26
MY
ROUSES
EVERYDAY
MAY | JUNE 2014
the
Chef
issue
Rice, Rice, Bab�
by
Pableaux Johnson
E
very cook has their trusted tools. Those things that feel right
in the hand, help you through just about any prep process, and
make the kitchen feel like home. For many it’s a special chef ’s knife
that sits just right in the hand, a cutting board with the perfect
amount of countertop acreage, or maybe a sauté pan that responds
to the slightest change in flame.
Me? I don’t feel completely right without my rice cooker.
In the modern move toward a functional and minimalist cooking
rig, a lot of cooks have purged once-common convenience
appliances and gadgets for simpler, more versatile implements.
These “unitaskers” — garlic presses, asparagus tongs and electric
bread machines among them —usually go into a donation or yard
sale box a few years after their emergence from gift wrap.
So some serious cooks scoff at my trusty rice cooker, asking “Why
don’t you just use a little pot and be done
with it?”
The answer, for anyone raised in south
Louisiana, is simple. We use rice cookers
because it works every time and for most
of the dishes in our everyday repertoire,
a batch of bad rice means disaster. After
spending a few solid hours cooking a good
gumbo or simmering Aunt Agnes’ famous
redfish courtboullion, you think that we’re
going to mess up the meal by serving over
gloppy rice? And rice, for such a simple
food, is not very forgiving.
Over the years, I’ve tried all the “foolproof ”
cooking methods for cooking our cuisine’s foundational grain. The
“2 to 1” formula. The “knuckle-deep in water” trick. The “soaking
method.” Several “absorption techniques.” Toasting. Steaming. Boiling.
Microwaving. Pilafing.
And still, I find that each of these routines require just enough time
and attention that I’ll mess them up about 70% of the time. Set
the “guaranteed” 20-minute timer and on a bad night you’ll end up
with a gummy blob of starch. Set the burner too low, and you’ll be
rewarded with crunchy grains in tepid, salty broth. Goose the flame
a bit and you’ve got a scorched, crusty mess.
A million years ago when I was in college, my mama gave me my
first rice cooker after fielding a few dozen calls about our most
cherished of foods. It turns out that I’d managed to screw up rice in
every way imaginable. She’d learned about the cooker from an older
lady at work and figured it would be worth a shot.
“Just scoop with this little cup,” she told
me. “Pour water to the appropriate line, and
press go.”
I did and a whole new world opened up for
me. A place where each little grain is tender
and intact. A land where I’ve got one more
burner on my stove and one less timer to
track. A chance to be a little less crazy when
I’ve got a dozen guests knocking at my door
for Monday night red beans.
Ask any cook: that “little less crazy” goes a
long way, and can make a kitchen feel a lot
more like home.
Mr. B’s famous Gumbo Ya Ya
photo by
Frank Aymami
“Gumbo Ya Ya is one of
our most beloved dishes.
We serve approximately
fifty gallons of Gumbo Ya
Ya a week and each one
is served with a scoop of
fluffy white rice. Our rice
makes our gumbo that
much better.”
—Cindy Brennan, Mr. B’s
