The easy to use microwave rice steamer makes cooking great rice in your microwave easy.
It is great for families, students, couples, and singles, as it can cook both large and small amounts of rice.
Students love it as it reduces the number of pots they have to use in general and makes cooking rice easier and faster.
I love mine for the same reasons as everyone else. It is so easy to use, quick to cook and saves dishes and because you have to measure it as well I don’t eat so many carbs either, A bonus Yay!
Why Not Replace the Hob with the Microwave to Cook Rice?
As some of you may already know from reading my halogen posts, I am on a mission to stop using my hob.
I was looking for alternatives to cooking rice for my halogen then decided to see if I could find something for the microwave as I use the halogen for most other things. The microwave rice steamer was the perfect solution.
I admit I was wondering if it was worth paying out for an extra pot. So I headed to the reviews section. What sold me on the steamer were two comments.
The first comment was that the steamer was a “game changer”. Knowing how much my halogen changed mine this was music to my ears. Could this make things that much easier as well?
The second was that one person never did reviews, but they loved the steamer so much that they did one this time.
So What Makes The Rice Steamer So Good?
What I like about this rice steamer is it has a double layered lid that keeps in 80% of the moisture so this cooks rice to perfection.
This also means steam is not coming out into the kitchen as much so reducing condensation.
And, it cooks brown rice easily as well, which is great as it always takes ages and I never get fluffy brown rice normally.
Is The Microwave Rice Steamer Easy to Use?
The rice steamer is really easy to use as all you have to do is to measure out your rice and water (instructions are provided).
Pop it into the steamer, pop on the lids. Make sure they do NOT align as this prevents the water coming straight back out of the steamer again. Then just put it in the microwave.
More on the Red 2.6L Sistema Microwave Rice SteamerThe steamer cooks white rice in about 10 to 12 minutes and brown rice in about 20 to 23 minutes.
However, this does vary according to your microwave and the amount of rice being cooked. So just check to make sure you are happy with the times.
Also, you do not have to wait for the hob to heat up and it is easier to clean.
Also, they have handles that are cool to touch which is great as I sometimes burn my fingers getting things out of the microwave as things should really stay cool but don’t.
There are different cooking times for various grains. And you can cook other things in it as well. Like veg etc.
Is the Plastic BPA Free?
Sistema does not use BPA plastic in their products so it is also safe to use as well. This is really important to many people and I admit also to me as well. Something I usually check.
The Cooking Leaflet
The leaflet you get isn’t particularly brilliant, however, it gives the general requirements you need to get started. Sistema does also have some recipes for rice on their site.
Some Unusual Issues that Some Users Have Found When Using the Microwave Rice Steamer
As with anything, there are always downsides. I nearly overlooked them and if it weren’t for the pictures I would have.
There are very few negative reviews for the steamer, but those that have commented are quite dramatic.
A few people seem to have had issues with the container melting, either from the bottom or the sides. One said that it nearly burned down their house. I was horrified and it immediately made me concerned about getting it.
But the countering comments were interesting and may go some way to explaining the issues. Quite clearly one person had left the labels on the bottom and the sides. A bit worrying as I have been known to forget to remove them too. Warning noted.
The one that had nearly burnt down the house may have used combi. Or they may have used the microwave on a high setting. I know I accidentally used combi once when I was tired many years ago with similar results. Again the warning is noted.
Another thing that will do it is if you let the rice go dry then it will burn. If left long enough the plastic will also burn.
I quickly checked some of the other microwave products in the range and there seem to be no other comments about this issue on those. As they would be made of the same materials it would indicate that it probably is not an issue the materials.
Unit Size
It is quite tall at 16.1cm and may be too high to fit into some mini microwaves with space above. I have a standard combi with grill and my amount of space from wheel to grill is about 18.5/19cm so I think most standard microwaves will be fine.
Using plastic in a microwave will destroy your libido and damage your health!!!
Ok, that’s a new one on me. I wasn’t particularity worried about my libido but my health, in general, was a concern. So a quick bit of surfing the net to see if there were any other references to this.
All I could find were references to BPA plastic and yes that can have some quite damaging effects. I knew about BPA issues already. Since Sistema products are all BPA-free I didn’t consider this an issue.
Top Tips on Using the Rice Steamer to Make Fluffy Rice
I love my rice steamer it is so much easier to cook rice this way and a lot, lot faster. I also find I get better results as well. I cook both brown and white rice in it. I believe you can cook other grains as well but I haven’t tried that yet.
When the rice has cooked for 8 minutes leave it to stand for about 5. The instructions do say to do this but it is well worth it because it
- Allows the rice to cook thoroughly. I have found that the rice is a bit grainy if you use it straight away. By leaving it the steam continues cooking so it becomes soft.
- Leaving it also means you are less likely to be burnt by steam.
- When you open your steamer open it away from you especially if you are opening it immediately. This will allow the steam to float away from you rather than burning your hands. Again leaving it to stand helps prevent this.
- Always measure your rice and water as this will help prevent drying out and therefore burning of the container. I allow double the rice for water plus about 10% extra water for confidence.
- Place your lower vents at an angle to the upper vents to keep the steam. down when cooking.