Pegao, or Puerto Rican burnt rice, is a popular dish in Latin American cuisine.
But versions of Pegao are enjoyed all over the world and under different names like Tahdig in Persian, Intip in Indonesia, Okoge in Japan, and Socarrat in Spanish.
All these types of rice have a brown crust with a scorched look.
However, it’s not burnt but has a crunchy texture and nutty taste.
You can prepare this type of rice in certain rice cookers.
Let’s find out which rice cookers make this possible.
Which Rice Cookers Are Good for Making Pegao?
Rice cookers usually switch to the “Keep Warm” mode or turn off once the rice is cooked to avoid burning the rice.
However, Pegao requires a little extra cooking.
Here are the rice cookers that are suitable for this task.
1. Royal Cook
If you are familiar with Persian cuisine, you must have heard of Tahdig or crispy rice.
It’s a staple item on Persian menus, and they have it almost every day.
So, it’s not surprising that most Persian rice cookers come with a crispy/browning rice function to make Tahdig.
Royal Cook Persian rice cooker is one of the most common brands used for this task.
You can prepare Pegao in the same manner as you would make Tahdig with the Royal Cook Persian rice cooker.
To prepare normal rice, you can add rice and water to the cooker and switch it on.
However, to make Tahdig or Pegao, you must use equal parts of water and rice with salt and oil.
The amount of oil used will affect the browning process of the rice.
After the cooking process, the rice will have a brown crust.
The intensity of the color will reduce as you move from the base to the top of the rice.
The Royal cook Persian rice cooker has a simple design, with a non-stick coated pan and a glass lid.
You can cook up to 4 cups of rice in it at a time.
The cooker switches from cook to warm mode after the cooking process. It’s easy to use.
2. Pars
Pars automatic rice cooker is specially designed for preparing rice in the same way as in Persian cuisine.
It eliminates the guesswork of making rice crisp and brown and ensures that the results are perfect every time.
This rice cooker is available in different sizes with capacities ranging from three cups to fifteen cups.
All the rice cookers from the brand have a Tahdig setting for making crispy rice.
This appliance comes with a non-stick inner pot to hold the rice.
The cooking time is set using a knob with a rotary indicator.
The electric cord on the device is detachable, making it easy to store the device after use.
Cooking scorched rice in this rice cooker is easy and hassle-free.
Add rice of the required quantity and use the indicator level to add enough water.
Add a generous splash of oil for the beautiful brown color.
Then set the timer to sixty minutes, and your crispy burnt rice will be perfectly done and ready to serve.
The non-stick pot makes it easy to transfer the mold of rice to another dish and displays the beautiful colors it develops.
You can also use this rice cooker to prepare regular rice by skipping the addition of oil to it.
3. Brentwood
The Brentwood Persian rice cooker is good for making Pegao because this device is built for making Tahdig, which is similar to Pegao.
The device comes with an adjustable sixty-minute timer that you can set according to the type of rice you want.
The sixty-minute setting is recommended for getting crispy Tahdig Persian rice.
This appliance comes with stainless steel on the outside and a glass lid for easy viewing.
The interior pot is non-stick and easy to clean.
The indicator light stays on during operation.
The handles on the pot are cool to touch and don’t heat up during operation.
It also comes with an inbuilt keep-warm function.
So, the rice cooker automatically switches to keep warm mode after cooking, letting the rice stay warm till service.
This rice cooker has a large capacity; it can hold up to 8 cups of uncooked rice and make 16 cups of cooked rice.
4. The Crispy Rice Cooker
The Crispy rice cooker is a rice cooker with a designated fry mode.
It’s the only patented rice cooker that is specially designed for cooking crispy rice.
It’s a compact and stylish-looking appliance that serves controlled portions.
It’s well-suited for making Pegao and is convenient to use.
This rice cooker is made of BPA-free materials and comes with a glass lid.
This allows you to see the ingredients and monitor the progress of the cooking process.
The appliance has two operation settings–Crispy and Boil.
You can choose either mode depending on the results you want.
The Crispy rice cooker has a stainless-steel finish, and the inside pan is non-stick.
The non-stick pan is detachable, and you can flip it to transfer the cooked rice to a plate.
It’s also easy to clean.
This convenient rice cooker is well-suited for making a wide variety of dishes apart from rice.
It’s useful to create entire one-pot meals as you can cook different ingredients in the same unit.
It has a digital programmable timer with a display that allows you to set the cooking time for different ingredients.
5. Pars Khazar
The Pars Khazar automatic rice cooker is a reliable Iranian rice cooker model with advanced features to make crispy rice.
It comes with a manual timer that you can adjust for up to sixty minutes.
Cooking crispy rice will usually take up to sixty minutes in a rice cooker. So, this appliance is perfect for making Pegao.
An additional feature of the Pars Khazar automatic rice cooker is that it allows you to control the intensity of browning and the texture of the rice.
This aspect takes the guesswork out of the equation, and you can follow the instructions on the device to choose which setting is suitable for the level of browning you like.
The Pars Khazar rice cooker comes with a stainless-steel exterior and a non-stick internal pot made of Teflon.
The Teflon surface is prone to scratching. Hence, you should be careful while using it.
The basic Pars Khazar rice cooker model holds up to 8 cups of rice.
There are larger Pars Khazar automatic rice cookers that can hold more quantity of rice.
It’s designed for optimum energy usage, and the thermostat can be adjusted for different cooking times.
The color of the rice crust will vary according to the thermostat and timer setting.
The instruction manual with the device provides a basic outline of the cooking process, but you will have to experiment to get the hang of it.
This device has an audio timer that indicates when the rice is ready.
It’s reasonably priced and a good buy if you make Pegao or Tahdig regularly.
