Rice Steamed in a Hot Pot

Another successful dormitory work-around!  Rice, steamed in the lowly hot pot.

We usually simmer rice in water, but in Asia, people sometimes soak the rice first, then steam it above boiling water.  It was worth a try!

Soak one and a half cups of medium grain white rice in 2 cups of water for 4 hours or more.  Drain, rinse, and drain again.

Set a steamer basket into the hot pot over a cup of water.  We lined the basket, bottom only, loosely with foil. (I suspect large leaves, such as cabbage leaves, would give better results as the steam could rise through the rice but haven't yet tried it.)

Distribute soaked rice around the steamer basket.

Steam with lid tightly shut until rice has softened - half an hour or more, adding water to the bottom of the pot in trickles as needed.

Hot Pot with fluffed white rice

Unplug the pot, fluff the rice with a fork, and close the lid.  Let the rice sit for awhile before serving, to steam and soften some more.

To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

Meatballs with Pasta Cooked in a Hot Pot

That little hot pot, meant for warming up canned soup,  can do so much more with some planning.  Here we've made Italian dinner for two!  Just add salad, some crusty bread with olive oil, two candles and a bottle of wine.

Meatballs and Pasta cooked in a hot pot

In a mixing bowl, mix together by hand:

2/3 pound lean ground beef
1 small can tomato paste
1 egg
[breadcrumbs, optional]
Italian seasoning blend, to taste
1 tsp salt

Other ingredients will be needed:

1 bell pepper
1 small can tomato paste
1//4 lb pasta - spirals, bowties, or similar small shape

Form meat mixture into walnut-size meatballs

Insert a steamer basket into the hot pot, and add about 1 - 1/2 cups water under it.

Cut a bell pepper into 1-inch strips, and line the bottom of the basket with half the strips. Cover the pepper strips with half of the meatballs.  Then another layer of bell pepper and the remainder of the meatballs.

Plug in the hot pot and bring it to a boil.  Because the meatballs are not down in the water but are above it, steaming, they won't cook except when the water is boiling.  Turn the dial down a bit when the water boils, then back up when it stops boiling.  Trickle water down the spout when you can hear it boiling but can't see water in the spout.  You want to keep the water level about the same as it was at the start.

Meatballs on a steamer basket in the hot pot

Half an hour or so later the meatballs will be done.   Gently lift the meatballs out of the pot with tongs. Slice the cooked peppers into small pieces and set them aside for the sauce.

Liquid from under the steamer basket is brothy and flavorful, a good base for the sauce.  Pour it into a small bowl and add to it one can of tomato paste. Salt and season to taste.

Clean the pot and the steamer basket, then fill with water to about 2 inches from the top.  Salt, and bring the water to a boil.  Pour in about 1/4 lb. of pasta.   Leave the lid ajar, or open!  Otherwise it will boil over.  Boil until the pasta is cooked but still firm "al dente", stirring occasionally.  Water must be added as it rapidly boils away!

Unplug the pot, close the lid, and pour out the hot water.  Add an ounce or two of cold water to cool the bottom of the pot and then let it stand for a few minutes to drain.  Pour out the water again and dump the pasta, steamer basket and all,  into a bowl, then lift the basket off of the pasta.

Boiling pasta in a hot pot, with steamer basket

Return sauce with cooked pepper pieces and meatballs to the pot.  Heat gently to a simmer.  Spread the cooked pasta over the meatballs and continue to heat on "low" for a few minutes. Turn off the pot and serve.

Serves two generously.

To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

Thai-style Chicken and Coconut Milk

A Thai style soup with ingredients of canned foods, which could be made in a snack corner in a dorm room where there is no refrigeration. We used a slow cooker,  but it could have been done just as easily in a microwave oven or even in a hot pot.

Thai-style chicken and coconut milk soup from cans

Refrigerated ingredients were: 1 lemon, one carrot, and a bit of ginger.  While a fresh lemon is best, lemon juice in packets could be used in a pinch, and the carrot and the ginger could be done without.  Lemon slices can be "harvested" from the cafeteria, probably...

Ingredients:

Cans:
Chicken breast
Chicken broth
Mushrooms
Green beans
Coconut milk

Fresh:
Carrot
Garlic
Ginger (optional)
Cilantro (optional)
Lemon

Flavorings:
2 Tb. Fish Sauce
1 Tb Chinese chili sauce
Parsley flakes
Onion powder

Pour chicken and broth into the cooking vessel.
Drain and add mushrooms.
Drain, chop up, and add green beans.
Chop and add carrots, garlic, and ginger.
Add the flavorings.

Heat to boiling, turn down to a simmer, and cook until the carrot is soft.

Turn off the heat and stir in the can of coconut milk and the lemon juice.
Add Cilantro if you have it.

