June 2011 Cookbook of the Month WILL BE Seductions of Rice!

[bayoucook]

Get your books and recipes ready for June. A seperate thread will be the official one for the cookbook on June 1st.

[herby]

I want to share a story about this book. Last Saturday I finally decided that I have enough kitchen stuff unpacked to enable me to make sticky rice, dashi and something vegetable from the Japanese section. Off I went to a favourite oriental store and spent a lot of time there looking for bonito flakes and such. Finally I asked a fellow shopper - Japanese woman - where to find a few things. She was super helpful and told me that nobody makes dashi old fashion way any more and tried to steer me in a more modern direction. So, I said that I just bought "Seductions" and want to try a few recipes as written. "Oh, Niomi's book", she says, "she has other good books. I know her - she is a friend". Amazing! This woman, Mariko, loves to cook and has about 5,000 cookbooks! She also works in a building 5 minute walk from where I work - next thing I know, we are exchanging emails and planning to get together for a coffee later in the week.

And I still have not made my sticky rice - it has been soaking for 48 hours already - will make it tonight and hope for the best:)

[Breadcrumbs]

What a small world and, an amazing encounter Herby. How wonderful that you've found a kindred spirit in your new neighbourhood, a wonderful omen I think! You'll have to keep us posted on this friendship, and share any insights into Niomi's books. Lucky us!!!

[Allegra_K]

That's a lovely story! It's so nice to meet like-minded people unexpectedly like that.

[amyzan]

Thanks for sharing this heartwarming story!

[Goblin]

Just got my copy of SOR this morning from Amazon.com AND got my right arm out of a sling after surgery and I'm rarin' to go! For those who plan on using a rice cooker at least some of the time, there is a brief discussion on p. 7 about their use, including the statement: "Though we prefer to use a heavy pot, rice cookers do work very well and reliably, especially with Japanese-style (medium grain) rices." I've just ordered a rice-cooker and will see how this works out!

The book looks wonderful and definitely will be bedside reading, as well as stove-side cooking. And I never would have discovered it if it hadn't been for COTM-gurus! Thanks!

[rabaja]

I made one of the rice pudding recipes yesterday and it was a great success. Totally simple, creamy and delicious comfort food.
I'm looking forward to actually participating in next months COTM, which hasn't been happening for me for the last couple of months.

[alliegator]

Looks like a great choice!! This will be my first go at COTM. A great place for me to start as I love rice and probably eat it 4 times or more a week. Hooray for some future favorites :)
Just ordered mine from Amazon.

[Allegra_K]

I hope you enjoy the book as much as I do! It's one of my all-time favourites. I've only been trying the COTM for the past two months, but it's really fun and informative (not to mention delicious!); it really expands one's cooking repertoire!
.

[Gio]

Ive been browsing through this wonderful book and I'm thoroughly impressed. I don't know what I expected but I can tell this is going to be a terrific COTM. So many different recipes. Such a variety of food. I especially like the introduction I'll get to Thai, Japanese and Senagalese cooking. From one of the two Thai cookbooks I have, I've only made a simple vegetable stir-fry. so I'm excited to cook other dishes. Plus, I've never cooked African food so that will be interesting. Also, I think it's a good segue from Ottolenghi. Can't wait to get started...!

[bayoucook]

Wow Gio - maybe I should take another look at it! I was afraid of being able to find the exotic ingredients.

[qianning]

There are some pretty substantial sections that aren't exotic at all. Including one subtitled "The North American Way" :)

[Gio]

That's right. The chapters are set up according to different countries or regions of the world. In each chapter the rice recipes for that particular country come first, probably a few of the unusual rices may need some searching out. After those recipes come dishes that are served with those rices. The recipes are clear and concise with good intro notes and suggestions for pairings.

[Gio]

Honestly, Bayou... there are not many exotic ingredients at all.. in fact as I type I can't recall any that made me wonder about.

[amyzan]

I made an ILL, since it wasn't in our local system. I'm thinking I'll surely have SofR by June. I voted for it even though I knew I'd have to borrow it long distance. I've enjoyed these authors' other books, and relish the idea of including those who must eat gluten free.

