Since I got my sushi maker, I've been quietly collecting the things that I need to make sushi/kimbap. I've found everything that I need except for the nori. The good news is that I found a source for it about a half hour from here. Between the weather and the holiday rushing around, I just haven't gotten there.
Anyways, a couple weeks back, I'd stopped by the thrift store to peruse the bookshelves for the box of books I was collecting for a Christmas gift, and much I was a bit shocked to see, right there on the book shelf where it absolutely did not belong, a little rice cooker.
The videos that I'd watched for this sushi thing all acted as if a rice cooker was a necessity to make good sushi, but I didn't get that. I make my rice in a pan on the stove and it is okay. But sticky rice is a requirement.
Was my rice sticky? I couldn't tell you for sure, because usually I'm adding it to something else, but I kind of felt like it would be sticky enough, and I hate sinking a lot of money into something until I'm sure that it is something that I'm going to do in the long term, so I decided against a rice cooker.
Except, now there was one right there in front of me, priced at $4.99. The universe was whispering 'yes. You need a rice cooker.' So it came home with me, along with some books, and a Steeler's cap with tags that Tim found.
Today, I used that rice cooker for the first time to go with stirfried vegetables and teriyaki beef and discovered that the universe knew what it was talking about. I did need a rice cooker.
Anyhow, the big news here is that a local hot shot business man had one of his businesses burn down this afternoon. What makes this remarkable is that he had another business hit by a truck on the 21st of December 2023. He had a business burn down on January 30th, 2024. Another place burned down on April 18th. Now a third fire.
One fire was determined to be caused by a gasoline spill. Another fire is undetermined. The investigation for today's fire is ongoing, of course.
I can't figure out how he manages to get insurance coverage.
Anyways, it is 3 days before Christmas. Tomorrow we'll work on the rehab.
I adore my rice cooker! Glad you’ve discovered the joy it brings!
ReplyDeleteI always thought “sticky” rice referred to the type (short grain, vs American-style long grain) rather than the cooking method.
Sticky, what I am seeing is just rice that is moldable. The grains st9ick together. But I am no expert.
DeleteThrift stores have many things that are hard to leave. Since I'm trying to downsize I better not buy some neat things. I already have enough neat things.
ReplyDeleteI have been avoiding thrift shops for that very reason, Red.
DeleteYou find the best things at the thrift shop!
ReplyDeleteThose situations are interesting, aren't they? Our state recently installed a traffic circle at a country intersection. They used eminent domain to take 90% of the parking lot of a small corner bar to get the curve. A local farm equipment dealer bought the bar at a discount price. Then guess what, the bar burnt down. Now he is building an expensive storage barn for his equipment.
So many little tragedies in this world.🤔
DeleteI've learnt the benefits of a rice cooker since my tenant bought one, for somewhat more than your bargain.
ReplyDeleteI misread Stealers as Sealers cap and wondered if this was some kind of tools to put on and seal caps onto bottles or jars.
I now know more than I need to know about sticky rice. I've only had it in a sweet dish.
Plenty of nori here. I must check if it local or imported.
Maybe it is easy for the man to get insurance, with the thought, it simply can't happen again to the same person.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are his football team. They were doing really well. Now they are not doing really well.
DeleteI guess what is interesting to me is that we had two large trees fall on the old house on the property where we are rebuilding. We were using it to stock pile all the things we were planning to use in the new house, which is why we carried insurance on it. It was full of building supplies. Anyways, two trees. Tim called the insurance company, they came out. They paid out, but they told us plainly that we could never insure the house with them again. That was surprising to us because the only two trees that could fall on the house had already done so.
Very odd about that man's bad luck. Very odd. I am pretty sure the insurance people will think the same thing.
ReplyDeleteNo fan of sushi here! To be fair I only tried it once. But no desire to try it again. I have used a rice cooker in the past, though, and they are nice.
Quite odd, innit? The odds of three fires happening to one business man in the same calendar year are incalculable. It's going to be interesting to read more about this. He's got a long history. He's got a long history of being a pretty hateful person. One of those incidents includes an arson.
DeleteThere are so many different kinds of sushi/kimbap.
The rice cooker found you!
ReplyDeleteYes I wonder about his insurance company...
That's what it felt like. I couldn't believe my eyes. But boy, it is the nicest little gadget. You add the water, measure out the rice, rinse it, toss it in there and simply don't think about it again.
DeleteIt's pretty miserable to have fire destroy your property, though he does seem to be most unfortunate.
ReplyDeleteI guess that I'd feel a bit sorrier for him if he wasn't such a poor excuse for a human being, our own little version of tRUMP, right here in our own county. He's noted for his vile and racist facebook tantrums if something doesn't go his way.
