My mom taught me this trick, for times when you don't want to use the whole pot in the rice cooker to cook rice for just one or two persons.

Back home in Malaysia, the usual type of rice we buy is Southeast Asian, like Thai or Malaysian rice (vs the convenient kind you get here), which you can also totally cook using the microwave provided you get the timer and the water/rice portioning just right.

Using a microwaveable bowl, you put in water that's about a-third (1/3) of your third finger above the grains, and then nuke it for 10-11 minutes, and voila, you get perfect rice that's just enough for one person!