and rinse in your strainer) between 1/4 and 1/2 cup of brown rice (short or long grain) and double that quantity of water, and add to the rice cooker.
(This is when you might use instead lentils or split peas or small dried beans -- such as mung or adzuki -- but this is an Asian themed meal so we're just doing rice. The water will need a few minutes to start simmering again. )
Let it simmer while you do veggie prep!
All of the above should take about 15 Minutes.
2. Veggie Prep! While the rice is cooking, wash the veggies you intend to use and prepare them for your dish.
a. First, prepare the veggies you would like to steam (broccoli heads, cauliflower florets, asparagus, brussels sprouts halved, etc.) When the water in the rice cooker is simmering, set these in the steamer.
KEEP AN EYE ON THIS SO THAT THEY DON'T GET MUSHY! TAKE THEM OUT AND SET ASIDE WHILE STILL FAIRLY CRISPM AS THEY WILL CONTINUE TO COOK A BIT.
b. Chop into bite sized pieces the veggies that will be cooked with the rice.
Here are some of the veggies you might want to use. They are non-leafy (mostly they need a little more cooking time): carrots, parsnip, kohl rabi bulbs, broccoli stems, green beans, potatoes, sweet potatoes, jicama, beets (watch out - they'll color everything), etc. and whatever else you'd like. Be adventurous! Try new things!
Place them on your counter in order of the cooking time they need. For example carrots may take a little longer, mushrooms a little less time and chard very little time. Start adding veggies when the rice is partially cooked.
When the rice is almost fully cooked (sample a few grains), you can add shorter cooking things like mushrooms (my faves are shiitake), fennel, and tougher leafy veggies like chopped cabbage, collards or kale, as well as bok choy stems, celery, etc.
Check a few grains from the rice cooker from time to time. Brown rice will need around 25 minutes to cook. If you are using lentils, a little less, and millet or quinoa a lot less. it will probably take around 20 minutes to cook. When it is almost all cooked you can go to the next step.
c. Last come the more tender leaves that just need to soften briefly. The best way to prepare these is to roll them into a tight cylinder or ball and slice very thin slices. This is called "chiffonade" and it looks nice and lets them cook fast! This is the best thing to do with leaves of bok choy, chard, napa cabbage, etc. You can cut the heavy stems out first.
A few extras:
A few small cubes of firm tofu near the end and some small cubes of jicama are nice in an Asian themed dish. Jicama is a lot like water chestnut. If you can get fresh bean sprouts add them at the very end just to warm a little, and add some low sodium tamari sauce (a milder, gluten-free soy sauce).
For some Mexican flavor consider adding poblano or other mild or medium hot peppers and some chopped tomatoes, and chili seasoning, or even a favorite commercial salsa.
Depending on what grains you were using your total elapsed time is now around 30 minutes.
Now you can also add the steamed veggies.
This may come right up to the top of the 6 cup cooker. No problem. It simmers gently and will not boil over. Adjust the liquid if you wish for more of a soup or more of a stew. When you have mixed everything well and it is heated through unplug it so you don't overcook.
Some Extras: Go Easy!
To perk up flavor at the table consider adding low sodium tamari (gluten-free soy sauce), Sriracha sauce, other condiments you like, or one of the many commercial salt-free seasonings or even nutritional yeast.
Once you know what kinds of flavors you like you can even add some of these during the cooking process, but many seasonings are best added later, as cooking can destroy the benefits of miso (high sodium so go easy!) and nutritional yeast.
You have spent no longer than 30-45 minutes making a main course (just add a salad if you like and fruit for dessert) AND you also have frozen the basis for one or two more meals!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Quick Meals for Another Day!
You can store leftovers in fridge for a day or two but try to save TWO CONTAINERS (such as the Solo Lunch and Go containers) FREEZER! These will be for meals another day!
If you want to make lunches for work, you can use freeze meals in the disposable Solo Lunch and Go containers referenced the the "Small Appliances" post, they will freeze into "ice blocks" that fit perfectly inside your LUNCH CROCK for later warming.
There will be room to "freshen" them up a bit with a little lemon or lime juice and other seasoning, and you can even add more fresh chopped leafy greens that will soften quickly in the lunch crock and add a note of freshness as well.
If you always eat at home just reheat these "ice blocks" later in the Rice Cooker, setting it on "warm," or even on "cook" if you are in a hurry, once again adding fresh leafy greens near the end.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
Summary:
This is an example of a main course soup or stew (depending on how much you decide to dilute it) for THREE or FOUR generous main courses. And you only have minimal equipment to clean up. You've used only one pot -- the little container of your rice cooker which will not burn or scorch!
This has ENDLESS variations. You can use lentils or small beans or quinoa or millet and add other kinds of veggies, always adding a LOT of green leafy veggies. You can use a homemade or commercial salt-free vegetable broth or just plain water using peppers and onions to make a savory broth. You can vary amounts, seasoning, etc.
Experiment, try different combinations (I'm crazy about the combination of beets and fennel, or sweet potato and squash) and keep notes on the ones you like best! I may add a few posts on my faves.
The order is pretty much the same for every variation:
1. Cut up the "broth" veggies (onions, hot peppers such as jalapeños), garlic, etc. and start them simmering in water (or even in broth if you wish).
2. Add the rice, lentils, small beans, etc. Quinoa or millet can be added later.
NOTE: Large beans (garbanzos, etc., should be cooked ahead of time, even days ahead. and you can do this easily in the rice cooker. If you use canned beans you can add these near the end with the shorter cooking vegetables).
3. While this is cooking, chop the other veggies.
4. Add the other veggies in the order of how long it takes them to cook.
5. Set aside enough for 2 freezer containers. Best to season these more when you are ready to use them.
6. Eat the remainder -- seasoned as you wish!
When you are ready to eat the frozen portions, heat the food (not the container!) in the Lunch Crock, adding fresh lemon or lime juice, fresh parsley or cilantro, and/or other seasonings you like and a good sized handful of fine chopped "fast cook" greens - spinach and chard are ideal here! This adds a "fresh cooked" flavor.
Bottom line: You've spent less than hour making a great dinner for two.
On the other nights, or for lunch, you are just heating up your frozen dish and adding seasoning and more greens!
If you made a container of hummus and/or guacasalsa, and a large batch of Mighty Muffins for a side dish (or even dessert) -- and a quick green salad, you'll have a few whole food plant based meals that will take very little prep time.
Note: Plenty of other dishes freeze well. If you're not sure, test a few ounces whenever you make a new dish. You'll quickly see which ones are fine after freezing and which ones are not!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
