How to Cook Barley in a Rice Cooker?
As a busy homemaker, having a nutritious meal is essential as we have a lot of responsibilities. One of the nutritious meals that we can add to our diet is barley. It is rich in essential vitamins and minerals and gives a healthy dose of fibre that aids digestion.
Plus, barley’s neutral taste made it easy to use in various dishes, from salads to soups, etc. Adding barley to your meal planning allows you to embrace a convenient and healthy option that supports your well-being.
The fastest method to make barley is cooking it in a rice cooker. So today I will show you how to do it. So, keep reading!
Table of Contents
Rice Cooker Barley Recipe
How to Cook Barley in a Rice Cooker?
Equipment
- A Rice Cooker
Ingredients
- 4 cups of water
- 4 teaspoons of instant chicken broth seasoning (or liquid chicken broth)
- 1 cup of pearled barley
- 1.5 cups of diced onions
- 1 cup of chopped bell peppers (any colour)
- 2 teaspoons of paprika
- 2 teaspoons of ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons of chilli powder
- Salt for taste
Instructions
- Start by adding 4 cups of water to your rice cooker.
- Then, add 4 teaspoons of instant chicken broth seasoning, 1 cup of pearled barley and 1.5 cups of diced onions.
- Put 1 cup of chopped bell peppers, 2 teaspoons of paprika, 2 teaspoons of ground cumin, and 2 teaspoons of chilli powder.
- Stir all the ingredients together in the rice cooker.
- Close the rice cooker and turn it on. Use the ‘Brown Rice’ setting.
- Let the rice cooker cook the barley mixture until it's done.
- Once finished, let the barley sit in the rice cooker for 15 minutes.
- After the resting period, your rice cooker barley is ready to serve.
- Taste it and adjust the seasoning with salt if needed.
Pro Tip: If your rice cooker doesn’t have a “brown rice” setting, you can try using the “white rice” or “mixed grains” setting as an alternative.
Convenience of Making Barley in a Rice Cooker
You can use a rice cooker for cooking various grains like Barley, Oats, Farro, Bulger wheat, etc., other than rice. It’s so convenient to do uniform cooking rather than over-cooking and burning. Let’s explore its exciting advantages in detail:
1. Uniform Cooking
Rice cookers are designed to ensure an even distribution of heat throughout the pot that prevents over-cooking and under-cooking.
2. Save Effort and Time
Once you have tightened the rice cooker and set the cooker for cooking, you don’t need to monitor or check the pot frequently. You can do other tasks fearlessly and confidently. That’s why a rice cooker is a great help for us.
3. Easy Cleanup
You know a rice cooker has a non-stick inner pot, so you can easily clean up your rice cooker with a soft sponge or soap without any stress or fear. It’s so convenient to clean and use.
Related Read: How to Clean Zojirushi Rice Cooker?
4. Chewy & Delicious Taste
Cooking Barley in a rice cooker is a fantastic way to enjoy its chewy, delicious, and nutty flavour. You can also use seasoning and broth to enhance its flavour.
5. Easy to Store
To enjoy your weekend or weeknights, you can cook barley and store it in the fridge without worrying about its spoilage. Ideally, you can store it in the fridge for many days and use it after reheating it.
How Can I Enhance The Flavor Of Barley?
If you want to enhance the flavour of Barley, here are a few suggestions that can help you. Let’s explore those fantastic ways to enjoy the perfect texture and consistency of barley:
1. Proper Soaking: If you want the perfect texture of hulled Barley, then you must ensure proper soaking of Barley before cooking overnight. You have to soak the pearled Barley for 40 minutes before cooking.
2. Right Setting of Rice Cooker: Make sure you select the right setting for the rice cooker. Always select the “brown” rice setting for barley because it ensures proper absorption of water or broth. So the result is nice, plump and slightly moist barley instead of soggy.
3. Proper Greasing of Rice Cooker: It’s very important to grease the rice cooker’s inner pot to prevent damage and sticking of cooked food. It also makes cleaning the pot easy.
Different Ways to Use Barley in Various Dishes
You can enjoy Barley’s delicious and nutty flavour by incorporating it into different meals. Let’s uncover those exciting ways.
1.Salad
You can add your delicious Barley with salad to add a chewy, crunchy texture to the salad. A mixture of salad and Barley is so nutritious and healthy for our body.
2. Soups
If you have some extra time, try making a delicious soup with barley. For this, you have to add cooked Barley into a vegetable or chicken broth and use it as an alternative for lunch.
3. Herbs and Spices
Herbs and spices are great ingredients to any dish. If you want to enhance Barley’s taste, add a mixture of herbs and spices like thyme, rosemary, garlic powder, onion powder and black pepper powder. You will enjoy it.
4. Broth
If you want another option to infuse flavour into cooked Barley, use broth instead of water. Vegetables or chicken broth are the best options, making your Barley food more nutritious.
Wrap Up
To sum up, cooking barley in a rice cooker is simple and convenient. It allows you to enjoy the many benefits of this nutritious grain with less effort. Following the easy recipe outlined earlier, you can prepare delicious and hearty barley that your family and friends will love.