[The Dairy Queen]

I have this book. Maybe I shall dig it out!

~TDQ

[rabaja]

We've missed you! I hope you will.

[The Dairy Queen]

Thank you! I've missed all of you, too.

I saw some discussion in the voting threads about using rice cookers. For those of you who have cooked from SOR, have you had success in using electric rice cookers for at least some of the recipes? (I have a cuisinart--not my fav, to be honest, as it always does burn some rice). I always figure a rice cooker would be frowned upon by the authors of a book like this.

Also, I need to avoid white rice. Is brown rice an option for many of the recipe?

Thanks!

~TDQ

[Allegra_K]

The authors admitted to using a rice cooker once in a while! I don't have one, so I can't comment on how the recipes would turn out, though I'm sure many others will be utilizing their appliances for this cotm.
As for brown rice, there are so many different brown rice varieties available now that I'm sure each one can be used for the recipes in the book....and don't forget about red and black rice!

[qianning]

And lots of specific instructions on brown rice in the book itself.

[Gio]

Yes, and I noticed rice cooker instructions for several recipes as part of the cooking instructions.

[The Dairy Queen]

I'll admit: I'm drawn to the recipes labelled: "What to cook when you're almost too tired to cook" as well as "On a hot summer night."

Yes, indeedy, between these recipes and my handy rice cooker, I think I can make an appearance in June.

~TDQ

[blue room]

An appearance? How 'bout a performance!

[The Dairy Queen]

HA! We'll see. I'm spread so thin right now it was easier to ask you Chowhounds whether there are rice-cooker and brown (red/black) rice-friendly recipes instead of finding the book on my shelf and looking it up myself. It wasn't until yesterday when I walked past the shelf for some other reason that I even bothered to see if, yes, I actually do own this book (I do!) and whether there's anything appealing in there (there is!)

I'm a little disappointed that all they do for wild rice is include a basic recipe for it and then say something along the lines of, "Serve it alongside whatever you'd serve brown rice with." I'd have loved some other options, but, then again, wild rice isn't actually rice, so I guess I should be glad they included it at all!

~TDQ

[Allegra_K]

I agree, the book seems to be lacking in recipes containing brown or wild rice, other than just the cooking instructions. I wish also that the authors would touch down on some eastern European cuisines and Central/South american. Though they really do span a large portion of the globe already. Perhaps we could petition to have a "Seductions of Rice: Volume Two" commissioned.....! Heh.

[amyzan]

Hmmm, I would be tempted to think that was due to the authors being aware wild rice isn't botanically related to rice at all. But, I just got the book interlibrary loan and took note that there isn't mention of that little fact! (Kind of odd, since they're usually so circumspect?) So, as much as I love wild grass, er, rice, maybe it's appropriate that there aren't so many recipes. After all, it isn't really rice at all.

[qianning]

mmm, actually they do mention the difference in species between wild and cultivated rice, but it is kinda buried in a paragraph on pg. 384 (the end of the preface on "the north american way"). for some reason i decided to start reading this book from the back, so read north america first, then senegal, and am now in the med.

[greedygirl]

I have the Cuisinart as well - it's rubbish, isn't it? Have just upgraded to an all-singing, all-dancing Zojirushi which I love.

I'm away for a lot of June but I think I may *need* this book anyway.

[The Dairy Queen]

Oh, I th ink you definitely need this book! What's more useful than a book about 1000 ways to use rice from many different cultures, especially to a person who has a brand new rice cooker?

I'm envious of your new Zojirushi. I put that Cuisinart (aka rubbish) on my wedding registry without doing any research and have regretted it ever since. Which model did you get?

~TDQ

[Breadcrumbs]

Have you used your Zoji yet gg? Mine just arrived yesterday.

I've never used a rice cooker before and I don't know if I was just having at totally clueless moment or what but I found it next to impossible to understand how to use it w the book that came along w it!!

I couldn't find any mention of what a "Zoji-sized" green or white rice cup would yield yet the water level marks required you to fill to a "rice yield" level.

Then there were these drawings of rice grains like I was supposed to be able to look at my rice and recognize it in the drawings or something!! Yikes!!

