Rice cooker advice please
Jan 31, 2011, 8:27 pm
#31
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: TYO
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Posts: 9,632
We bought a water heater from them last year. Easy to deal with and delivered promptly. Product works fine on UK mains electricity. Price was daft, but Mrs. jib had to have it. We got our rice cooker from the Hoo Hing store on the North Circular. Korean brand - industrial size. Works fine. Reasonable price, considering you could cook enough rice to feed an army in it. The same store sells ordinary domestic size rice cookers too. Chinese made. Cheap as chips IIRC.
Feb 2, 2011, 8:18 am
#32
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Perth, Australia
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Posts: 647
Ah. Rice. My wife and I are very picky about our rice...
First off, we think rice cooker > pan, in nearly all situations except when you want to make fried rice (chinese style), and require the last bit of frying in a pan...
Regarding rice cookers:
- We've had many a many a rice cooker, and tasted rice from many different rice cookers. We also live in Japan some of the time and get to taste their new cookers.
- In terms of rice, I think rice is a big factor. If you can get high quality rice (I'm not sure how rice is sold in the USA), then you will get a good meal in the end. We know people who own rice fields and they are the source of most of our rice.
- Low quality cookers. Cheapo brands, there is not much difference in what you buy. Eventually, it will simply be what kind of rice you use. If you put high quality rice in those cheapo cookers, it will inevitably taste nicer than the crap you put in.
- Medium quality cookers. Inevitably the same as the cheapo brands. The higher quality your rice, the better it will taste. I think it is a good investment to get at least a medium quality cooker. The low quality cookers will die with time, nearly always, and the rice quality will become worse and worse.
- High quality cookers. Japan is the place. We own a Mitsubishi NJ-XSB10J. It uses a charcoal cooker inside, and has a steam system which recycles the steam from the cooked rice to be used to cook the rice again. It's absolute heaven. For high quality cookers, even if you use some crap rice, you will end up getting something more than edible; great for a meal. If you use high quality rice...drool. Ours cost around $600 (USD) and we forked out $250 for a transformer to bring it to Aust.
In the end, after buying many cookers, we just forked it out for what we have now. Couldn't go back.
Just from our experiences and our 2c.
Hope it helps
First off, we think rice cooker > pan, in nearly all situations except when you want to make fried rice (chinese style), and require the last bit of frying in a pan...
Regarding rice cookers:
- We've had many a many a rice cooker, and tasted rice from many different rice cookers. We also live in Japan some of the time and get to taste their new cookers.
- In terms of rice, I think rice is a big factor. If you can get high quality rice (I'm not sure how rice is sold in the USA), then you will get a good meal in the end. We know people who own rice fields and they are the source of most of our rice.
- Low quality cookers. Cheapo brands, there is not much difference in what you buy. Eventually, it will simply be what kind of rice you use. If you put high quality rice in those cheapo cookers, it will inevitably taste nicer than the crap you put in.
- Medium quality cookers. Inevitably the same as the cheapo brands. The higher quality your rice, the better it will taste. I think it is a good investment to get at least a medium quality cooker. The low quality cookers will die with time, nearly always, and the rice quality will become worse and worse.
- High quality cookers. Japan is the place. We own a Mitsubishi NJ-XSB10J. It uses a charcoal cooker inside, and has a steam system which recycles the steam from the cooked rice to be used to cook the rice again. It's absolute heaven. For high quality cookers, even if you use some crap rice, you will end up getting something more than edible; great for a meal. If you use high quality rice...drool. Ours cost around $600 (USD) and we forked out $250 for a transformer to bring it to Aust.
In the end, after buying many cookers, we just forked it out for what we have now. Couldn't go back.
Just from our experiences and our 2c.
Hope it helps
Feb 2, 2011, 9:12 am
#33
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Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: UK
Posts: 11,969
Just to close the loop .......
As I said a few posts ago I ordered the Zojirushi ZAQ10 a couple of days ago which arrived an hour or so back and I've just cooked my first Jasmine Hom Mali rice. I'm thrilled to bits with the result ... much better than I was producing manualy and the difference was greater than I expected. Even my wife who was sceptical about spending on a rice cooker is surpised at how good the rice is and thinks it was very worthwhile.