DeleteI couldn't live without a rice cooker (we have 3 of different sizes) but then we eat a lot of Asian food and use it pretty much every day. Welcome to the food!
ReplyDeleteUsing one changed my mind on the topic, that's for sure.
DeleteI hope it is a Japanese branded rice cooker! We went through a half dozen or so in quick order until someone told us that only the Japanese make quality rice cookers. We bought one and it lasted for close to 16 or 17 years before it finally wore completely out this spring. I bought my wife another Japanese rice maker and we have been very happy since.
ReplyDeleteRice makers are a necessity in our household. As we say, "Rice is Life!"
I don't know that I'll ever eat that much rice. The thing that we like about asian food is that a small amount of meat paired up with vegetables and the right seasonings and served over rice makes a hearty meal.
DeleteThis one is an Aroma brand. It is not Japanese. For $4.99, it gives me the opportunity to try something out. I'll use it until it stops working. When that happens, I'm very likely to invest in an upgrade, because I know that I will use it.
Yeah, the Asian culture has cheap eating down to a science.
DeleteSlightly off-topic but did you know nori is iron spelt back. I came across this yesterday. Apparently in a town called Accrington, nori bricks were made but they managed to get the stamp the wrong way round. So, completely farfetched but I wonder as seaweed has iron in it if the Japanese people thought that ;)
ReplyDeleteOh Thelma...right off down the rabbit hole I went. First to read about nori bricks and Accrington. Then off to google the Japanese meaning of 'nori'. It means a lot of things. Seaweed, ocean moss, achievement, law, ceremony, love, depending on the kanje. Fascinating to me that one word could have such unrelated meanings. You and your magpie mind!
DeleteOur experience with a rice cooker was meh. We gave it away. Have a happy time at the new house.
ReplyDeleteerrr...why? Have you received word that our current one is to be burned down by a volatile angry local business man?
DeleteMerry Christmas, Debby!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ellen. Your house too!
DeleteI remember a musician I knew here whose band was playing at a restaurant/bar one weekend and before the band left after Friday night, the owner told them to be sure and get all their instruments out. Bizarrely, the place burned down that very night! I guess the owner was psychic. He, too, had owned another business that burned down.
ReplyDeleteI've often wondered about rice cookers. I might keep my eye out for one when we're thrift shopping.
The world is full of strange and unsolvable mysteries, innit?
DeleteThere is something quite nice about measuring out your water, rinsing your rice and adding that, and then fixing supper and not thinking about your rice again. It stays warm until everything else is ready, too.
I do that in an ordinary pan...bring it up to simmer with the lid on, electric off, small towel folded up on the pan lid and it is ready when everything else is...
DeleteNow, that is interesting, gz.
DeletePlease keep the new font style ... So easy to read! The only time I seem to eat rice is when I go to China Garden restaurant!!
ReplyDeleteI don't know that we eat a lot of rice, really, but we eat it regularly enough, that the rice cooker isn't a bad thing. Mostly though, I use rice as an add-in to something else, like soup or beans or whatever.
DeleteI’m not sure I really know what a rice cooker is - ha! Thus Christmas my son is hosting so for the first time it’s feet up and leave it to others - which to be honest is what I need at the moment. But here’s to a bright new year with fresh and inspiring horizons
ReplyDeleteBest thing about a rice cooker is: it turns itself off when the rice is done — no matter how much you’re making, it somehow knows just how long to cook it for! Perfect for the busy, disinterested, or easily distracted chef…
Delete*raises hand* Me, me, that is me. I am that "chef"! Mark, are you back home then from the hospital? I'm sure that is the best Christmas gift ever for your family! Merry Christmas!
DeleteI like the new font too, easy on the eyes. I've never had a rice cooker, your experience has now made me wonder.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to figure out how to make the font my 'default font' so that it stays in that font.
DeleteI think I have an Aroma rice cooker. It's not here, so I can't check. Once, when we lost power, I made rice in a pot, and it turned out well. After that it was always bad, so back to the rice cooker. In Tucson, we've gone to the dark side of cooking and bought a box of 12 containers of shelf stable sticky rice at Costco. 90 seconds in the microwave, and done. It's an extravagance, but it's stress free. I like the new font, as well.
ReplyDeleteOur nearest Costco is an hour and a half away from here. I don't believe that I've ever shopped in one, tbh.
DeleteI was all set to comment but Ms Allison beat me to it, what she said, the Costco sticky rice and the new font. I like 'em both! Happy Christmas.
ReplyDeleteWell...guess I have a new font!
Delete