Braised rice- Rice cooker and oven method, one pot meal

I like cooking BUT sometimes I’m too lazy to stand over a stove to cook. For times like this, I like to do one pot meals that requires very little prep and effort. This braised rice is exactly that. Braised rice is essentially a pot of rice with veggies and protein that is cooked slowly. Now if you are thinking we are cooking this on the stove top, you are wrong! We are going to be lazy and cook our rice in a rice cooker or if you don’t have rice cooker, in the oven! Don’t worry it’s super simple.

This is a great meal for people who don’t like to cook but would like to cook homemade meals or busy parents etc. The greatest part about this braised rice is that I eliminated a lot of prep work by using frozen veggies, cutting our prep down even further.

Ingredients for braised rice

I love this recipe because it is so versatile. Essentially you can use any veggies and protein of your choice. I will say if you choose to use a raw protein like beef, chicken, pork it will be useful to marinate the protein first. However, if you are using a smoked sausage, hot dog that are already flavoured or partially cooked, you can skip that step.

For this recipe, I chose to use some frozen veggies (carrots, peas, corn and green beans). I used medium grain rice like Japanese rice. Be careful here, the type of rice will affect the cook time (brown rice will take longer). Use what you have on hand and adjust the recipe accordingly. Most rice cooker will have a setting for white and brown rice. In the oven the time will be adjusted.

I used hot dog as well so that also decreased my prep time. Use any protein you like.

For the sauce, I did soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, salt and white pepper.

Now if you are marinating raw meats, I recommend, using soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, garlic powder, sugar, cornstarch and bit of water. When you are ready to cook with the rice, just a bit of sesame oil and salt the rice.

How to make it

If you are using raw protein (chicken, beef, pork), cut into small chunks (cooks faster), marinate with cornstarch, sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, garlic powder and water.

First wash the rice until the water runs clear. This helps to get rid of excess starch. Set aside. Cut any protein like spam or sausage into small chunks.

Then prep your sauce if you are not using raw protein like chicken, pork, beef etc. Combine soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, salt and white pepper (you can use black pepper if you don’t have white pepper).

Rice cooker method

Put the rice into the rice cooker, with water or stock (no salt). Add in frozen veggies, your protein and sauce (if you have it).

If you are using raw protein, just add the protein. Then add in sesame oil, salt and white pepper.

Set the rice cooker to cook white rice. If you are using brown rice, select the brown rice feature and make sure to adjust the water accordingly.

Oven method

The prep for your ingredients are still the same. Preheat to 375^oF or 190^oC.

For the oven method, I recommend boiling the stock or water. The reason is that the oven won’t really boil the water and so if you add room temperature or cold water, it won’t boil the water and the rice will not cook through.

You are basically trying to mimic rice cooker or cooking rice on a stove top. Most of the time, the water that is cooking the rice needs to be boiled before it can fully cook the rice.

Add in the wash rice, boiling water/stock, veggies, protein and your sauce in a oven safe dish like a casserole or dutch oven. The next step is important, mix it together, this way you won’t get uneven distribution of the sauce throughout the rice. If you forgot, it’s okay! It will still taste great.

Cover with a lid or aluminum foil, bake for 25 minutes. If you are using brown rice, do about 45 minutes and again adjust the water accordingly.

Pro-tip:

• For oven method, don’t forget the boil the stock or water
• When using the oven, mix the ingredients so it can cook evenly, if you forget, it will still taste fine.
• If using raw meat, make sure to cut them into smaller pieces to help them cook faster.
• You don’t have to add meat to this dish, cook with veggies only and add an fried egg is also an option.