I'm looking forward to my first batch of basmati - I hope it's seperate grains and not too much like chinese in style!
During the course of my reading I've read some interesting things about how rice cookers has changed the lives of people in Thailand. Quite a difference between getting up at 4am to light the charcoal in order to have the rice ready for breakfast!
From my own point of view this will add a new dimension of not only improving my rice - and I want to increase the number of meals with rice and decrease the number with potato - but also cooking "to the point". Up until now all cooking and eating times revolved around the time that the rice would be as close to perfect as I could previously manage. Now - it's ready when I'm ready. It keeps warm!
The combined effect of my sous vide cooker and the rice cooker (where they are both used in the same meal) should give me a much more relaxed approach to when we sit down to eat because it'll now be ready when we're ready.
Thanks for all the pointers and help in deciding!
ps I found this list interesting - hope it's of interest to others!
As I said a few posts ago I ordered the Zojirushi ZAQ10 a couple of days ago which arrived an hour or so back and I've just cooked my first Jasmine Hom Mali rice. I'm thrilled to bits with the result ... much better than I was producing manualy and the difference was greater than I expected. Even my wife who was sceptical about spending on a rice cooker is surpised at how good the rice is and thinks it was very worthwhile.
I'm looking forward to my first batch of basmati - I hope it's seperate grains and not too much like chinese in style!
During the course of my reading I've read some interesting things about how rice cookers has changed the lives of people in Thailand. Quite a difference between getting up at 4am to light the charcoal in order to have the rice ready for breakfast!
From my own point of view this will add a new dimension of not only improving my rice - and I want to increase the number of meals with rice and decrease the number with potato - but also cooking "to the point". Up until now all cooking and eating times revolved around the time that the rice would be as close to perfect as I could previously manage. Now - it's ready when I'm ready. It keeps warm!
The combined effect of my sous vide cooker and the rice cooker (where they are both used in the same meal) should give me a much more relaxed approach to when we sit down to eat because it'll now be ready when we're ready.
Thanks for all the pointers and help in deciding!
ps I found this list interesting - hope it's of interest to others!
Did You Know?
1. Rice is the staple food for two-thirds of the world's population. The simple
grain has been a popular life-sustaining food for thousands of years
because it is nutritious, versatile, economical, easy to prepare and tastes
good!
2. Rice is a complex carbohydrate. Humans need complex carbohydrates in
their diet because they fuel the body. Complex carbohydrates are stored
in muscles and released as energy as needed.
3. Rice protein, when compared to that of other grains, is considered one of
the highest quality proteins. It has all eight of the essential amino acids,
necessary building blocks for strong muscles. Rice is also a good source
of other essential nutrients -- thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, phosphorus, iron
and potassium. Rice contains no fat, no cholesterol and no sodium. This
along with being nonallergenic and gluten free makes rice especially well
suited for persons with special dietary needs.
4. Rice offers versatility unsurpassed by any other food. It can be made part
of any meal in recipes for soups, salads, main dishes and desserts.
5. In Asia rice is considered sacred. In Japan there are shrines to the god of
rice.
6. Honda means "main rice field." Toyota means " bountiful rice field."
7. Arkansas is the largest rice producing state in the U. S.
8. Rice can be indefinitely cropped in irrigated fields. Some rice fields are
believed to have been continuously cropped for more than 2,000 years.
9. There are over 29,000 grains of rice in one pound (based on long grain
white rice).
10. In Japan, rice grains are affectionately called "little Buddha’s," to
encourage children to eat rice for the rest of their lives.
11. The Greek poet, Sophocles, in 495 BC mentioned rice in the Tragedies.
12. Louis Armstrong signed his autograph "Red Beans and Ricely Yours..."
13. In China, the typical greeting is "Have you had your rice today?" The
typical answer is "Yes."
14. In India, it is said the grains of rice should be like two brothers: close but
not stuck together.
15. In Thailand when you call your family to a meal you say, "Eat Rice."
16. The Japan word for cooked rice is the same as the word for meal.
1. Rice is the staple food for two-thirds of the world's population. The simple
grain has been a popular life-sustaining food for thousands of years
because it is nutritious, versatile, economical, easy to prepare and tastes
good!
