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Being a single use device has its benefits. Rice cookers are lighter weight than an instant pot and have a single button, making them extremely easy to operate.

by ngneer 2y ago

Being a single use device has its benefits. Rice cookers are lighter weight than an instant pot and have a single button, making them extremely easy to operate. I find this is very helpful to me when cooking.

eru 2y ago
You can get some very fancy rice cookers in Asia, with lots of buttons. Some of them really do produce a better end result.
- VeejayRampay 2y ago
  they really do, perfect rice everytime if you wash when necessary and use the proper rice to water ratios
  - willcipriano 2y ago
    Tastes and has the texture of Chinese restaurant rice. I use mine 3+ days a week. Worth it if you eat that much.
    - eru 2y ago
      It's funny, because here in Singapore the gold standard for rice would be Japanese and Korean restaurants. The various Chinese cuisines aren't really all that renowned for their rice. (Just like eg the English technically have bread in their cuisine, but it's nothing to write home about.)
      - willcipriano 2y ago
        I can't say I know the difference, but I imagine the Japanese and Korean rices aren't like the 'boil in a bag' stuff Americans eat at home that I'm comparing it too.
        eru 2y ago
        Oh, approximately no one uses boil-in-the-bag rice in Singapore. Neither at home nor in a restaurant, even at the low end. The various Chinese cuisines have serviceable rice, it's just that the premium stuff tends to be Japanese and Korean. (But it's not just a single 'quality' dimension. They differ in kind, too.) Btw, you should try Nasi Lemak. It's a dish that has its rice in coconut milk. Very tasty. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasi_lemak https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasi_lemak
- rectang 2y ago
  I use a Zojirushi NS-LAC05. (I believe the current version of this model is the NS-LHC05.) https://www.zojirushi.com/app/category/rice-cookers https://www.zojirushi.com/app/category/rice-cookers It makes great rice consistently and easily. The only quirk is that their "cup" measure is 1 gou (一合枡), which is just over 3/4 of a US cup. It's just a cultural thing, but the adaptation I had to make was real — I got this rice cooker as a hand-me-down from an Asian friend, and it didn't include the OEM 1-gou cup. It took a bit before I figured out how to get the proportions right. The results are better than what my parents used to get with their old Black and Decker RC400. It's possible that there was user error involved with the RC400, which I recall burning on the bottom. I've never burnt any rice with the Zojirushi, and I'm not even sure how I could go about it if I wanted to. Certainly the Zojirushi produces better rice than I used to make cooking it on the stovetop in an ordinary pot. I'd like to know just how the Zojirushi gets such great results. My guess is that it's some combination of good temperature measurement and even heat application to ensure that their well-researched cooking formulas get accurately applied.
  - kjellsbells 2y ago
    The way I think about the Zoji cup is that one cup of dry rice makes one (US) cup when cooked. In other words, cooked rice is 33% more by volume than dry rice.
    - rectang 2y ago
      My mother's measure, from an old college cookbook: "One cup of rice make three cups of RICE". (With eyes springing wide open and fingers splaying outwards at "RICE", followed by a hearty giggle). Our measures are way off from each other. Yours sounds like the "rice made for sumo wrestlers" I remember from an old story, where rice was made with progressively less water over time to toughen up the trainees.
  - hilux 2y ago
    Thanks for reminding me - I also used to own a Zojirushi, and all the conversions were a lot more headache than I've had with my Instant Pot. I had to write down all the calculations on a 3x5 card, and then try not to lose that, or get it wet in the kitchen!
- dadadad100 2y ago
  I was surprised at the rice cooker section at Yodobashi Camera in Tokyo Akaba that they were serving samples of cooked rice from each of the many, many models they sell. My American senses failed to detect any difference. And yes, that was only one of the multitude of surprises in that wonderland of a store.
Ekaros 2y ago
Also only needing to make single "cup"(rice measuring) is better for my use case. It takes longer, but I feel it is simpler process.
- hilux 2y ago
  I cook one cup of rice in my Instant Pot all the time.
hilux 2y ago
I only press one button ("Pressure") when cooking rice in my Instant Pot. It remembers the last several settings I've used - one of those is 12:00 for rice. If you don't have a pressure cooker, that's fine. But for those who DO already own a pressure cooker, I'm not sure how the lighter weight of the rice cooker is relevant. A single-use device takes up more room in the kitchen, and the accumulation of these devices just adds to our environmental disaster.
- com2kid 2y ago
  If I making rice in the instant pot I can't use the instant pot to make actual food. Also that 12 minutes is not inclusive of the 10 minutes it takes to get up to pressure, and the instant pot cannot keep rice warm throughout the day.
  - hilux 2y ago
    So much arguing. Don't worry - I'm not going to confiscate or outlaw your rice cooker! > If I making rice in the instant pot I can't use the instant pot to make actual food. I'll just correct this one misinformation. You absolutely can cook multiple dishes at once - I've done it, google: 'pot in pot' - assuming they can tolerate roughly similar cooking times.
    - com2kid 2y ago
      > I'll just correct this one misinformation. You absolutely can cook multiple dishes at once - I've done it, google: 'pot in pot' - assuming they can tolerate roughly similar cooking times. I have the OG Instant Pot, it is too small for multiple dishes. Especially if I am making a bone broth soup + rice! Honestly I am trying to think of a dish I've ever made in my instant pot that hasn't occupied a majority of the interior volume...
  - Suppafly 2y ago
    >Also that 12 minutes is not inclusive of the 10 minutes it takes to get up to pressure This is a huge downside that people always neglect to mention with instant pots. Probably not a big deal with rice, since the other methods also take ~20 minutes total, but for larger meals, that extra time is a lot more than it takes for rice, and the slow release at the end is also somewhat necessary for other foods that don't completely cook during the short time that's recommended. Things like roast and such aren't 'done' just because everything is up to a reasonable temperature, that extra cooking that's done during the slow cooling of the release helps flavors develop.
kalleboo 2y ago
Our Zojirushi (NP-RC05, it's over 10 years old now) is actually advertised as pressure cooking the rice to make it taste better, so I guess the two devices are merging. And it has 8 buttons (you can select the rice type)

