As a chef, I often get asked what my style of cooking is. Officially, I specialize in Hawaii’s local food and diasporic Asian cuisines, but unofficially, or if you catch me on a tired day, I’ll say my style of cooking is “dorm room”.

Which means I can make a filling, elaborate meal out of seemingly nothing, so long as I have a rice cooker in my arsenal. It’s my “desert island appliance”, the one piece of equipment I could still thrive with if I lost my entire kitchen. And anybody can learn the same hacks and shortcuts.

A portable kitchen

Today’s rice cookers come with sometimes dozens of functions, which I