rice cookers that arent $100 (or anywhere close)

[quikah]

Just an FYI on those fuzzylogic cookers. They take 2x longer to cook rice than the single button cookers. Normal cook time for white rice is about 40-50 minutes in those. The rice is pretty great though.

Pot cookers, how do you keep the bottom layer from sticking/being ruined? I always wind up with a thin layer of stuck yellowish nasty rice on the bottom of the pot.

 

[LikeLinus]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Rice cooked in a rice cooker doesn't taste any different than rice cooked on a stovetop assuming it is cooked properly (which isn't hard to do).

lazy > effort

Cooking rice in a rice cooker:

Measure water, pour in cooker
Measure rice, pour in cooker
Turn cooker on and wait until light goes off

Cooking rice on a stovetop:

Measure water, pour in pot and heat until it is just to boiling point
Measure rice, pour in water
Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until done

I don't see much difference in effort quite frankly.

Mainly because I'm doing prep work to make sushi when I use my rice cooker. I don't have to "watch" it to make sure it's done and turned off. The Rice Cooker automatically turns to "warm" and it allows me to keep working and then grab it when I'm ready.

I also don't have to wait for the water to boil before I can dump the rice in. It's one less step and time consumption.

 

[Capt Caveman]

After getting a rice cooker, I'll never go back to cooking it in a pot.

 

[Pheran]

It's very easy to make restaurant-style white rice in a steamer; I don't know why everyone thinks this is difficult. It only takes about 40-45 minutes to cook. I have the Oster 5715, it only costs about $30 at Target or Amazon.

 

[shopbruin]

Originally posted by: murphy55d

Originally posted by: Kaido
Amazon would have some crockpot-style cookers...no fuzzy logic though

yeah, they do. even a zojirushi under 40 bucks.

my question though stands, does this appliance make rice that tastes like chinese restaurant rice?

http://www.amazon.com/Zojirush...5/ref=pd_sbs_e_title_9

i had that one and i HATED it. the cleanup on that was ridiculous. if you use too much water, during cooking it gets all over the lid. yuck.

the taste comes from how much water you use. i find that chinese restaurants use a bit less water, because they make their rice drier. also you can't eat the rice right away - ideally you should let it sit a bit if you want it chinese restaurant style. that's another reason why the above would not work well for you, because i believe it didn't have or had a really crappy "keep warm" function.

get the zojirushi ones that have the full cover and not the glass lid. you won't be disappointed. even better is to get the ones with the timer, so you can just set your rice in, add water, set the timer, and it cooks when you want it cooked.

and also wash the rice before cooking. some of the rice i buy at asian supermarkets sometimes have little pieces of wood, or little off colored pieces of rice that i don't like cooking.

 

[Auric]

A gadget is only going to produce one result. Whereas a simple pot can do steamed, steeped, or pilaf and shan't break down.

 

[Eeezee]

I have a $40 rice steamer that makes absolutely kickass rice.

No matter what, don't get a rice cooker where the container with the rice in it sits too close to a heating element. I got a model like that as a gift once, it frequently burned the rice! I couldn't believe what a horrible design it was.

Ultimately, rice steamers all work the same way no matter how expensive they are. You have a bin that contains waiter sitting below the bowl, which will contain water + rice. You can vary the amount of water in the bowl/bin to modify fluffiness. Nothing influences the flavor of steamed rice except the type of liquid used (I prefer water myself, some prefer chicken broth but I couldn't even taste the difference) and the type of rice.

Even if you spend $200 on a super deluxe rice steamer, it won't work any better than your average $30-$40 model (unless the $30 model burns your rice like mine did - just take a look at the design and make sure it isn't obviously stupid).

 

[Eeezee]

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Rice cooked in a rice cooker doesn't taste any different than rice cooked on a stovetop assuming it is cooked properly (which isn't hard to do).

lazy > effort

Cooking rice in a rice cooker:

Measure water, pour in cooker
Measure rice, pour in cooker
Turn cooker on and wait until light goes off

Cooking rice on a stovetop:

Measure water, pour in pot and heat until it is just to boiling point
Measure rice, pour in water
Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until done

I don't see much difference in effort quite frankly.

It's cooler to have a rice cooker? I'm running out of arguments lol.

That list only convinced me that using a rice cooker is easier. I don't have to boil water myself. That is one less step It's also nice being able to leave it there to continue steaming without messing with it.

 

[nageov3t]

I've got the $40 zori from amazon.

bought it a few years ago... works great, but the rice does tend to burn if you let it sit too long after it's done.

my only real beef with rice cookers is that I like to cook my rice in bullion.

on a pot, it's easy enough to add bullion while the water boils and have it be fully dissolved before even adding the rice, but I've never found a way of mimicking that with a rice cooker.

