Slow Cooker Spinach Rice

The soup costume is complete. Barbara's sewing skills produced a masterpiece: a gray fabric cylinder (the pot) that Miya wears like a barrel, with felt carrots, tofu cubes, and mushrooms emerging from the top, and a small banner on the front that reads "MISO" in Barbara's impeccable handwriting. Miya tried it on and spun in circles saying "I am soup! I am soup!" and I took approximately two hundred photographs because this is the peak of my parenting life and I know it will not last.

Halloween in the neighborhood was gentle — the same houses, the same candy, the same ritual of toddlers in costumes collecting things they do not understand. Miya's soup costume was the hit of the block. Neighbors who have never spoken to me stopped to ask about it. "Is she a pot of soup?" they asked. "She is miso soup," I said. "Japanese." The "Japanese" was unnecessary but I said it anyway because the specificity matters, because miso soup is not just soup, it is a specific soup with a specific history and a specific grandmother who made it for ninety years and who would have been mortified and secretly delighted that her great-granddaughter was walking the streets of Portland dressed as her life's work.

I made Fumiko's inarizushi this week — sushi rice stuffed into sweet, simmered tofu pockets. They are Fumiko's picnic food, the food she packed for every outing, every school event, every occasion that required portable nourishment. The tofu pockets are simmered in a sweet soy broth until they absorb the liquid and become soft, sweet, slightly chewy parcels. Filling them with vinegared rice is an act of gentle pressure — too hard and the pocket tears, too soft and the rice falls out. Like so many things in Fumiko's kitchen, inarizushi requires a touch that is firm and gentle at the same time. I am learning this touch. In the kitchen and in life. Firm and gentle. Both at once.

Brian took Miya trick-or-treating while I handed out candy at the door. He was good with her — patient, silly, carrying her when she got tired. He is a good father in costume, on holidays, in the public moments. The private moments are where the gap lives. But tonight was public and tonight was good and I am learning not to poison the good moments with the knowledge of the not-good ones. Tonight, he was good. Tonight, I will hold that.

Fumiko’s inarizushi starts with the rice — vinegared, seasoned, pressed with just the right firmness into those sweet tofu pockets. It reminded me that rice is never just rice in a Japanese kitchen; it’s the thing everything else is built around. I don’t always have time to simmer tofu pockets from scratch, but this slow cooker spinach rice gives me that same feeling of tending to something, of letting a pot do its quiet work while the rest of life happens around it — like a toddler spinning in circles announcing that she is soup.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes | Total Time: 2 hours 40 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice, rinsed
3 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
1 package (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon soy sauce (optional, for a savory finish)

Instructions

Prep the slow cooker. Lightly grease the insert of a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker with cooking spray or a small amount of butter to prevent sticking.
Combine ingredients. Add the rinsed rice, broth, squeezed spinach, diced onion, garlic, butter pieces, salt, pepper, and thyme to the slow cooker. Stir gently to distribute everything evenly.
Cook on low. Cover and cook on LOW for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, until the rice has absorbed the broth and is tender. Avoid lifting the lid during the first 2 hours to retain steam.
Check for doneness. At the 2-hour mark, uncover and test the rice. If any liquid remains and the rice is not yet tender, replace the lid and cook an additional 15 to 20 minutes.
Finish and fluff. Once done, stir in the soy sauce if using. Use a fork to gently fluff the rice, folding the spinach throughout so it’s evenly distributed.
Serve. Serve warm as a side dish alongside grilled fish, roasted vegetables, or tofu. Leftovers keep well in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Nutrition (per serving)

Slow Cooker Spinach Rice — The Rice That Holds Everything Together