In the end I Googled "rice cooker brown basmati rice" and followed a you-tube video in a language I don't speak w the hopes I'd get something remotely edible before dinner time!! When the Zoji played it's happy "twinkle twinkle little star" song as it started up all I could think was "To the moon Alice!!!" Ah well, we'll see how it goes I guess! It's been about 40 mins and now I can at least smell rice cooking.

Sorry for the rant. I'd welcome feedback from other Zoji owners ( or maybe just the number of a good therapist!!). I know someone mentioned a good cookbook to buy if you have a Zoji so maybe I'll go back to the Cookware board and see what I can find.

[Goblin]

Breadcrumbs, I feel your pain (and your rant.) I received my Sanyo rice cooker yesterday and fired it up for last night's dinner--couldn't understand the (inadequate) instructions about which level to fill the water for how many cups of rice. Did what I thought was correct for two cups of rice, and ended up with crunchy jasmine rice. Obviously, I did it wrong, but. . . but. . .. how to do it right?
It's not a Zoji, but it isn't any more explanatory!

[Breadcrumbs]

Ahh Goblin, I'm so glad I'm not alone here and sorry to hear about your jasmine rice.

I just came back to report that my rice was mushy, definitely overdone. Very disappointing because it took about 2 hours! It tasted fine but the texture was nasty.

Looks like we're stuck. Hopefully someone will come to our aid here!! If not, I'll post a question on the Cookware thread and see if we can get some help.

[herby]

I have not used Zoji but my Cuisinart came with a little plastic cup that is the "cup" measure for it. I fill it with rice as many times as I need and add water to an appropriate mark on the rice cooker bowl - one for one. I find that for basmati I need a scant water measure for it to come out perfect.

[lilham]

I have used various models of rice cookers from the old one buttons to the new fuzzy logics. The markings on the bowl correspond to the number of cups of rice you are cooking. There might be multiple water level markings on your bowl, one for white rice, one for porridge. The rice cooker should come with a tiny plastic cup measure. I have never compared it so I'm not sure if it's a metric cup.

[lilham]

Also if you are cooking east Asian type of white rice, The old way of measuring how much water to add is by placing your hand, palms down on top of the rice. Then add water until your hand is just covered. Its something I learned from mum but have never used it myself since I always use the cup measures on the bowl.

[greedygirl]

I found with the Cuisinart I needed a lot less water than the markings said. I used to measure the water with the cup on a rough 2:1 ratio. Too often the rice would either burn on the bottom or be mushy.

[greedygirl]

Did you not get a cup with it? Mine is pretty straightforward - you use the little cup and then add the appropriate amount of water depending on whether you're making white or brown rice. I've made basmati and brown jasmine so far - both were perfect, although the brown rice takes quite a long time (over an hour!) so you need to plan a bit. One cup is enough for two moderate portions.

[Goblin]

I have to say thanks to all the helpful respondents, who caused me to go back and find that little plastic cup that was, indeed, enclosed with my Sanyo rice cooker. Not realizing its purpose at the time, I used an actual 8-oz. measuring cup instead, which meant that the little "lines" for water on the sides of the rice-cooker insert were not accurate and thus I got really underdone rice. Pretty stupid of me, but I protest (weakly) that the directions weren't that clear. . . .oh heck, I was in too much of a hurry. . . . happens more than I'd like to admit! Anyway, thanks everyone!

I love the old-fashoined methods like lilham's idea of measuring water by placing a hand on top of the rice and covering said hand with water. The authors of SoR also suggest measuring the amount of water by sticking your finger in and filling water up to the first joint.

I'm going to give the Sanyo a second chance using the right size cup!

[amyzan]

If you have the same model as me, and I suspect the Sanyo cup is likely the same size for any model, it's capacity is about 6 ounces. Because I'm accustomed to cooking and baking with a scale rather than measuring cups, it's more convenient to know this little tidbit. Just throwing that out there for any scale users...

[rainbowbrown]

Very good. My library has it. I am thrilled, as a first timer, to take part in COTM.

[roxlet]

Amazon has remaindered new copies for $7.99 plus shipping for a total of $11.98.

[L.Nightshade]

There are also a couple (used) on ebay for $6 or $7, including shipping.