2. Rice is a complex carbohydrate. Humans need complex carbohydrates in
their diet because they fuel the body. Complex carbohydrates are stored
in muscles and released as energy as needed.
3. Rice protein, when compared to that of other grains, is considered one of
the highest quality proteins. It has all eight of the essential amino acids,
necessary building blocks for strong muscles. Rice is also a good source
of other essential nutrients -- thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, phosphorus, iron
and potassium. Rice contains no fat, no cholesterol and no sodium. This
along with being nonallergenic and gluten free makes rice especially well
suited for persons with special dietary needs.
4. Rice offers versatility unsurpassed by any other food. It can be made part
of any meal in recipes for soups, salads, main dishes and desserts.
5. In Asia rice is considered sacred. In Japan there are shrines to the god of
rice.
6. Honda means "main rice field." Toyota means " bountiful rice field."
7. Arkansas is the largest rice producing state in the U. S.
8. Rice can be indefinitely cropped in irrigated fields. Some rice fields are
believed to have been continuously cropped for more than 2,000 years.
9. There are over 29,000 grains of rice in one pound (based on long grain
white rice).
10. In Japan, rice grains are affectionately called "little Buddha’s," to
encourage children to eat rice for the rest of their lives.
11. The Greek poet, Sophocles, in 495 BC mentioned rice in the Tragedies.
12. Louis Armstrong signed his autograph "Red Beans and Ricely Yours..."
13. In China, the typical greeting is "Have you had your rice today?" The
typical answer is "Yes."
14. In India, it is said the grains of rice should be like two brothers: close but
not stuck together.
15. In Thailand when you call your family to a meal you say, "Eat Rice."
16. The Japan word for cooked rice is the same as the word for meal.
Feb 2, 2011, 11:03 am
#34
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 308
A rice cooker has been a welcome addition in my kitchen for 15 year
I had a zojirushi for 9 years. I replaced it after it's demise with an Aroma ARC-838TC 8-Cup purchased on Amazon. It works better. I use it for short grain brown rice or basmati rice. I purchased an inexpensive, $ 19.95, black and decker cooker for one of my college kids. After 1.5 years it works great.
I had a zojirushi for 9 years. I replaced it after it's demise with an Aroma ARC-838TC 8-Cup purchased on Amazon. It works better. I use it for short grain brown rice or basmati rice. I purchased an inexpensive, $ 19.95, black and decker cooker for one of my college kids. After 1.5 years it works great.
Feb 2, 2011, 1:22 pm
#35
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I have the Aroma ARC-838 TC (whatever all that means) and I've been really happy with it. It's way better than the pan and obviously better than microwaving the instant stuff.
I like Rice
I like Rice
Feb 2, 2011, 5:01 pm
#36
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 311
I just bought a Cuisinart Rice Cooker/Steamer about a month ago. What I find surprising though, is the rice seems to boil all the time until done. When I cook rice in a pan on the stove, after it starts boiling you turn the heat on low - why the difference? Or do other rice cookers work differently?
Feb 2, 2011, 5:27 pm
#37
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Location: London
Posts: 18,402
Originally Posted by uk1;1578683 QUOTE
10. In Japan, rice grains are affectionately called "little Buddha’s," to encourage children to eat rice for the rest of their lives.
?????
I guess one could argue that European children are awed by a slice of bread as it represents the body of Christ.
Or bread is so important that many use the word when talking about money.
Feb 3, 2011, 1:24 am
#38
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Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: UK
Posts: 11,969
The simplest way to cook long grain (converted) white rice is to place rice in cooking bowl and add liquid to appropriate line marking.
The more expensive fuzzy logic versions that only cook rice ie they are not multi talented - combine pre-soaking, boiling and steaming and when the fuzzylogic chip detects the temperature rising above 212f (the maximum temperature water reaches) it presumes when this temperature has been reached that all the water has now been used and goes into keep warm mode. It also allows you to select different rice types and desired different hardness of finished cooked rice. With your unit, you may take the lid on and off the unit whilst cooking in order to add stuff to steam - and this will compromise the accuracy of cooking perfect rice - with the fuzzy logic versions you have to leave it without disturbing it until you're told by beep that it's ready. Basically they just cook rice.