 

[nod218]

This is a decent one, http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16896101403 , and it's 20 bucks after rebates. If you want it to be like rice in a Chinese restaurant, you'll want Calrose Rice http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calrose , I usually get this brand at my asian stores http://www.veryasia.com/bocari.html. Although i have seen it in some supermarkets, but they sell the small 5 pound bags. Also, you'll want to follow the instructions on how much water to add. It comes with a measuring cup and if say for example you put 2 cups (base on the measuring cup) of rice, you should put water up to the line indicated by the 2 in the rice cooker. Personally i find it better tasting when i put slightly less water (for this example around 1 3/4) cause it makes the steam cook the rice rather then the boiling it. Also you'll want to wash the rice in a separate bowl until the water turns clear, this removes a lot of the starch. Washing in a separate bowl helps protect the nonstick coating of the rice cooker.

Oh yeah, you also don't eat the rice right after the cooker says it's done....let it rest in the cooker until most of the steam is gone (usually takes 15-25 mins).

 

[Pepsei]

Originally posted by: Excelsior
The stove-top only people can have it.

We got a $30 rice cooker a while back and use it often. It beats using a pot because after measuring the rice/water and stirring once, you set it and leave it. It switches to warm mode after its done and you can eat it when you're ready. You can't do that the stove top way because if you aren't attentive, you'll burn the bottom of the rice in the pot.

So, rice cooker wins, sorry.

And I recommend Jasmine rice. Soooo good. I think Costco sells 25lb bags of it for $10.

i agree.... rice cooker is set and go, stove-top might be cheaper, but it is more tedious unless you are used to cooking with the same amount of rice everytime.

go to your asian friend's house and check. they probably have a rice cooker. i know i do. i have a cheap model from target, that costs about $24.99 and it has a timer, which i can set and come home to a fresh pot of rice. it doubles as a steamer too. of course i could go with a top of the line zojirushi too, but i prefer to spend my money on the quality of the rice.

if you really are hard core about traditional rice cooking, nothing short of using a pot like this, over gas (or even wood burning) stove with a stick of special charcoal in the pot is going to impress me.

yes, charcoal will actually make the rice taste better, that technique has been around for ages, but is recently making a come back in Japan.

 

[0roo0roo]

there are different types of rice
restaurant rice is one of the tastier ones.
there are shorter or fatter grain types some other ethnic groups prefer but i personally think taste worse. i think the stuff chinese restaurants use is long grain

 

[mrrman]

Originally posted by: purbeast0
rice cookers suck.

rice made in pots is 1000x better than rice made in rice cookers.

love the rice cooker...I use Balsamati rice which comes out fluffy( buy it at Costco)

 

[murphy55d]

thanks for allt he replies. is that one from newegg better than the $40 zoji?

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: nod218
This is a decent one, http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16896101403 , and it's 20 bucks after rebates. If you want it to be like rice in a Chinese restaurant, you'll want Calrose Rice http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calrose , I usually get this brand at my asian stores http://www.veryasia.com/bocari.html. Although i have seen it in some supermarkets, but they sell the small 5 pound bags. Also, you'll want to follow the instructions on how much water to add. It comes with a measuring cup and if say for example you put 2 cups (base on the measuring cup) of rice, you should put water up to the line indicated by the 2 in the rice cooker. Personally i find it better tasting when i put slightly less water (for this example around 1 3/4) cause it makes the steam cook the rice rather then the boiling it. Also you'll want to wash the rice in a separate bowl until the water turns clear, this removes a lot of the starch. Washing in a separate bowl helps protect the nonstick coating of the rice cooker.

Oh yeah, you also don't eat the rice right after the cooker says it's done....let it rest in the cooker until most of the steam is gone (usually takes 15-25 mins).

:thumbsup:I love Calrose rice. I use it almost exclusively...that or Jasmine rice.

 

[Pliablemoose]

LOL @ rice cooker threads.

I've had 4 or so, finally kept my fuzzy logic Zojirushi because it does brown rice so well.

Sure you can make it on a stove, but you can slam water & rice into a cooker & leave it all day & it tastes pretty good hours later, you can't do that on a stove.

 

[Auric]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
there are different types of rice
restaurant rice is one of the tastier ones.
there are shorter or fatter grain types some other ethnic groups prefer but i personally think taste worse. i think the stuff chinese restaurants use is long grain

Generally, methinks, short grain is desirable for steamed white sticky style as with typical Nipponese. Whereas long-grain is more appropriate for remaining seperate as is common with mixed dishes du les Chinois. Personally, I mostly use Basmati and less so Jasmine but prepare it in various ways (pot 'n' stove, of course).

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose
LOL @ rice cooker threads.

I've had 4 or so, finally kept my fuzzy logic Zojirushi because it does brown rice so well.

Sure you can make it on a stove, but you can slam water & rice into a cooker & leave it all day & it tastes pretty good hours later, you can't do that on a stove.

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