By the eighth week of second term, many students’ appreciation of catered halls has waned considerably: draconian rules related to the number of items one can take, chocolate pizza and other disastrous menu experiments, long queues, and very early opening hours. Everyone has a different solution – skipping breakfast for cereal, dodging dinner for Domino’s, or stockpiling the fridge with microwave meals. But in the long run, it’s unhealthy and the costs add up – especially after upgrading the microwave meals to the pricier variety containing less horse.
An easy solution is the rice cooker, which costs about £20. Besides rice, I have been able to make fried and scrambled eggs, French toast, pasta, soup noodles, fish, and steamed vegetables. Rice cookers are halls-friendly, being easy to use and easy to clean, and having a lid that keeps the smell in and away from fire alarms. I share some recipe ideas below.
Scrambled Eggs – 10 minutes.
Ingredients
Eggs (as many as desired)
Oil or butter
Milk
Salt
Directions
1. Heat the rice cooker (most just have one button that you push to turn on).
2. Crack eggs and add with a pinch of salt and milk to a bowl. Whisk with a fork.
3. Add oil or butter to lubricate the cooking surface.
4. Pour the egg mixture into the pot.
5. Once the egg mixture starts to solidify at the edges, put the cooked part into the middle, letting the raw mixture flow to the edges.
6. When there is very little uncooked egg mixture left, start to stir everything together until there is no more liquid.
7. Remove eggs, plate up and enjoy!
French Toast – 25 minutes.
Ingredients
2 eggs
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 thick slices of old, slightly stale bread
Butter
Maple syrup
Directions
1. Heat the rice cooker.
2. Whisk eggs, milk, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
3. Dip each slice of bread into the egg mixture, letting it soak in the liquid.
4. Melt butter in the pot.
5. Fry the bread until it is brown both sides, flipping when necessary.
6. Remove and Eat!
Rice with vegetables and fish – 40 minutes.
Ingredients
1-2 cups rice (white or brown)
Vegetables (cabbage, Chinese cabbage, kale, etc.)
Raw fish (whole or filleted)
Directions
1. Wash the rice in cold water.
2. Once washed, add cold water and start to cook.
3. After about 20 minutes most of the water will have been absorbed by the rice. At this time, add in the raw fish and vegetables, then close the lid again.
4. Wait until the rice cooker’s timer ends/it switches to the “keep warm” setting.
5. Remove from cooker, eat and enjoy!
By Cameron Ho.
All images by Cameron.
exeposedev 