Foo - Rice Cooker suggestions?

Hello Everyone!


I'm in the market for a rice maker. It will for the most part be for my sushi rice, which (with the help of my dads friend who is a sushi master) has been getting better. But my downside is the rice. So does anyone have anyideas of good places to get a 5 or 8 cup rice maker? A sushi rice maker would be nice but I think anything would do.

Its odd, in alot of places with the less cups of rice it makes the more expensive it becomes.

Well any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Thanks

Just make it in a pot, per the instructions, and keep it covered with the heat real low.

Just make it in a pot, per the instructions, and keep it covered with the heat real low.

Ive tried it. Its reallly hard with sushi rice. If you mess it up thats it.

I can tell you DON'T get the standard cheapy at Wal-Mart.....I got that last year and it lasted all of about 2 months and didn't make the rice very good most of the time.

Well thats what im looking for. Does anyone know good names to be looking at?

I mean I can go on google and type in rice cooker and get tons of things. Its just a question of which ones are good companies and good products.

I really think you should do it old school with a pot. Different rice cooks different lengths of time and requires different prep(Some need to be rinsed or soaked) I think if you practice and get your technique down you will be amazed how well pot cooked rice comes out. The trick really is to use the reccomended amount of water(or a little more if you have a hot stove or a gas stove you can't get the heat real low on), keep the heat very low, and keep it covered until it is done. I also reccomend using a nice heavy pot, not the thin cheap ones, they hotspot to much.

Just make it in a pot, per the instructions, and keep it covered with the heat real low.
+1



key words "covered" and "heat real low"


Hi565, a pot will be as good or better than a steamer or some kind of specialized contraption--it will be easier to clean as well.

Just make sure the heat is low so the rice doesn't stick.

good luck

If you consume a lot of rice and want it done well and consistently, a rice cooker is totally worth it, in my mind. If you get a decent one, it will do a better job than most people can do in a pot, will do it without supervision, and will automatically switch to a "warm" setting once the rice is cooked. Furthermore, a decent rice cooker will be easier to clean - the pots in these have an anti-stick coating that makes cleaning a breeze.

Zojirushi makes about the best ones out there. I have and love a Cuisinart rice cooker, which also doubles as a steamer. The Cuisinart cost me $60, and a Zojirushi will be a fair amount more, but probably worth it. They make both large and small models, as well as a number of other products. I've heard nothing but good things about their products.

aaaa thanks fugazi!


zojirushi thats the name I remembered seeing. Yes we eat alot of rice at my house. I will look into the cuisinart one also. Well thanks.

I really think you should do it old school with a pot. Different rice cooks different lengths of time and requires different prep(Some need to be rinsed or soaked) I think if you practice and get your technique down you will be amazed how well pot cooked rice comes out. The trick really is to use the reccomended amount of water(or a little more if you have a hot stove or a gas stove you can't get the heat real low on), keep the heat very low, and keep it covered until it is done. I also reccomend using a nice heavy pot, not the thin cheap ones, they hotspot to much.I have always cooked decent rice in a pot, BUT in China and Japan and SE Asia and India--where they eat a ton of rice--everybody uses a rice cooker. Can 4 billion Asians be wrong?

I have always cooked decent rice in a pot, BUT in China and Japan and SE Asia and India--where they eat a ton of rice--everybody uses a rice cooker. Can 4 billion Asians be wrong?

hey asian are always right. Even if they're wrong, they're still right! :D

hey asian are always right. Even if they're wrong, they're still right! :D
You Asian?

You Asian?

nnooooooo. I have a friend whos asian.

Get yourself a Korean, the Japanese are rude and the Chinese would try to steal your secrets. Plus the you might get some kimchi out of her.

*cough* edit your post before you get crucified *cough*

There's a "delete post" option too. Might be the best option at this point, late at night, before too many people have seen your foolishness. I'm really toying with the idea of hitting the "spam" option on #14. I hate to see a fellow Michigander write such crap.

damn, I got pwned

I always heard that pan was better. do the quality rice cookers (Zojirushi, cuisinart, etc) make it easy to avoid sticking--that's the only issue I have with pan (both sticky rice, and if too hot rice sticking to pan).

