Best Rice Cooker

[mvbighead]

You could probably cut the screen out of the splatter guard to use in the steamer. You may even luck into one that's exactly the right diameter, and you just have to remove the handle.

Kinda wondered about that, though most seem to have a handle of some sort.

Only reason the cheesecloth idea came out was some cooking show where they talked to a guy running a sushi place. He made a ton of rice, and the cheesecloth (or similar) was what he put in his steamer and then he just pulled the rice out and set it on a clean preparing surface.

I guess if it's being steamed, it won't burn, but I'd definitely prefer something that I can just set in there and then throw in the dishwasher.

 

[Abe Froman]

Multi-functional.

 

[djnsmith7]

I bought mine at Target for $20 6 years ago & it still works great. Can cook up to 6 cups at a time.

Found today's equivalent. Will also steam your vegetables at the same time in a container above the rice. Highly recommend it. No need to spend more than $20.

Aroma Rice Cooker

 

[thestrangebrew1]

My parents have a Tiger brand rice cooker. It's pretty pricey, but you can cook upwards of 6 cups and keep it onthe warm setting and it'll still be good for a few days. The one I have sucks. It has a warming function, but the rice isn't good after about 24 hrs. It burns it & doesn't dispell the condensation as well, so it gets rotten pretty fast after cooking.

 

[ponyo]

I've been eating rice all my life and I've never spent more than $30 on equipment.

You guys are way too spoiled.

People spend hundreds on knives and other kitchen equipment. $150 for rice cooker is cheap if you use it everyday and the unit last 10+ years. I have $800 coffee machine that only makes coffee. I could get the same result with $20 French press. But if my coffee machine broke tomorrow I would go out buy another $1,000 coffee machine without hesitation. I also have $100 thermometer I occasionally use to measure cooking temperature. Is it necessary to have $100 thermometer? No, but it's nice luxury to have. Nice rice cooker is a luxury if you eat lot of rice. Of course if you think 10lb rice bag is lot of rice, you probably don't need one. 10lb bag would last about a week with some Asian families.

 

[BoomerD]

I picked up one of these at Costco last month:

Makes VERY good rice. MUCH better than I've ever been able to make on the stove.

Is it "THE BEST" rice cooker? I doubt it, but for about $30...it does a damned good job.

 

[AstroManLuca]

I picked up one of these at Costco last month:

Makes VERY good rice. MUCH better than I've ever been able to make on the stove.

Is it "THE BEST" rice cooker? I doubt it, but for about $30...it does a damned good job.

My mom got a couple of those as well and gave me one. Yeah, it's pretty decent, but I'm still not a huge fan and I far prefer the immersion boiling method. It takes like 1.5 hours to make brown rice and there's always a lot of rice stuck to the bottom and sides.

 

[BoomerD]

My mom got a couple of those as well and gave me one. Yeah, it's pretty decent, but I'm still not a huge fan and I far prefer the immersion boiling method. It takes like 1.5 hours to make brown rice and there's always a lot of rice stuck to the bottom and sides.

You may be right. I'm not a fan of rice, but we've started eating more of it lately.
I cook rice twice per week for my dogs...and until we got this, I used the microwave. That was OK, but just OK...never truly cooked the rice properly.
The rice cooker gives me perfect rice every time.

 

[Howard]

Fuck me, another rice cooker thread.

 

[Kaido]

My 2 cents:

Smaller - Tiger 5.5-cup (JAG-B10U) rice cooker (replaced by the JBA-T10U)

Bigger - Tiger 10-cup (JAG-B18U) rice cooker

I have the smaller one, which is more than enough for my family. I got my in-laws the bigger one for when everyone gets together - it's easy to make a million things out of rice, so doing it in bulk on automatic is awesome. My smaller one lives on my counter; the bigger one lives in the pantry since it's a bit large to keep out if you don't have a big kitchen. It's fuzzy logic, so it's more expensive (in the $100 - $200 range), but it comes out perfect every time and you don't have to babysit it. I also really like how the rice comes out. Alternatively you can get the microwave stuff, the stovetop stuff, or a timered non-computerized rice cooker. But I really like these models a lot for their convenience & results.

It makes great rice. It makes really good brown rice. And it makes oatmeal (steel-cut oatmeal takes forever to cook!). Plus you can keep it on the Warm setting and have it be warm all day for random snacks (haystacks, burritos, stir-fry, bowl of rice with soy sauce, tuna & rice, etc.). I would recommend one if you eat a lot of rice or want to eat a lot of rice. We use it at least a couple times a week.

