Wild Rice, Using a Rice Cooker

Baked Wild Rice, etc. --

Yes, Hon, you can use your rice cooker!

BAKED WILD RICE

1 cup hand-harvested wild rice*
3 cups chicken broth
Seasoning to taste

Rice Cooker Instructions:

Rinse rice well.

Place in inner container of rice cooker, add the chicken broth and stir.
Plug in, push the button and go do something else for an hour.
When the button pops up, as with any rice, allowing rice to sit for a few minutes will help.
Do not remove cover unnecessarily but you might want to check for tenderness before bringing it to the table.

*I don't know about you, but if I have hand-harvested rice, I am going to rinse it. How would you know if it's hand harvested? Beats me, but the original proportions are from a store in Minnesota where they may sell other kinds of wild rice.

If you do not have a rice cooker, you can indeed bake this rice in the oven.

Oven Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375° F.
Rinse rice well. Place in casserole and add the chicken broth. Stir. Bake at 375° F., covered for 35 to 45 minutes, then continue to cook uncovered for 15 more minutes or until tender.

The recipes below appear with other pilafs in another section of this site, published here just to show you can get a bit more "fancy" if you like --

WILD-RICE PILAF

1 1/2 cups wild rice
3 quarts boiling water
1 1/2 tablespoons salt

Drop the rice in the boiling salted water and boil uncovered for 5 minutes. Drain thoroughly.

3 tablespoons each: finely minced onions, carrots and celery
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
1 1/2 cups beef stock or canned beef bouillon
Bouquet garni
Salt (do not use salt if using canned beef stock or bouillon)
Freshly ground pepper to taste

While the rice is boiling, cook the minced vegetables slowly in the butter in the inner container of the rice cooker for 5 to 6 minutes until tender but not browned. Then add the drained rice and stir over moderate heat for 2 minutes to coat it with butter. Add the stock, bouquet garni, and salt and pepper to taste.
Cover the rice cooker and push the button. When the button pops up, check to see if rice is tender. If not, try adding a little more liquid, cover and push button again.
Wild rice is best if allowed to sit 15 to 20 minutes after button pops up before serving.
This is one kind of rice that may be cooked in advance and reheated just before serving. That eliminates some of the pressure of checking for tenderness at the last minute.
If you do not have an Oriental-style rice cooker, do contact me for directions for cooking this on stovetop. That is Julia Child’s approach and directions can be found in the first volume of Mastering the Art..

WILD RICE WITH MUSHROOMS AND ALMONDS

Note--This recipe takes quite a bit longer than typical rice. Allow at least an hour from the moment you push the button on the rice cooker until you are ready to sit down and serve the rice. If you double the recipe, increase that time to at least 1 1/2 hours. Of course, if you are entertaining, this is great, since you can really entertain during that time or work on other dishes, and forget about the rice, especially if you prepare the almonds and mushrooms ahead of time and just set them aside until ready to add to the rice just before serving.

5 tablespoons butter 1/4 cup slivered blanched almonds
4 tablespoons finely chopped onions 1/2 pound firm, fresh mushrooms,
1 cup wild rice wiped with a dampened towel,
2 cups chicken stock, fresh trimmed, and cut lengthwise,
or canned including the stems, into 1/8-
1 teaspoon salt inch-thick slices
Freshly ground black pepper

In inner container of rice cooker, melt 2 T. of the butter over moderate heat. When the foam begins to subside, add 2 tablespoons of the onions and, stirring frequently, cook for about 5 minutes, until they are soft and translucent but not brown.
Add the wild rice and stir until the grains glisten with butter. Then pour in the stock and 1/2 teaspoon of salt (unless stock is well seasoned), and stir. Cover the container with a double thickness of aluminum foil and set the cover in place. (I melted the button on our rice cooker once doing this. Be careful the foil is not bent in such a way that it focuses steam from the container down onto the button. Believe me, it is possible.) Push the button.
Meanwhile, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a 10-inch skillet and brown the almonds for a minute or so, stirring constantly so that they color delicately and evenly. With a slotted spoon, transfer the almonds to paper towels to drain.
Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter to the skillet and melt over moderate heat. When the foam subsides, add the remaining 2 tablespoons onions and stir for about 5 minutes, until they are soft and translucent but not brown.
Add the mushrooms and, stirring frequently, cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until the moisture they give off has evaporated. Do not let the mushrooms brown. Season with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt and a few grindings of pepper and set aside.
To serve, combine the wild rice and mushrooms in a heated bowl and toss them together gently but thoroughly. Scatter the almonds on top and serve at once.

This really is a great dish to make for company, since most people like wild rice but rarely cook it themselves. The basic recipe serves 4; by doubling, the recipe can serve 8 to 10.

(adapted (from Time-Life, American Cooking: The Northwest)

These recipes have been kitchen tested. Once in a while the rice is undercooked. Ghosts in the kitchen? Or trolls? At any rate do not become discouraged. Wild rice is a real crowd pleaser.

If you are entertaining and a bit doubtful about outcome of any of the above, an absolute guaranteed winner--and yes, use the rice cooker-- is a package of Uncle Ben's Original White and Wild Rice Mix which includes a packet of stock flavoring and spices in addition to the rice mixture. We use this product often at the ski condo. Be sure you get the original version.

These recipes have been kitchen tested.

You can find the above recipes by tapping here on the Home Cookin' index.

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