It’s only been nine years or so that I’ve been complaining about my rice cooker. It cooks good rice, most of which sticks to the pot and has to be soaked off. I got tired of waiting for it to die after I read in the Washington Post that rice cookers tend to last for thirty years, so I put a new rice cooker on my Christmas list.
I ended up with the mellifluously-named Panasonic SR-G06FG, and tonight it made its maiden voyage, producing Japanese-style rice for teriyaki chicken night.
It worked great. I was surprised to find that this model doesn’t have a keep-warm function, but I don’t think I care. The rice sat for 30 minutes before dinner, and it wasn’t cold. I was even more surprised to find that it was no joke to say that most of the rice stuck to the old rice cooker: I made my usual 1.5 cups (real cups, not the cup that comes with the cooker) of rice, and instead of it being just enough for the three of us, it was absurdly too much. Cleanup was a snap, too.
People on Amazon report that the nonstick coating on this model tends to start flaking off after a year or so, and you can’t buy just the bowl. I hope that doesn’t happen, but if it does, I will probably break down and buy one of the expensive Zojirushi models.
Speaking of which, why does Zojirushi sell over 30 models of rice cooker? I’ll bet Steve Jobs eats a lot of rice. Could they get him to come in and take over the company long enough to consolidate the line into three smart-looking rice cookers? Prices would start at just $599.
(P.S.: Zojirushi actually sells a rice cooker that lists for $373. Alas, poor comedy.)
For a long time I thought I wanted a rice cooker, because I always had trouble making rice without the same problem you had: tons of it cooked onto the sides and bottom of the pot, making cleanup a pain and wasting perfectly good rice to boot. Then I figured out how to make perfect not-stuck-on rice every time just by paying attention to timing.
Basically, I put 1 cup of rice and 1.75 cups of water into a small pot, covered, and set it on high heat just until it boils. Then I turn down the heat just about as low as it will go, and start a timer. After 9 minutes 30 seconds, I turn off the heat, and the rice is done: it has absorbed all the water but hasn’t cooked on or dried out.
A key part of this process is not taking the lid off the pot the entire time it’s cooking, since that traps the steam inside which contributes to the cooking process. For a long time it was very hard to fight the urge to stir it.
Now, I know that 9.5 minutes is right on a gas stove for 1 cup of rice. I haven’t tried it on an electric stove, so the timing might be different. Also, when I experimented with making two cups of rice (with 3.5 cups of water), I think 17 minutes was just about right, but I’m not 100% sure.
So yeah, a good rice cooker is simpler, but when cupboard space is at a premium, having one more appliance to store is more of a hassle than just remembering my formula.
I have this one, and I lubs it: link
Hey, Ryan. What kind of rice do you eat?
I like the rice cooker for several reasons. First, since Japan is the world capital of rice cookers, the cookers that reach the US market tend to be designed for Japanese rice, which is the kind of rice I eat most often. But I also go through phases of eating other rices, and I don’t want to have to consult a cooking formula for each one. (Although I do have to remember the amount of water to use.)
The main thing is, when I’m making rice, I’m usually strewing bowls of ingredients and a large skillet all over the stovetop. A pot of rice on the stove would get in the way. So the fact that the rice cooker takes up counter space is an advantage for me, because it can use the counter behind the sink and stay out of my way.
Finally, there’s matter of tradition. It’s a little-known fact that electric rice cookers have been used in Japan since the Asuka period (538-710 CE). You’d put the rice and water in a metal pot and stick it outside; presently it would be struck by lightning and the rice would be cooked in 0.27 seconds, although you’d then have to fluff it (preferably with a plastic spoon) and let it rest for 20 minutes before serving.
For about 9 months now I have had a smaller model of the Panasonic rice cooker and I don’t notice any of the non-stick surface coming off. I wash out the rice cooker immediately after use, I don’t allow it to sit and soak with soapy water in it. Also I don’t use a scrubber on it, just a soft sponge or wash cloth. Finally I dry it with a towel and don’t allow it to air dry. With my previous rice cooker I would allow it to soak and air dry and its coating eventually wore off, so a little care seems to go a long way.
You have one smaller than the 3.3-cup? How small is it? Because the 3.3-cup is tiny. Thanks for the tips; I will follow them dutifully.
‘sorry, I have the 3.3 cup model, I must have misread the Amazon page.
Final usage notes: I rinse the rice three times before cooking. This helps reduce the amount of starch in the water so there’s less to stick to the sides of the cooker. I add water until just about half an inch above the rice.
I use my rice cooker once or twice a week and usually cook Thai jasmine rice in it.
I rinse my rice also, and just use a 1:1 water:rinsed rice ratio for Japanese rice and a 1.25:1 ratio for jasmine rice.
I’ll do my best to baby this thing, and I’ll let you know how it turns out.
I have a great rice cooker…. his name is JJ. (He makes perfect rice every time while I make the rest of the dinner!)
I have considered buying a rice cooker since I sometimes want to cook rice when JJ is not home. I might need to put the Panasonic SR-G06FG on my birthday list.
I do have a slightly smaller rice cooker, the 3 cup Panasonic model.
Zojirushi sells 30 kinds of rice cookers for the same reason that Swingline and Boston both make hundreds of nearly identical staplers. With a rice cooker at least you have a couple or three settings… but I never figured out the stapler model situation. At one point in my less than stellar military career, I went through the supply room and counted about 20 different staplers on the shelf.