 

[Red Storm]

My mom is the best rice cooker I know lol

Seriously though, her rice puts rice cooker rice to shame. Wish I could cook it like she does.

 

[CrimsonWolf]

http://www.amazon.com/Zojirushi-NS-Z...hi+rice+cooker

Is the one I got. I used to think these were such a waste of money but holy crap I love mine. It comes out perfect everytime and the warming function keeps the rice warm for hours on end without drying it out. I also like how I can schedule the rice to cook. I set mine to be ready at 7:00pm so that by the time I get home, I've got hot rice waiting for me.

This. We use different kinds of rice and it comes out perfect every time. Well worth it if you go through a lot of rice.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Fuck me, another rice cooker thread.

What were the odds? :ninja:

 

[TangoJuliet]

I asked my asian friend about this last year. His family owns a chinese restaurant and he said those zojirushi ones are over priced. He told me to look for ones that had "fuzzy logic" in them. I found a panasonic one on sale at newegg for like $75. Its pretty awesome but it does take a little longer to cook than your standard pot/stove method. At least this way it frees up the stovetop and you can basically set it and forget it.

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-SR-D...ic+rice+cooker

 

[PeeluckyDuckee]

I am not a good rice cooker, yet I eat rice probably 5-6 out of 7 days a week, so I don't mind paying good coin for a good Zojirushi rice cooker that can help me get it right the way I like it consistently.

 

[KeithTalent]

I just use a sauce pan. Turns out perfectly. /shrug

KT

 

[abaez]

Zojirushi forever.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

lol this thread separates the Asians from the non Asians.

Zojirushi. I spent $150 and I'm glad I spent it. Perfect rice. Have fun with your terrible rice cooked on a stove.

You think a cheap substitute is ok? Have fun with burnt rice. I used to cook dinner late in college, eat at like 9 or something, forget to turn off the rice cooker, wake up at 8am and have the rice still in great condition because it can keep warm for a solid 13 hours or whatever and still not ruin the rice.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

If the non-Asians are laughing at $150 rice cookers, please do us a favor and laugh at your $150 toasters too.

 

[sdifox]

I think I am going to go that route. I really appreciate the tip. I'd been thinking about steaming it for some time, but I never committed to finding a way to do it.

I was just considering the use of something like a cheese cloth inside of my steaming pots. We have these:

and due to the large holes, I had considered lining the basket with a cheese cloth to keep the rice from falling through.

Trying to figure out if we have a strainer, as I may look into that method instead. If not, I'll go grab one an give it a try.

Only problem I have is a rice cooker is yet another device that I don't have room for in the kitchen. Pots and pans are fine, but each added device needs a home. Adding a splatter guard would be easy, but I am fairly sure we have one (just don't use it much).

Oh, one last question, how long do you usually steam it? Normal 30-40 minute cook time?

Chesse cloth, several layers. That is the proper way to make sticky rice. You can steam regular rice too. However, the time required is dependent on lots of things so I can't really tell you how long.

You need to pre-soak rice though if you are steaming. Steaming will take longer because it is not pressurised.

 

[JulesMaximus]

You know what... I really can't fault anyone for owning a rice cooker. I've gone to brewing coffee manually but I had a coffee maker for years so knock yourselves out with your thermally controlled electronic water boiling devices.

 

[Kelvrick]

If the non-Asians are laughing at $150 rice cookers, please do us a favor and laugh at your $150 toasters too.

Hey, fuck you. I have an expensive toaster, toaster oven ANDrice cooker.

 

[Born2bwire]

I asked my asian friend about this last year. His family owns a chinese restaurant and he said those zojirushi ones are over priced. He told me to look for ones that had "fuzzy logic" in them. I found a panasonic one on sale at newegg for like $75. Its pretty awesome but it does take a little longer to cook than your standard pot/stove method. At least this way it frees up the stovetop and you can basically set it and forget it.

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-SR-D...ic+rice+cooker

I had some Panasonic products that were pretty good when I was in China. When I came back to the US, I had to spend 50% more to get a comparable Zojirushi product. So this doesn't surprise me.

 

[waggy]

If the non-Asians are laughing at $150 rice cookers, please do us a favor and laugh at your $150 toasters too.

i do. who the fuck needs a $150 toaster? that's just fucking nuts!

 

[mrCide]

Bought a Zojirushi induction based one last year when it went on sale on Amazon. wife is happy with it, easy clean up, and has a ton of features (and ability to cook a lot of things too).