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Is there a better alternative to a propane rice cooker for cooking rice outside e.g farmers market, street food environment?

I have found very little options for actual machines in the united states, the only options being a 55cup units with no smaller sizes.

Of the few options for propane rice cookers most are overseas (china) and only available in bulk i.e purchasing over 50 units.

Mixed Rice
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  • @user141592 If anyone has knowledge here that would be helpful. If you look into propane rice cookers you would see there is very little information on them in the U.S . You flagged this thinking it was a product recommendation which it is not. But I understand how you would think that if you didn't understand the difference between propane and electric rice cookers. I have removed all product links but now there is even less information on what a propane rice cooker is. – Mixed Rice Nov 05 '21 at 08:07
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    How much rice do you need to cook? Do you have access to electricity? – GdD Nov 05 '21 at 08:48
  • What I've seen (but never done outside) is just using a propane burner with a big pan on top. – Chris H Nov 05 '21 at 09:10
  • Is steaming the rice using a properly sized propane burner and a big pan with a lid an option? – John Doe Nov 05 '21 at 10:29

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In Thailand I've often seen outdoor cookpots like the one below. Googling the term Thai charcoal burner will return the bottom part of the device pictured. It's filled it with charcoal and acts like a stove.

The middle and top parts are used when cooking sticky rice. The middle part is a thin metal pot that holds at least a few liters of water. The top part is a bamboo basket which holds the rice. When the water in the pot starts to boil, the rice is steamed. While steaming they typically cover the rice with a lid. Sticky rice is normally pre-soaked but I'm not sure if that's necessary for other types of rice.

Wikipedia provides this picture by Feral Arts under CC-BY 2.0:

enter image description here

I'm not sure if this works with regular rice, but I don't see why it wouldn't. From what I've seen, Thais mostly use electric rice cookers when cooking jasmine rice.

Of course this setup can be adapted to your situation. Bamboo steamer baskets and corresponding pots are probably available at local Asian stores and the steaming can be achieved by any kind of heat source.

The only thing to be mindful of is that the bottom of the bamboo basket does not touch the boiling water because you want it to steam.

JJJ
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