by ngneer 2y ago

eru 2y ago

You can get some very fancy rice cookers in Asia, with lots of buttons. Some of them really do produce a better end result.

VeejayRampay 2y ago
they really do, perfect rice everytime if you wash when necessary and use the proper rice to water ratios
- willcipriano 2y ago
  Tastes and has the texture of Chinese restaurant rice. I use mine 3+ days a week. Worth it if you eat that much.
  - eru 2y ago
    It's funny, because here in Singapore the gold standard for rice would be Japanese and Korean restaurants. The various Chinese cuisines aren't really all that renowned for their rice. (Just like eg the English technically have bread in their cuisine, but it's nothing to write home about.)
    - willcipriano 2y ago
      I can't say I know the difference, but I imagine the Japanese and Korean rices aren't like the 'boil in a bag' stuff Americans eat at home that I'm comparing it too.
      - eru 2y ago
        Oh, approximately no one uses boil-in-the-bag rice in Singapore. Neither at home nor in a restaurant, even at the low end. The various Chinese cuisines have serviceable rice, it's just that the premium stuff tends to be Japanese and Korean. (But it's not just a single 'quality' dimension. They differ in kind, too.) Btw, you should try Nasi Lemak. It's a dish that has its rice in coconut milk. Very tasty. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasi_lemak https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasi_lemak
rectang 2y ago
I use a Zojirushi NS-LAC05. (I believe the current version of this model is the NS-LHC05.) https://www.zojirushi.com/app/category/rice-cookers https://www.zojirushi.com/app/category/rice-cookers It makes great rice consistently and easily. The only quirk is that their "cup" measure is 1 gou (一合枡), which is just over 3/4 of a US cup. It's just a cultural thing, but the adaptation I had to make was real — I got this rice cooker as a hand-me-down from an Asian friend, and it didn't include the OEM 1-gou cup. It took a bit before I figured out how to get the proportions right. The results are better than what my parents used to get with their old Black and Decker RC400. It's possible that there was user error involved with the RC400, which I recall burning on the bottom. I've never burnt any rice with the Zojirushi, and I'm not even sure how I could go about it if I wanted to. Certainly the Zojirushi produces better rice than I used to make cooking it on the stovetop in an ordinary pot. I'd like to know just how the Zojirushi gets such great results. My guess is that it's some combination of good temperature measurement and even heat application to ensure that their well-researched cooking formulas get accurately applied.
- kjellsbells 2y ago
  The way I think about the Zoji cup is that one cup of dry rice makes one (US) cup when cooked. In other words, cooked rice is 33% more by volume than dry rice.
  - rectang 2y ago
    My mother's measure, from an old college cookbook: "One cup of rice make three cups of RICE". (With eyes springing wide open and fingers splaying outwards at "RICE", followed by a hearty giggle). Our measures are way off from each other. Yours sounds like the "rice made for sumo wrestlers" I remember from an old story, where rice was made with progressively less water over time to toughen up the trainees.
- hilux 2y ago
  Thanks for reminding me - I also used to own a Zojirushi, and all the conversions were a lot more headache than I've had with my Instant Pot. I had to write down all the calculations on a 3x5 card, and then try not to lose that, or get it wet in the kitchen!
dadadad100 2y ago
I was surprised at the rice cooker section at Yodobashi Camera in Tokyo Akaba that they were serving samples of cooked rice from each of the many, many models they sell. My American senses failed to detect any difference. And yes, that was only one of the multitude of surprises in that wonderland of a store.

