Cooked rice in the Airfryer is making waves on social media with promising videos. A baking dish slipped into the basket, a bit of water, and you’re good to go. The reality is more nuanced. The Moulinex Airfryer works by circulating hot air, a principle designed to make food crispy, not to cook grains in liquid. Understanding this limitation changes the entire outcome.
Why the Moulinex Airfryer is Not a Rice Cooker
Have you noticed that the basket of an Airfryer is perforated with holes? That’s the heart of the system: hot air circulates around the food to sear it. A grain of rice, however, needs to absorb water while being submerged. These two logics oppose each other.
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Recent culinary articles categorize rice and pasta as foods to be reserved for cooking in water, unless they have been precooked. The reason is simple: without prolonged immersion, the starch does not gelatinize properly, and the grain remains hard in the center or dries out on the surface.
When you want to cook rice in the Moulinex Airfryer, you must therefore circumvent the normal operation of the device. This involves using a suitable dish, filled with water, placed in the basket. The Airfryer then becomes a small convection oven, not an air fryer.
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Comparisons of recently released devices also confirm that Moulinex positions its Cookeo and Airfryer ranges as complementary and not interchangeable: rice is cooked in the pressure cooker, and crispiness is achieved in the Airfryer.
Cooking Rice in the Airfryer: The Step-by-Step Method
If you insist on using your Moulinex Airfryer for rice, the so-called “step-by-step” technique yields the most consistent results. It requires a bit more attention than a rice cooker, but it works.
The Right Equipment
The basket alone is not suitable. You need a heat-resistant dish (ceramic, Pyrex, or metal mold) that fits into your Airfryer’s bowl. This dish must be deep enough to hold the rice and water without overflowing during cooking.
The Concrete Steps
- Rinse basmati or jasmine rice under cold water until the water runs clear, to remove excess starch that makes the grains sticky
- Place the rice in the dish, add hot water (not cold, as the temperature rise will be faster) and a pinch of salt
- Cover the dish with aluminum foil to trap the steam; it is this steam that actually cooks the rice
- Start a first cooking session at moderate temperature, then check the texture before restarting if necessary
The technical point that viral recipes often forget: testing the cooking in stages prevents drying out. Rather than a single long time, two short sessions with a check in between yield a more uniform grain.
The water/rice ratio remains the same as for traditional cooking: one volume of rice to about one and a half volumes of water. Basmati rice, being finer, requires a little less water than round rice.
Viral Rice Recipes in the Airfryer: What the Manuals Don’t Say
TikTok and Instagram videos show golden, perfect rice coming out of an Airfryer. They accumulate millions of views. But they overlook several constraints.
Do not overcrowd the basket is the first rule emphasized by feedback from Moulinex Airfryer users. Air must circulate. A dish that is too wide or too tall blocks ventilation and creates uneven cooking zones. The rice on top dries out while the rice at the bottom remains soaked.
Another blind spot: the question of raw rice placed directly in the basket without a dish. Some videos suggest this. The grains fall through the holes, the water drains into the collection tray, and the result has nothing to do with what is shown on screen. These contents are often filmed with devices different from those announced in the title.
Health and food media have begun to list foods that lose texture and nutritional interest in the Airfryer. Foods rich in water (zucchini, tomatoes) are included, and raw rice is now included unless precooked. The reason is the same: the pulsed hot air is not designed to hydrate a food; it is designed to dehydrate it on the surface.
Pilaf Rice or Fried Rice: Recipes That Really Work in the Moulinex Airfryer
Where the Moulinex Airfryer truly shines is with already cooked rice. Leftover rice, cold and slightly dry, transforms remarkably well in the device.
Fried rice in the Airfryer requires a drizzle of olive oil, finely chopped vegetables, and a few minutes at high temperature. The result is a separate grain, slightly golden, with a texture that a traditional pan struggles to achieve without excess fat.
For pilaf rice, the hybrid method yields good results:
- Sauté the raw rice with a bit of oil and spices in a pan for two minutes
- Transfer to a suitable dish, add hot broth, cover with aluminum foil
- Place in the Airfryer and proceed with short cooking stages
Already cooked rice remains the best candidate for the Airfryer. The circulation of hot air does exactly what it is designed to do: create a crispy surface on food that already contains its water.
The most useful reflex with a Moulinex Airfryer and rice, ultimately, is not to replace the pot. It is to cook the rice normally, then elevate it in the Airfryer the next day. Two devices, two steps, a result that neither can achieve alone.