I want FLUFFY rice, what is a good cooker?

Hitachi. That is just THE rice cooker. :-)

just bought one at Target, it was 20.00 and very nice.. It also has a vegetable steamer on top..

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=2-3/qid=1124087928/ref=sr_2_3/602-7673362-6054220?%5Fencoding=UTF8&asin=B0002OKDTW

Zojirushi makes about the best ones out there.

Great info...I always knew that there were some really good Asian brands, but did know which ones. As I mentioned in a previous post, I had a pretty bad experience with a Wal-Mart cheapo.

But after your comments, I'm really liking the look of the NS-ZCC10 (5-cup) model.
http://www.zojirushi.com/ricecookers.html

They have them on Ebay (buy it now) for $132.

Try the local Asian grocer. They often sell them.

I have found a couple zojirushi that I love.

Zigg, you have come to the dark side ;) I have tried a zojirushi one. Good products. I Cant wait until my dad says "yes" than Sushi party at My house! :D

Yeah, I like the Hitachi ones too; they have a 'keep-warm" option after cooking. For the most part, all rice-cookers are similar, an enigma! I've taken quite a few apart and I have no idea how they can possibly work as well as they do. All you do is put in the proper measured amount of rice and water and push the button and that's it! The cooking time will be anywhere between 5-minutes to 45-minutes depending upon amount and I have no freakin' idea how the damn thing works! There's no timers in it, no sensors, no active electronics, the design hasn't changed since the 60's. It's pure magic!

I ended up taking the plunge and ordering the Zojirushi zcc18 neuro-fuzzy rice cooker. I was going to ony get the 5 cup (zcc10), but realized the bigger one would allow me to do some big "full meal recipe" type things and it was only $10 more.

have you got a large, deep corningware/oven safe bowl with lid? if so, try this:put in your rice and about 2cm of water on top, cover with the lid and microwave 5mins high 15 mins medium. that way you wont need a rice cooker. Trust me, I'm asian. :)

Next thing you guys will want to know the best store bought ice cream, instead of handcranking it out yourself.

The cheaper the better, don't go buying a fancy model, you can get a good one for about $30.

The cheaper the better, don't go buying a fancy model, you can get a good one for about $30.
Not true....read my 1st post in this thread.

That was my thought, so I got a cheapo from Wal-mart for about $25 or so. It literally died within a few months. It made good rice a few times, but different rice types came out differently and some came out great and others came out crappy.

After reading up on it, I thought that neuro-fuzzy one I got was the way to go. It supported like just about every "rice type" that was listed.

have you got a large, deep corningware/oven safe bowl with lid? if so, try this:put in your rice and about 2cm of water on top, cover with the lid and microwave 5mins high 15 mins medium. that way you wont need a rice cooker. Trust me, I'm asian. :)
Ugh! Too much work....the whole point of a rice cooker is its ease of use to always get good rice.

Your method uses a bowl that is not non-stick so will be a pain to wash, have to start with one time/temp setting, then stop and change time/temp setting....and your times is surely based on one rice type and amount, so if you change amount of rice you need to figure out how to change the time/temp settings. Plus...it will surely be different for different rice types (brown, white, sweet, sticky, etc...).

just bought one at Target, it was 20.00 and very nice.. It also has a vegetable steamer on top..

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=2-3/qid=1124087928/ref=sr_2_3/602-7673362-6054220?%5Fencoding=UTF8&asin=B0002OKDTW

I have that same one, and I like it a lot. I use it all the time. I've had it about a year now and expect it'll last.

"Ugh! Too much work....the whole point of a rice cooker is its ease of use to always get good rice."

Exactly! Nothing beats one pushbutton convenience! The microwave thing will vary depending upon the strength of your microwave. I use the same Jiffy-Pop popcorn bag in different microwaves and they take anywhere from 2-5 minutes for the same results.

"That was my thought, so I got a cheapo from Wal-mart for about $25 or so. It literally died within a few months. It made good rice a few times, but different rice types came out differently and some came out great and others came out crappy."