Speaking of the military and rice… when I was stationed in Korea, I lived on a base with about 300 soldiers. 99% of us were single or geographical bachelors, so we ate every meal in the chow hall. And yet the PX sold 30 rice cookers a week. When I inquired into it, I was told not to open that can of worms. But post office records and health and welfare results showed that none were being mailed home and none were in the barracks. The worst thing was, CID’s office was right across the street from the PX. To investigate, all they had to do was look outside the window and watch for folks leaving with large boxes. Your tax dollars at work…
Do they still make bread makers that double as rice cookers? Mine never worked worth a hoot. The bread pan wasn’t super non-stick, so you had to soak it in JP-8 to get it clean.
Nutritionista, I think I understood 12 percent of what you just said.
I have a Zojirushi cooker much like the one Jess linked to, and I love it. We bought it at one of those Chinese supermarkets in Richmond, BC several years ago. I use it for Japanese rice (Tamaki Gold, rinsed at least three times) or brown rice (which has mostly replaced white rice in my diet).
Our old one was a more bare-bones model, without a nonstick bowl, but there was rarely any problems with sticking, maybe a bit of a crust on the bottom. I’d soak it before washing, and any residue would come right off.
Hot rice with milk and sugar makes an excellent breakfast (got that from Grandpa Harris). I always make extra so that there’s some left over for breakfast. I never, ever use a rice cooker, though. But your reasoning as far as stove space goes makes sense.
Kathleen, I’m working on a short piece about rice for breakfast, so I may ask you to elaborate on that. Sounds good! Was it made with leftover rice or rice made in the morning, specifically for breakfast?
I think I got my rice pudding recipe from the first Moosewood cookbook; it’s really good. I have it for breakfast sometimes. I always use brown basmati rice. But I’m hardly ever able to use leftover rice for it, because I like to flavor my rice while it cooks, and rice with salt and cumin and bay leaf doesn’t taste great when later mixed with maple syrup.
I’ve had a rice cooker for about six months, and it has improved my life. I think I almost have my mom talked into buying one. I love that it takes one element of timing out of planning the meal, because I have still found the rice to be great after 20 minutes on “warm”. Now I start the rice whenever I start to think about cooking dinner, instead of basically starting the rice and whatever goes on the rice at the same time and then having to wait around for the rice to be done and probably getting impatient and ending up with slightly undercooked rice.
Rice for breakfast? Then you have to mention how you can get a scoop of rice, a slice of Spam, and some scrambled eggs at McDonalds (or was it Jack in the Box?) in Hawaii.
And for lunch, you can go to 7-11 and get rice and Spam wrapped in nori — Spam musubi.
Fuggitabout the other 88%. Just rambling. The main point was that more than one model of rice cooker is hardly surprising in our consumption-based economy. Seriously — there are a hundred Swingline stapler models, all from the same company, and all that do the exact same thing. So 30 rice cookers shouldn’t raise any eyebrows.
One more rice story: I knew a guy who was trying to save every possible dime for grad school, and he basically lived off of rice. Rice and maple syrup for breakfast, rice and butter for lunch, rice and hot sauce for dinner. He got flagged by the commissary officer because they assumed he was black-marketing it, as a bachelor in Germany buying multiple 20 pound bags of rice was quite the oddity.
I personally like plain rice with that dried shredded pork you get in plastic tubs at Chinese grocery stores. In college, that was my idea of dinner.
Rice tends to taste better if you let it sit for at least ten minutes after it’s done (after it beeps or sings or pops, depending on your cooker), with the lid closed. The texture and flavor seems better, at least it does to me. Some people like to soak their rice for half an hour before cooking, too. I usually start my rice before I do any other kitchen prep.
I grew up eating a sweet rice for breakfast 3-4 times a year. I love it; Wendy think it’s just tolerable. Mine sounds sort of similar to Kathleen’s (near as I can tell, anyway).
Fancy Japanese rice cooker with 30 year working life, 200 dollars.
Cost of same rice cooker after 30 years of inflation, 2000 dollars.
What you could spend on rice for the next 30 years, 4000 dollars.
Cooking your first grandchild rice from the same rice cooker you use today?
Priceless.
I upped my rice intake after reading Dr. Allen Lim’s two recipes.
A ton cheaper than PowerBars. The only downside is that mylar wrap isn’t readily available at your local grocer yet, and wrapping them in tin foil doesn’t make for a hermetically sealed package. (Good enough for a jersey pocket on a road bike, as long as you stay upright, but on a mountain bike, one good fall and you have a pocket full of mush.)
http://www.slipstreamsports.com/2008/07/16/cooking-with-allen-rice-cakes
I also have a 5-cup Zojirushi fuzzy logic rice maker – I bought it just over a year ago, and it’s the most used small appliance in my house. We often eat tamago gohan for breakfast (raw egg stirred into hot white rice), which is delicious, fast, and filling. I also tend to make a lot of Japanese-style food (with Japanese rice, of course: Kokuho Rose rice, rinsed 5-9 times), and the rice turns out perfectly every time. Also, my Zojirushi makes perfect brown rice and has a timer for rice ready for breakfast. I don’t know what I would do without it at this point. We took it with us this past week to Montana to visit the boyfriend’s family.
Did the family find the rice cooker to be good enough for their son?
Do you ever have natto for breakfast? How do you do your tamago gohan?
I’ve never had natto for breakfast, but I have eaten it before (not on a standard rotation – it grosses out the boyfriend). For my tamago gohan, I just pile rice in a rice bowl (about 1.25 cups or so), make a small well in the middle with hashi/chopsticks, crack in an egg, break the yolk and stir it in. At first the rice is sticky, but the egg eventually coats each grain. I like mine slightly “whipped”, so I tend to stir (with chopsticks) ferociously, like you’ll see people do with natto. Once it’s done to my liking, I top it with either some good shoyu or Tiger sauce (so good!). It also goes well with bacon, which is a huge plus in my book.