Jesus Pimp

I'm in the market to buy a rice cooker. The one I'm using now I've had since 1985. Any recommendations? It must be easy to use and make awesome rice. $100 is my limit.

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Janey

Tiger. get one with teflon coating and a steamer rack. should be ok at that price range. dont go to sears or the Bay, go to chinatown.

cyrnel

After high school I started using a rice steamer to reduce burning accidents. Now I just use a big saucepan & lid which gives better control of time vs. heat. One less bulky thing on the counter. The key was understanding my stove's low heat settings vs. the type of rice and amount of water.

Still have the old steamer but it's packed away in the attic.

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jhkayakr

I second Tiger, we have one that is non-stick. We bought ours at an Oriental grocery store for 99 dollars.

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Date the Banana

I can't say enough good things about mine. It's a Matsushita brand from Japan. love the timer feature, get your breakfast rice ready before you go to bed!
Some of the more modern ones in Japan are obscenely feature packed, but my old one (6 years) just keeps chugging away. Mental note, make stir fry and rice for dinner tonite...

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splck

Eventhough it's easy to cook rice in a standard pot on the stove, you'll love a rice cooker. I've had have a cheap (around $45), non-stick National for 7 years.
it looks like this....

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kutulu

IMO, rice cookers are a waste of money and (more importantly) space. Rice is way too easy to cook to justify haveing a one-dimensional piece of equipment to cook it. Until the glass lid broke, I made all my rice in the microwave using corningware. Bring the water to a boil, add the rice, cover and set it for 20-25 min on medium. Now I use a medium sized pot. I actually preferred the way the microwave cooked it but it's nice to have it free using the pot.

Before you spend a bunch of money give the microwave a shot.

avernus

I agree with Kutulu, rice cookers are a waste of money and space. In fact I reckon any piece of kitchen equipment that mimics what can be done by hand is a waste of money. But then I'm a student living in a small flat.

Anyway, IMO the best way to cook rice is to use the absorption method. It is a very versatile method and is almost foolproof, here is what you do:


Rice - the foolproof method

Rice - approx 150ml per person.
Water or stock - one and a half times as much as the volume of rice, double if you don't soak or rinse the rice.

Rinse the rice until the water runs clean. If you have time soak the rice for 30 minutes and then drain for 30 minutes.

Heat a small amount of oil in the bottom of a saucepan. When hot you can add whatever spices or flavorings you desire, eg. green chilli, garam marsala, cumin, garlic or my favorite is some cardamon pods (about two per person). Cook the spices for a few seconds (the whole spices will pop when done) then add the rice and some salt. Stir *gently* until the rice is coated in the oil and spices, turn down heat if rice sticks/

Add the water/stock, stir and bring to a simmer.

Now the important part - turn the heat down as LOW as it will go and cover TIGHTLY, use a layer of aluminum foil between the lid and pan if necessary. Cook for 25 minutes and DON'T peak!

Possible problems:
Pock marks in the surface of the rice after cooking - lid not tight enough or you peaked.
Some parts of the rice not cooked - lid not tight enough or you peaked.
Burnt rice at the bottom - heat too high, not enough water or too long cooking time

Varities:
Add some spinach/peas at the spice cooking stage.
Instead of oil use butter and add lots of roughly chopped onions.

Lots of people I know say they cannot cook rice. Then they try this recipe and never look back. It makes the best rice I have ever tasted outside of a high-class Indian.

This recipe was originally published in Indian Cookery by Madhur Jaffery (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...525882-7887003)

edmos1

Hi Jesus,

I have this one, and I hate it, it has a cool feature, that keeps rice warm after it is done, the problem with it is it ends up burning the rice. so we do end up unplugging it right after we are done cooking.



http://www.oster.com/productdetail.aspx?id=37&cat=46

yellowchef

I love my rice cooker. nice sticky jap rice. mmmmmmmmmmm Ill post more later.

Cynthetiq

I love having a rice cooker. 20 minutes ALWAYS, and ALWAYS perfect rice without my attention needed.

If I had my druther's I'd buy the a Zojirushi with a timer. Nothing says "I'm home" than coming home to fresh rice smell okay.. maybe fresh baked bread...

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yellowchef

yes the zojirushis are AWESOME my mom has one and theyre fabulous!!!

Cynthetiq

I just read your post a bit more in depth...and here's my answer to it.

I don't live in a flat with a huge kitchen. I don't have alot of counter space. I keep it on the counter when I'm making rice on a regular basis, meaning cooking regularly. Otherwise, it goes into the cupboard.