You gotta be careful here, different types of rice need different amounts of water. Some are 1:1 cup rice-to-water ratio. Others require 1:2, 1-cup rice to 2-cups water. I can literally write a 1000-page book on how to cook rice, so I'll just say that you should experiment and keep a lot notes of what proportions work best with each kind of rice. Even the same type of rice, like Calrose, but from two different brands/labels will need a different amount of water each. Multiply the numbers of brands by the over 10,000 kinds of rice out there and it can easily become a crap-shoot of results if you don't keep notes.

Then the age of the rice determines the amount of water you add as well. If it's been only a month or two from harvest you add less water than the same bag of rice that's 3-4 months from harvest. There are optical devices you can get in Japan that will read a grain of rice and tell you its water- and carbohydrate-content percentages. This really helps in finding the optimum rice-to-water ratio to measure out. Even the first batch from the same bag will have need different water-mix than the last batch.

More complications in measuring comes up when you wash the rice. Depending upon the physical structure of the rice, after draining the wash water, you can subtract 0.2 cup water from the water measurement with large round-grain rice. But you need to subtract 0.3 cup water for small long-grain rice. Each person's definition of "large round-grain" versus "small long-grain" will certainly be different.

And the post-cooking treatment is highly important as well. For sushi rice (uruchimai), it's imperative that you flake it up and cool it off as soon as the button pops up on the cooker. Have an assistant simultaneously and quickly fan the rice as you air it out. Then mix in rice-vinegar as it's cooled halfway down to room temperature. You need to cool it off as fast as possible to maintain the integrity of each kernel; there's a fine line between being too clumpy and too flaky.

Yeah, I like the Hitachi ones too; they have a 'keep-warm" option after cooking. For the most part, all rice-cookers are similar, an enigma! I've taken quite a few apart and I have no idea how they can possibly work as well as they do. All you do is put in the proper measured amount of rice and water and push the button and that's it! The cooking time will be anywhere between 5-minutes to 45-minutes depending upon amount and I have no freakin' idea how the damn thing works! There's no timers in it, no sensors, no active electronics, the design hasn't changed since the 60's. It's pure magic!

"Hey its us asians"

(as my friend tim would say)

im drooling... http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000246GSY.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg Zojirushi Induction Heating System Rice Cooker and Warmer


oooooo and the neuro fuzzy! http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00007J5U7.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
:love:

a good rice gooker is a great thing. we had a decent Zojirushi that you jsut push down the lever and it did fine. but it died after 10 years or so and we got a sanyo computer model. it did a few things the Zojirushi did not like slow cook and such. the rice is even better. plus a good rice cooker keeps the rice good for a day or so too. thats handy not to have to worry about the rice timing.

I actually just make rice on my stovetop, using a normal pot with a cover. Too much trouble if you're not into that kind of thing though.

You can get a perfectly functional Black & Decker rice cooker for around $30.00. I wouldn't buy any piece of sh*t Wal-Mart made-in-china garbage, that's why it broke.

Go to Macy's or if there's a Chinatown in your city go check out a Chinese supermarket... you don't have to spend $60+ for a rice cooker.

That's a good rice cooker, but looks expensive!



im drooling...
:love:

oooooo and the neuro fuzzy!
:love:
That is the one I ordered I beleve....your thread inspired me to look back in to it again. As I said...I really wanted to make some nice rice dishes last year but that crap rice cooker I got at Wal-Mart crapped out and didn't really do anything special.

oh yah expensive, about 220$ expensive :D

I actually just make rice on my stovetop, using a normal pot with a cover. Too much trouble if you're not into that kind of thing though.

You can get a perfectly functional Black & Decker rice cooker for around $30.00. I wouldn't buy any piece of sh*t Wal-Mart made-in-china garbage, that's why it broke.

