How to Steam Vegetables in your Rice Cooker

One of the extra benefits of having a Rice Cooker is that you can also use it very effectively as a steamer for your vegetables. It is very simple to do and also works very well.

To use your rice cooker as a steamer you will need to use the steamer basket that came with your rice cooker. That is what the metal thing with all the holes in it is for.

First place couple of cups of water in the bottom of the cooker pan... yes you still need to place the pan in the cooker... do not place water in the cooker without the bottom pan in place! Then place that metal basket on the top of the bottom pan and place your veggies in there. They can be either frozen, fresh, or thawed, it does not matter, but may affect your cooking times.

Then comes the good part....you get to season your veggies with whatever it is that will make them taste even better! Salt, Pepper, and even a Teriyaki sauce will work well... but you can spice them up with minced onion, parsley, garlic powder or anything else you might think sounds good.

Then just place the lid on the top of the basket and turn the rice cooker on by pressing the cook or steam button. The cooker will heat up to produce steam. When the vegetables begin to soften, check them and turn off the cooker when they get to the softness that you desire. Do not over cook them as you will loose the flavor, and nutrients, that you are trying to preserve by using the steamer.

Once the veggies are done, some people enjoy melting butter, margarine, or other similar things on them to give them even more flavor.

Most of all enjoy those great veggies!!!