Rice cooker?

[Anonymous]

Can anyone recommend a specific brand/type of rice cooker? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I have an Aroma rice cooker. It was inexpensive (I think ~$30) and works great.

[Anonymous]

Asians tend to really like Zojirushi (elephant) brand rice cookers. Whichever brand you get, the best feature to look for is to make sure it has a "warm" setting that it automatically switches to when the rice is done. The el cheapo models don't usually do that.

[Anonymous]

I can't even remember what brand mine is. But I got it at the Asian Market in Germantown, Maryland years and years ago. It is the best rice cooker I've ever had.

Mine does have the "warm setting".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have an Aroma rice cooker. It was inexpensive (I think ~$30) and works great.

This one has the warm setting and is programmable for up to 19 hours.

[Anonymous]

Asians know their rice. Go to a Korean supermarket (H Mart, Grand Mart, etc.) and get a Korean or Japanese brand and you can't go wrong in terms of both price and quality.

[Anonymous]

We have the zojurishi and love it.

[Anonymous]

Not all Asians tend to favor Zojirushi it's just that they are more widely available at the Asian Markets and they are a familiar brand. They are also expensive.
While the warm feature is nice, it's not necessary, and if you leave the rice too long it will get soggy in the middle.

We have an Aroma rice cooker with a steam tray. I love it because I can cook rice and steam dumplings or buns at the same time. I think I paid about $40 for it at Costco. It has a good seal and I can leave rice in there for a full day (turned off).

[Anonymous]

Oyama - just got one from Amazon & love it. One of the few all stainless steel interior ones (didn't go with Zojirushi because the 'cheaper' ones are not all stainless steel).

http://www.amazon.com/10-Cup-Stainless-Cooker-Warmer-Steamer/dp/B003NXGFG4/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1297129917&sr=8-7

[Anonymous]

I recently purchased this one, the Sanyo ECJ-N55W, from Amazon for about $50.

http://www.amazon.com/Sanyo-ECJ-N55W-Electric-Porridge-Steamer/dp/B000FEH1Q2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1297177870&sr=8-1

I love it. (I bought it to replace a Tiger rice cooker that I had since 1989 when I went off to college!) It does have a non-stick bowl (and I'm intrigued by the prospect of a stainless bowl b/c overall I try to avoid non-stick). I use it at least 4 times/week to make brown rice.

[Anonymous]

We have a Zojirushi NP-HBC18, which we have had for a little of 2 years. It's so good that I purchased one for my sister and my mother. I, however, would not recommend this unless you're looking for a great cooker for brown rice and are interested in GABA brown rice. It's also an induction cooker which means the bottom will never burn. It's also versatile enough to do anything from steel cut oats to congee.

[Anonymous]

DH is Asian and we're pretty serious about rice I make it many days a week...

We got the Sanyo 10 cup (http://www.amazon.com/Sanyo-ECJ-HC100S-10-Cup-Micro-Computerized-Cooker/dp/B000X8TEVU/ref=sr_1_5?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1297221334&sr=1-5). I got this one because you can program it to start at any time (great for having fresh brown rice ready when you get home), and it doubles as a slow cooker/porridge maker (I have even made polenta in it -- it turned out great). Yeah, and we really needed a big one (you may not )

I'd recommend Sanyo over other brands (even if you don't get a fancy one like this) because they use a titanium-coated non-stick pot, not a teflon-coated one (like Zojirushi, etc). I personally dislike and distrust teflon, and find titanium to be a safer alternative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Asians know their rice. Go to a Korean supermarket (H Mart, Grand Mart, etc.) and get a Korean or Japanese brand and you can't go wrong in terms of both price and quality.

I agree with this. I have a National brand rice cooker that I got at a Thai grocery and it has been great. Mitsubishi also makes rice cookers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not all Asians tend to favor Zojirushi it's just that they are more widely available at the Asian Markets and they are a familiar brand. They are also expensive.
While the warm feature is nice, it's not necessary, and if you leave the rice too long it will get soggy in the middle.

Now this is just bizarre. What kind of rice are you using that it gets soggy over time? Usually leaving the warmer on too long will make the rice dry out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not all Asians tend to favor Zojirushi it's just that they are more widely available at the Asian Markets and they are a familiar brand. They are also expensive.
While the warm feature is nice, it's not necessary, and if you leave the rice too long it will get soggy in the middle.

Now this is just bizarre. What kind of rice are you using that it gets soggy over time? Usually leaving the warmer on too long will make the rice dry out.

Agreed that usually the warmer dries out my rice. If you don't have a warmer, and leave the rice, it DOES get soggy, though! So, plus one for a warmer?

Or just use a little less water!