I just fill up a cup of rice, fill up a cup of water, press the button and return in 20 minutes or listen for the bell. That's it. There's no need for foil, there's no need for rinsing, especially soaking (most rice nowadays is enriched and all you are doing is washing the vitamins away) I don't have to make sure that the flame is too high. I do however have to make sure that I keep the water/rice ratio just right. If I forget how many cups of water I put in, the side of the rice cooker has markings on it, so I just fill water to the line.

Most of all there's no temptation for peeking because it will be done on it's own, without your attention whatsoever.

As far as the items of adding spices and vegetables, it's easy to do within a rice cooker as well. Just toss them into the rice cooker...

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avernus

Can you fry onions and garlic in a rice cooker? Can you cook whole spices in ghee under a very high heat before putting in the rice? I cannot see a rice cooker ever being as versatile as the method I mentioned and once you get the hang of it its very easy and pretty fast.

Conversly, other types of rice and rice dishes need different cooking methods, yellowchef mentioned sitcky japanese rice and I can quite understand a cooker being useful in these circumstances.

I understand that they are easy to use and under some circumstances I can see myself using one. I like your comment about the smell of freshly cooked rice when you arrive home

The rice I use, Tilda Basmati, certainly does need rinsing to wash away the starch. It simply becomes too sticky otherwise. The same goes for every other type of rice I have used. Soaking is something not many people do but it improves texture of the rice. The individual grains don't stick together and they have a lovely surface texture.

I would suggest that you try the method I mentioned.

Cynthetiq

Obviously a rice cooker cannot make anything requiring sauteeing spices like cardamum, onions or garlic. But if I do need or want to add those, I'll just reserve some from my other pan seasonings and toss that into the rice cooker.

I rarely make basmati rice. Mainly because I dislike the extra work it takes for the authentic flavor, when simple steamed rice works equally well with any curry. I'll make it once in a while, but not for day to day eating. I usually am making jasmine or CA/TX long grain.

A rice cooker is quite a versatile kitchen appliance. I can make congee, porridge, steamed dumplings, steamed chicken, steamed vegatables.

While you say it's fast, it still requires my attention, which is where we ultimately differ. I usually am cooking several dishes at once as I'm trying to cook for the whole week. I'm also trying to modify some dishes for myself vs. my wife since there some things she doesn't like and I do, for example onions.

If I'm going to put that kind of time into my rice, I'm making nasi goreng or some other kind of fried rice...which I'm sure you know is yesterday's rice.

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rsl12

Good point--what kind of rice are you wanting? Persian-style or indian-style rice cooking is very different from east asian rice cooking. For that matter, the preferred type of rice and texture is different too! Persian/indians tend to prefer longer grain rices, such as basmati, and the type of cooking they do makes beautiful, fluffy rice, possibly flavored with spices. East asians use a medium- to short-grain rice, and the type of cooking they do makes sticky, chewy rice.

Rice cookers are only useful for the latter, and for that matter, only useful if you eat a lot of rice! It's kind of like a toaster in that regard. I don't eat toast very often, so I forego a toaster and just use a skillet when I want a slice. If I ate toast more often for breakfast, however, a toaster would be very handy.

Just like toasters, the degree of fanciness depends on how often you cook rice. If you don't cook very often, go for a cheap brand. Since all a rice cooker is really is a heating element that knows when to turn itself off, it's not a hard thing to mess up. The fancier brands have nice features such as the ability to keep rice warm and moist, timers, ez cleanup pots. Hardly necessary, however, if you're not cooking very often.

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bendsley

Honda, Toyota.....oh wait, rice cookers, not burners.

Nevermind, my job is done here. :P

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Jay Francis

The one to avoid is the Aroma brand, based on my experience, the thermostat setting doesn't shut off quickly enough when the water has evaporated, resulting in burned starch on the bottom. My best luck has been with National Panasonic.

Kodega

I have an older Zojirushi. I traded a bread maker for it. The thing is great, I've had it for some eight years now and it still works as good as the day I got it. It's easy just to throw a bunch of ingredients into it, walk away and about half an hour later have a meal. My only problem is I lost the little evaporated water catcher, so it drips on the counter.

mtsgsd

I have a simple 6-cup Hitachi that I received as a wedding gift in 1987. My Japanese neighbor said she agonized over what to buy us until she suddenly realized that "everyone needs a rice cooker right?"
The marriage failed, but the rice cooker cooks on...

It's not even non-stick. Cleaning isn't a big deal, and the convenience far out-weighs the one use aspect of the appliance for me. Not sure why you need the fancy ones I see with fuzzy logic when this one works perfectly. Anybody know what it's supposed to do for you?

Cynthetiq

I have no idea what the fuzzy logic does for me either. The only thing that I covet in those "expensive-luxury" models is the ability to set a timer for it to have rice ready when I get home.

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