Go to Macy's or if there's a Chinatown in your city go check out a Chinese supermarket... you don't have to spend $60+ for a rice cooker.
Would the rice cookers in the Chinese markets not be "made-in-china garbage"? :)

Would the rice cookers in the Chinese markets not be "made-in-china garbage"? :)

lol... :D

Would the rice cookers in the Chinese markets not be "made-in-china garbage"? :)

Actually, I've seen what the native Chinese use and it's not that bad. Not the high-tech digital stuff like you see above, but just simple one-button units. The problem with Wal-mart sh*t, like all their other sh*t, is that they specify such low standards of such cheap-construction in order to maximize profits, that you end up with crap. That $30 Wal-mart rice-cooker probably contains no more than $2 in materials and a total wholesale cost of $5 including shipping & storage from China! Even the Chinese won't touch that cr*p !!! :)

I have always cooked decent rice in a pot, BUT in China and Japan and SE Asia and India--where they eat a ton of rice--everybody uses a rice cooker. Can 4 billion Asians be wrong?

Well... yes.

Good lord, looking at those rice cookers makes me dizzy. Do we really need a freaking PLC to cook 2 cups of rice?
We had a really old one that we've been using for the past 10 years, 1 button, it works off of a spring hooked up to a switch which cooks it for a certain duration based on the weight of the contents inside. 2 years ago we bought a new one which had TWO! buttons, cook and keep warm along with a teflon inner liner instead of the steel one. Works great, if you're not going to use it every day, just get a cheap $20 unit.

"We had a really old one that we've been using for the past 10 years, 1 button, it works off of a spring hooked up to a switch which cooks it for a certain duration based on the weight of the contents inside."

I've wondered about this timer mechanism too and I don't think it's weight-based since the before and after cooking weight is about the same; the water gets soaked into the rice. And no matter how much or how little stuff you put in, the spring gets compressed the same amount, all the way down, the pot ends up in the same position. There's no spinning timer-motors like in a washing-machine. I really wanna figure out how it picks 5-minutes or 45-minutes cooking time based upon how much stuff you've got in the pot. Bizarre... :eek:

"We had a really old one that we've been using for the past 10 years, 1 button, it works off of a spring hooked up to a switch which cooks it for a certain duration based on the weight of the contents inside."

I've wondered about this timer mechanism too and I don't think it's weight-based since the before and after cooking weight is about the same; the water gets soaked into the rice. And no matter how much or how little stuff you put in, the spring gets compressed the same amount, all the way down, the pot ends up in the same position. There's no spinning timer-motors like in a washing-machine. I really wanna figure out how it picks 5-minutes or 45-minutes cooking time based upon how much stuff you've got in the pot. Bizarre... :eek:
the button is the temp sensor when the water is gone it senses the temp increase and shuts it off or puts it on warm mode.

I always thought the weight of it sets the timer, then when you hit the switch, it starts the timer. So it doesn't matter that the weight doesn't change while its cooking, cause it's the initial weight that sets it.
If I take the liner out, the button pops and everything stops instantly.

I always thought the weight of it sets the timer, then when you hit the switch, it starts the timer. So it doesn't matter that the weight doesn't change while its cooking, cause it's the initial weight that sets it.
If I take the liner out, the button pops and everything stops instantly.

all of them would have to ahve a computer in them if that was the case. but temp will rise when the water is gone. thats when the rise is done perfectly.

all of them would have to ahve a computer in them if that was the case. but temp will rise when the water is gone. thats when the rise is done perfectly.

It's pretty mechanical, my toaster oven has the same thing. All you need is one of those spring loaded timers and a ratchet hooked up to the button, by button, I mean my old ass rice cooker has a lever that you press, it's not actually a "button".
The reason why I say it's not temperature based is because any type of bimetallic or metal expansion element in there would not compensate for the weight. And I know my old ass rice cooker would overcook the rice sometimes if we put like, a small dish of herbs in there.

Get yourself a Korean, the Japanese are rude and the Chinese would try to steal your secrets. Plus the you might get some kimchi out of her.

Having lived in both countries (Japan, Korea), plus the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand - I'd have to say I'd like a pretentious Japanese over the rest any day of teh week. They're cultured, polite, thoughtful, make better components, and make better rice. Plus I'd rather have a little late night wasabi than kimchi - the kimchi always left a bad taste in my mouth(?).

Seriously - buy a Japanese rice cooker. Just got to any oriental market and get one.

my last name is "rice" so I thought somebody was out to cook me. :eek:

and after reading all these post, I think I'll have to get a rice cooker someday. wasabi or kimchi either one should work :D