I'll be corrected if this is wrong - but I hope it helps explains the difference.
be careful not to scratch the cooking surface.
Feb 3, 2011, 7:37 am
#42
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 311
My understanding is that Cuisinart Rice Cooker/Steamer is a very attractive version of the cheaper boil and steam croc type rice cookers with the ability to hold once cooked. Page 6 of the instructions:
As I understand it it combines a steamer section so that you can steam other things on top of your rice - so this can be combined with cooking rice. I believe therefore it replicates and cooks rice in much the same way you'd cook it in a saucepan manualy except you have less control ie you can't turn down the gas! So for example you could fry onions in a sauce pan, add some rice and water and then put a steamer on top - and my understanding is that this is what the Cuisinart Rice Cooker/Steamer basically allows you to do.
The more expensive fuzzy logic versions that only cook rice ie they are not multi talented - combine pre-soaking, boiling and steaming and when the fuzzylogic chip detects the temperature rising above 212f (the maximum temperature water reaches) it presumes when this temperature has been reached that all the water has now been used and goes into keep warm mode. It also allows you to select different rice types and desired different hardness of finished cooked rice. With your unit, you may take the lid on and off the unit whilst cooking in order to add stuff to steam - and this will compromise the accuracy of cooking perfect rice - with the fuzzy logic versions you have to leave it without disturbing it until you're told by beep that it's ready. Basically they just cook rice.
I'll be corrected if this is wrong - but I hope it helps explains the difference.
As I understand it it combines a steamer section so that you can steam other things on top of your rice - so this can be combined with cooking rice. I believe therefore it replicates and cooks rice in much the same way you'd cook it in a saucepan manualy except you have less control ie you can't turn down the gas! So for example you could fry onions in a sauce pan, add some rice and water and then put a steamer on top - and my understanding is that this is what the Cuisinart Rice Cooker/Steamer basically allows you to do.
The more expensive fuzzy logic versions that only cook rice ie they are not multi talented - combine pre-soaking, boiling and steaming and when the fuzzylogic chip detects the temperature rising above 212f (the maximum temperature water reaches) it presumes when this temperature has been reached that all the water has now been used and goes into keep warm mode. It also allows you to select different rice types and desired different hardness of finished cooked rice. With your unit, you may take the lid on and off the unit whilst cooking in order to add stuff to steam - and this will compromise the accuracy of cooking perfect rice - with the fuzzy logic versions you have to leave it without disturbing it until you're told by beep that it's ready. Basically they just cook rice.
I'll be corrected if this is wrong - but I hope it helps explains the difference.
Feb 3, 2011, 7:47 am
#43
Join Date: Feb 2011
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Absolutely!
Absolutely get a rice cooker, even a cheap one. The finished product is firm, but not chewy, and somehow the taste is more robust. I find the non-stick surface and prep to be far easier to clean as well. Lastly, the system is more forgiving of minor variations in recipe - I usually eyeball the water level and still get great results.
Feb 3, 2011, 9:21 am
#44
Join Date: Jan 2011
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As a Japanese American whose taste buds seem to be 100% Japanese, I've never once NOT considered owning a rice-cooker that won't make me perfect sticky white rice, brown rice, haiga-mai, or okayu every time. I think that's just the "norm" that I grew up with.
That said, Roger Ebert wrote quite the entertaining, if not rambling, piece on what a godsend rice cookers are. If you have the time, I recommend it for entertainment value (and some cooking ideas) alone.
http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2008...to_use_it.html
That said, Roger Ebert wrote quite the entertaining, if not rambling, piece on what a godsend rice cookers are. If you have the time, I recommend it for entertainment value (and some cooking ideas) alone.
http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2008...to_use_it.html
Feb 3, 2011, 10:58 am
#45
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In reference to another post, most rice cooker inserts cannot be used stovetop because the amount of heat would warp the metal and destroy any non-stick finish. To make risotto-style rice, the other ingredients need to be prepared in a separate pan and then added to the insert.