Ekaros 2y ago

Also only needing to make single "cup"(rice measuring) is better for my use case. It takes longer, but I feel it is simpler process.

hilux 2y ago
I cook one cup of rice in my Instant Pot all the time.

hilux 2y ago

I only press one button ("Pressure") when cooking rice in my Instant Pot. It remembers the last several settings I've used - one of those is 12:00 for rice. If you don't have a pressure cooker, that's fine. But for those who DO already own a pressure cooker, I'm not sure how the lighter weight of the rice cooker is relevant. A single-use device takes up more room in the kitchen, and the accumulation of these devices just adds to our environmental disaster.

com2kid 2y ago
If I making rice in the instant pot I can't use the instant pot to make actual food. Also that 12 minutes is not inclusive of the 10 minutes it takes to get up to pressure, and the instant pot cannot keep rice warm throughout the day.
- hilux 2y ago
  So much arguing. Don't worry - I'm not going to confiscate or outlaw your rice cooker! > If I making rice in the instant pot I can't use the instant pot to make actual food. I'll just correct this one misinformation. You absolutely can cook multiple dishes at once - I've done it, google: 'pot in pot' - assuming they can tolerate roughly similar cooking times.
  - com2kid 2y ago
    > I'll just correct this one misinformation. You absolutely can cook multiple dishes at once - I've done it, google: 'pot in pot' - assuming they can tolerate roughly similar cooking times. I have the OG Instant Pot, it is too small for multiple dishes. Especially if I am making a bone broth soup + rice! Honestly I am trying to think of a dish I've ever made in my instant pot that hasn't occupied a majority of the interior volume...
- Suppafly 2y ago
  >Also that 12 minutes is not inclusive of the 10 minutes it takes to get up to pressure This is a huge downside that people always neglect to mention with instant pots. Probably not a big deal with rice, since the other methods also take ~20 minutes total, but for larger meals, that extra time is a lot more than it takes for rice, and the slow release at the end is also somewhat necessary for other foods that don't completely cook during the short time that's recommended. Things like roast and such aren't 'done' just because everything is up to a reasonable temperature, that extra cooking that's done during the slow cooling of the release helps flavors develop.

kalleboo 2y ago

Our Zojirushi (NP-RC05, it's over 10 years old now) is actually advertised as pressure cooking the rice to make it taste better, so I guess the two devices are merging. And it has 8 buttons (you can select the rice type)