Why do people use rice cookers?

[Anonymous]

I make many different varieties of rice and a good rice cooker can make it to perfection. If you're making uncle ben's,the stove will do. i also make rice on the stovetop using a staub pot but it requires more work.

[Anonymous]

I don't do it because it is not how my ancestors prepared rice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Persian rice does not take 10 minutes to make. And persian rice cookers make the tahdig or crispy rice at the bottom of the pot effortlessly.

Wait—there are rice cookers that make tahdig? Link please! (And yes, I already have a rice cooker but it doesn’t do that!!)

[Anonymous]

I don't get it either, OP. My Asian relatives love their rice cookers, and I just don't like the rice from them. I do most of the cooking, and cook on the stove - I find it super easy, even when I forget about it, it doesn't get to the point of burning or anything. My husband won't throw out our crappy rice cooker, and uses it only occasionally. Maybe I'd like it more with a nice rice cooker, but we don't have space for that. To each their own!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Trader Joe’s frozen rice in the microwave for 3 minutes is even easier!

+1 Came to say this!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Trader Joe’s frozen rice in the microwave for 3 minutes is even easier!

LOL i just had their chicken fried rice for lunch microwave. Ha

[Anonymous]

We frequently cook a lot of rice at once. I can make 1-2 cups of rice without a rice cooker perfectly, but not 5 cups. The zojirushi does it perfectly, and keeps it warm, safe, and fresh for a couple days. I hate reheating rice.

[Anonymous]

Rice cooker makes perfect rice every time, no matter the variety of rice. Especially important with the quantity of rice eaten in Asian families.

Stovetop rice doesn’t take ten minutes unless OP is using some sort of Uncle Ben quality and style of rice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can stick the rice in, turn on the machine and not think about it again. If I'm not ready to eat it immediately, it will stay on warm.

This.

Also, you clearly aren’t Asian.

[Anonymous]

The reason we use the rice cooker is because the rice will stay warm for about 3 days, so you can have ready-to-eat rice anytime, and cook/reheat the rest of the food. It's our default carb for lunches/dinners, though we also sometimes have pasta or noodles or potatoes.

I'm not Asian, but Asian people I know would prefer not to ever reheat rice in the microwave, because of the texture. They also would not eat quick-cooking rice.

[Anonymous]

So you can gouge yourself on white rice the second your blood sugar drops obviously.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m the earlier PP who is also bad at making rice on the stove. I also have a weird thing for the smell of freshly steamed rice when you first open the rice cooker. I adore it and shove my face over it each time it opens, trying not to get burned by the steam…

and the little rice papery bits!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When cooking rice is so easy to make on the stovetop? Why an extra appliance? The rice literally cooks itself to perfection in about 10 minutes. I can make enough for one serving in a small saucepan, or enough for a small army in a large pot, and anything in between. Is it simply because people don’t want to watch for the pot to boil? What am I missing?

Millions of East Asians use rice cookers. There must be some benefit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When cooking rice is so easy to make on the stovetop? Why an extra appliance? The rice literally cooks itself to perfection in about 10 minutes. I can make enough for one serving in a small saucepan, or enough for a small army in a large pot, and anything in between. Is it simply because people don’t want to watch for the pot to boil? What am I missing?

I can make the same argument for garbage disposals, but I’ll bet most people here couldn’t imagine life without one. My sil paid for an emergency plumber on Christmas Day to come repair hers when it went out, which astounded me. I’m Asian. I use my rice cooker almost daily. It makes brown rice, mixed rice, coconut rice, sushi rice, basmati rice, rice with beans, biryani, congee, noorungji, and a million more uses that I haven’t gotten around to. It will keep rice hot for hours, so I can start the rice before leaving the house and it will be hot and ready 8 hours later. It sings a little song when I start it and when it finishes. I have never made rice on the stovetop (and never will!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Persian rice does not take 10 minutes to make. And persian rice cookers make the tahdig or crispy rice at the bottom of the pot effortlessly.

Wait—there are rice cookers that make tahdig? Link please! (And yes, I already have a rice cooker but it doesn’t do that!!)

Amazon has them for like $70.