Chicken and Coconut Milk Soup

A rich, elegant Asian style soup, much nicer than you would expect from a stack of cans!

Serve alone or with rice.

To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

Italian Sausage Cooked in a Hot Pot

Italian sausages weighing 1/4 lb each cooked in a Hot Pot, using a steamer basket to hold the sausages away from the bottom of the pot.

Insert steamer into Hot Pot
Add 2 cups water
Arrange raw Italian sausages in a criss-cross pattern in the steamer
Plug in the pot and set heat control to about halfway (may adjust later as needed)

Cook for at least 20 minutes. Heat will come and go; if it stays off too long, wake it up with a bit more cold water, and/or elevate the heat control.

Sausages will be well cooked but rather grey. That's the down side of hot pot cookery: no way to brown anything.

Remove sausages with tongs. Drain the pot, take out the strainer, add a jar of spaghetti sauce and reduce heat control to low. Return sausages to the pot and allow sauce and sausages to warm together for 15 or more minutes. Serve over pasta.

To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.    (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

Gluten-free Penne Boiled in a Hot Pot

Heat 5 cups water to boiling in a hot pot with steamer insert in place. Pour in 2 cups dry penne, stir it around, and leave the cover ajar (not fully open).

Gluten-free Penne boiling in a Hot Pot

With the heat at about 2/3, the boiling comes and goes but the pasta cooks nicely.

Pasta is held off the heating pad by the strainer. There is nothing 
close to as much water as is recommended for cooking pasta; it must be 
gently stirred a few times, and water added as cooking progresses.

When fully cooked, the pasta is tender and very acceptable.

Drain water, add a cup of cold to cool the pot and to stop starch from drying in the bottom, and allow the pasta to drain for a few minutes. Then pour the water out again and invert the contents into a shallow bowl.

Pasta, cooked, is about double the volume of what it was raw.

To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

Dorm Food Survival

Many college students have to feed themselves with only limited funds, difficult conditions, and little experience.  How many George Foreman Grills go to school with Johnny Freshman, only to make the return trip home with the parents when they check into the dorm and discover that nearly all cooking appliances are forbidden?

American students often live in college dormitories, where there may be one snack room per floor.  It's generally assumed that students will participate in a "Meal Plan" which is paid by the semester, and can be expensive as well as starchy; after all, the student is paying not just for food but also for preparation.  Therefore, many students buy the minimum meal plan and then attempt to manage as many meals as possible in their rooms.

Food preparation in a dormitory room is not easy, because schools severely limit what appliances can be brought in (and the internet is rife with tricky and time-honored work-arounds - which we won't get into here.)

Texas A&M Corps of Cadets housing has published this online.  It's more thorough and concise than the usual but rules are typical:

...prohibited appliances and equipment include, but are not limited to, the following:

    •    Air-conditioners

    •    Halogen Torchiere Lamps

    •    Camping Stoves

    •    Hot Oil Popcorn Poppers

    •    Ceiling Fans

    •    Hot Plates

    •    Crock Pots

    •    Oven Broilers

    •    Electric Skillets

    •    Rice Cookers

    •    Gas Power Tools

    •    Steamers

    •    Griddles

    •    Space Heaters

    •    Grills (George Foreman type, electrical, charcoal or propane)

    •    Toasters

    •    Toaster Ovens

    •    Electric Power Tools (with the exception of storage for use outside the halls)

    •    Sandwich Makers

    •    Smoke/Fog Machines

APPROVED COOKING APPLIANCES

Approved cooking appliances will have closed coil elements and are limited to: Coffee pots; Hot pots; Hot air popcorn poppers; Blenders; and microwaves up to a stated FCC rating of not more than 700 watts.

Thus, the students are limited to cooking in hot pots and small microwave ovens. (Popcorn poppers aren't very flexible.) Actually it's worse, because in TAMU cadet housing a maximum of 2 appliances is allowed, so assuming that one will be a small refrigerator, the only other possibility is a microwave oven.  One might make an arrangement with the room next door to share appliances, perhaps.

If there is a hot pot, it's good for two things that I have discovered: boiling water and making hard-boiled eggs.  That second thing is not to be scoffed at because it's something you can't do in a microwave oven, and hard-boiled eggs are great take-along food.  You can boil water in a microwave oven.

If the student is fortunate to have access to a decent snack kitchen on his floor, then the constraints will be time, storage, and mess -- not enough time and storage, and no tolerance for mess.  A student with an apartment (and, presumably, roommates) is constrained by storage and his own finances.

As we consider ways to manage the best possible diet for the student at the least possible expense and difficulty, we will need to focus primarily on microwave cooking.

[This is the first in a planned series on students and meals.]

This article first appeared in The Baker's Dozen.