Making congee is easy in your Aroma rice cooker. For starters, you’ll need to measure out exactly how much jasmine rice you want. Small size of grains requires exact measurements for proper consistency. In my case, I use one-half cup. Pour it into the inner pot (the black inner pot) and fill with water just enough for a serving of rice.
The way you get that done is by rinsing the rice in order to wash away any starchy or dusty stuff that might be clinging on. Swirl around your grains inside a pot of water, then tip it out into sink. Repeat til the water’s clear, which will also wash away some of the excess starch.
Cooking Process and Results
Next you’ll pour a half cup of rice into the pot and top that with seven cups of water. That’s the classic 1 to 14 ratio, and all that water will give the final dish its porridge-like texture. Don’t be surprised by how much water there is, it needs to be like that.
For some seasoning, include julienned carrots, thinly sliced mushrooms and even a pinch of salt. Let this cook in the water, then heat it up to make a very easy broth.
Pull out the pot, set it in the cooker, and find the right setting on its black control panel. Even though it has buttons for quinoa and brown rice, you hit the white rice button. A light goes on under that button, and red dashes flash on the digital display to confirm your selection.
No other changes are necessary. Simply feed it into the machine, let it sit for approximately 120 minutes, then allow the machine to go to work. It handles the timing and heat automatically; no stirring is required!
You can check on it occasionally, but nothing require attention.
There’s nothing for you to do but periodically check on it. Letting it go for that length of time totally breaks down the grains.
At the end of the timer, you have a thick, creamy bowl of soup (rice). All the veggies are softened and cooked through. Taste a little by ladling some out in a mug. It should be smooth and uniform throughout, with no more lumps. No guessing required when making rice porridge this way.
The ratio is just right, each time, without fail. There’s no need to babysit on the stovetop; the machine does all of the simmering for you (and it does it safely).
The result? It is a steaming hot dish that tastes even better than expected.