Rice & Fried Rice · Chinese home cooking
Rice Cooker Whole Tomato Rice
A whole tomato steamed on top of soy-seasoned rice with corn and peas, then crushed through the grains with butter, herbs and black pepper for a faintly red pot.
About this dish
The whole tomato sitting on the raw rice looks almost too simple, but the cooker turns it into the sauce. During the cycle the skin softens and splits under the trapped steam, and by the time you lift the lid the fruit has slumped into a loose red pool. Crushing it through the grains gives the rice a faint pink colour and a clean acidity that cuts the butter at the end. You hear a quiet click as plain rice; the smell is brighter, with tomato and herbs rising together.
Before you start
Equipment: Rice cooker. Tap the ingredient checkboxes as you go.
Method
7 steps · tick each one off as you finish it.
Rinse the rice
Rinse 270 g of rice under cold running water for about 60 seconds, swirling until the water loses its milky cast, then let it drain for 2 minutes. This is the point to stop: the grains look chalky and no milky water drips away.
Season the liquid
Pour 300 ml of water into the rice cooker with 1 tbsp of soy sauce and 1/2 tsp of salt over the low heat setting for 10 seconds, then add the rice. Look for this: the liquid sits level with the grains.
Set the tomato
Set 200 g of whole tomato stem-side down in the centre of the rice, then scatter 80 g of corn and 80 g of peas around it off the heat for 20 seconds. The cue is simple: the tomato sits upright and level.
Run the cycle
Drizzle 1 tbsp of olive oil over the vegetables, close the lid and run the standard cycle for 35 minutes on the cooker's automatic heat. The moment it is ready is when the switch clicks and the vent stops hissing.
Add the butter
Rest the pot off the heat for 10 minutes with the lid on, then press 20 g of butter around the tomato for 30 seconds. It is done when the butter melts into a pale ring and the skin of the tomato splits.
Crush it through
Crush the 200 g tomato with a spoon over low heat for 60 seconds, folding its red juices through the rice until the grains turn even pink. You can tell it is ready when no whole shape remains and the colour is uniform.
Finish and serve
Scatter 10 g of torn herbs and 1 tsp of black pepper off the heat for 20 seconds and fold once. It is ready to serve when the rice is fluffy, faintly red and streaked with green herbs.
Tips that matter
- Use a ripe but firm tomato; an overripe one collapses before the cycle ends and releases too much liquid into the measured 300 ml.
- Do not stir before cooking, because keeping the tomato whole on top lets it steam gently and split only when you crush it at the end.
Easy variations
- Add 60 g of diced ham with the corn and peas for a saltier, more filling pot that still cooks in 35 minutes.
- Swap the butter for 1 tbsp of grated hard cheese stirred in off the heat until it melts into the hot rice.
Questions that come up
Why is my rice too wet?
The tomato released more juice than expected. Next time reduce the water to 270 ml, and if it is already wet, rest the pot uncovered off the heat for 5 minutes to let steam escape.
Can I use tinned tomatoes?
A whole fresh tomato holds its shape best, but 150 g of drained tinned plum tomato works; add it at the end and crush it in step 6 over low heat.
Nutrition, roughly
| Energy | 400 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 9 g |
| Carbohydrate | 72 g |
| Fat | 9 g |
Estimated per serving from standard ingredients, rounded. Treat it as a guide, not clinical data.
Rice, Water and Heat: A Ratio Field Guide
Why one cup of rice does not always want one cup of water, and how to tell a cooked pot from a steamed one before you lift the lid.
