Steaming broccoli in an Aroma rice cooker, anyone do this regularly?

[Thomas Martinez]

Curious how people feels about using the steam function on the Aroma cookers for veggies. Found a method for cooking broccoli using this function so sharing it out here to get people's thought on it. Cut broccoli into smaller pieces, put into steaming tray, add 1 or 2 cup of water to inner pot, hit steam for 5-10 minutes.
Very bare bones recipe but I suppose that's the point of these cookers. Where do people generally fall in terms of the 5 min vs the 10 min setting? 5 minutes seems to be the best for maintaining the crisp-tender texture of the florets. 10 minutes will turn the broccoli into mush unless the florets is quite large. The amount of water seem to not matter too much unless it dries out during the cooking cycle. 1 cup of water should be plenty for a 5 minute cycle but 2 cups would likely be needed for a 10 minute cycle.
Another thing I've noticed and yet to see anyone comment on is whether the Steam setting on the Aroma cookers times the cycle from the moment the water begins to boil versus from the moment the button is pressed to begin the cycle. Does anyone here have a favorite time to steam broccoli given the settings on the Aroma cookers?

 

[Prehistoric Plunger]

5 minutes for sure if you want your broccoli to remain crisp tender. I do this twice a week on my ARC-914SBD and 10 minutes will turn your broccoli into baby food unless the florets is gigantic.

 

[Funk]

the timer on those aroma units is a flat timer from the moment you hit steam, it does not wait for the water to reach a boil. I learned this the hard way.

 

[European Met]

the timer on those aroma units is a flat timer from the moment you hit steam, it does not wait for the water to reach a boil. I learned this the hard way.

wait so if it's a flat timer does that mean the time the water takes to reach a boil counts against the steam time? So the 5 minutes is not necessarily 5 minutes of actual steam?

 

[Funk]

wait so if it's a flat timer does that mean the time the water takes to reach a boil counts against the steam time? So the 5 minutes is not necessarily 5 minutes of actual steam?

basically yeah. On my aroma the water is producing steam around the 2 minute mark so a 5 minute cycle is actually only 3 minutes of steam. That's why people recommend using the steam setting for 7 minutes to accomplish crisp tender broccoli.

 

[Famous Fla]

Honestly I just use a pot on the stove. It takes 4 minutes and no babysitting. I dont need to worry about the rice or the steam time for my rice cooker.

 

[Prehistoric Plunger]

Honestly I just use a pot on the stove. It takes 4 minutes and no babysitting. I dont need to worry about the rice or the steam time for my rice cooker.

because some of us are cooking rice in the main pot and broccoli in the steamer at the same time genius.

 

[Henry S.]

1 cup of water is plenty for cooking broccoli for under 8 minutes in the aroma. I've never had the aroma's inner pot reach the boiling point with 1 cup of water when steaming broccoli for 5 minutes. 2 cups is overkill.

 

[Dist]

does it matter if the broccoli is wet when it's placed into the steaming tray? Should it be rinsed vs dried off?

 

[Enchanting Elk]

I've been using my aroma for various vegetables for probably 6 years now. The trick that most people don't discuss when using the steaming function is to always put the lid on FAST after placing the broccoli into the steaming tray. The heating element on these appliances is rather weak. I heat the water for 90 seconds with the lid on the pot (but no broccoli in the steaming tray yet). I then place the steaming tray with the broccoli into the aroma and quickly place the lid back into place. I then press the steam button and set it to 5 minutes. This is without a doubt the best method I've found to produce perfectly cooked broccoli. The recipe from the appliance assumes that you will press the steam button with cold water in the inner pot. This is why people get inconsistent results. Also, salt the water. It might not do a thing chemically but the taste of the broccoli is better.

 

[European Met]

I've been using my aroma for various vegetables for probably 6 years now. The trick that most people don't discuss when using the steaming function is to always put the lid on FAST after placing the broccoli into the steaming tray. The heating element on these appliances is rathe…

salting the water for steaming actually does something? I thought that only worked for cooking stuff that was submerged in the water.

 

[Inquisitive Iguana]

loose the rice cooker and get a bamboo steamer for like 12 bucks.
way better texture and it stacks

 

[Famous Fla]

loose the rice cooker and get a bamboo steamer for like 12 bucks.
way better texture and it stacks

this guy gets it

 

[The Castle of B]

5 min, medium florets, 1 cup water. That's the answer, no need to overthink it

 

[Enchanting Elk]

salting the water for steaming actually does something? I thought that only worked for cooking stuff that was submerged in the water.

yeah it does, the steam carries trace minerals/salt with it and seasons the broccoli. Its not as strong as boiling in salted water but you can taste the difference. Try it both ways

 

[Funk]

yeah it does, the steam carries trace minerals/salt with it and seasons the broccoli. Its not as strong as boiling in salted water but you can taste the difference. Try it both ways

the steam thing carrying salt is a myth. Steam is water vapor and salt leaves the pot when steam is created. The salt you taste is from condensation of steam which is minimal