Does anyone know the minimum amount of rice that you can cook in this?

Is there a difference between this and a regular steamer?

nm3210 wrote:Does anyone know the minimum amount of rice that you can cook in this?

A few tablespoons, probably. You might have to add a little more water than whatever ratio the instructions recommend, but these basic steamers are very forgiving.

I miss my simple rice maker. The only one I have access to now is my dad's Zojirushi Super-Steamo-Deluxe-Ricer-9001 or some garbage like that. It apparently doesn't know how to cook rice and asks me what it should do every time I use it (which is never). I just want to push a button, wait, and receive my rice.

I think I'm talking myself into this...

As someone who's eaten and used rice cookers since I was a child, I'm gonna weigh in here.

This style of rice cooker is awful. Sure it cooks rice, but so does a pot. The T-Fal one should hold its non-stick coating better, but that's not really the issue here. The problem is the placement of the heating element. In this case you usually get rice that is either more of a cake, or burned.

If you want something cheap that cooks rice, go buy a pot. It works okay. And you can make other stuff with it. If you want to steam stuff, buy a dedicated steamer or a steamer insert for your pot.

If you want good rice, buy an Aroma cooker that has the full jacket around the bowl, or (if you can afford it) a Zojirushi with Fuzzy Logic.

CasualSax wrote:Is there a difference between this and a regular steamer?

We use our old Panasonic Rice cooker regularly and it steams fine. Same design, has been for all rice cookers in my rice loving family.
Might be time for a new one.

I can't find this model listed on the t-fal website (http://www.t-falusa.com/) but most rice cookers this size will do as little as two cups of cooked rice.

The price on this one is great compared to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Simply-Delicioso-RK102853-Nonstick-Automatic/dp/B0065GGD40/!

So, what I'm reading is this really doesn't compete at all with a Tiger rice cooker then? Been looking for a while, I have some Hawaiian friends who have told me nothing beats a Tiger. Rice is nearly an everyday staple for them. Just wasn't wanting to drop 60-80.

I have a rice cooker that looks exactly like this one (different brand).

Pros:
* Very easy to use. Just be sure to read the directions about water quantities for white versus brown rice.
* It has never burned the rice - just stir it once during the last few minutes of cooking.
* It keeps rice warm after cooking.
* Nice for small combo meals (1 or 2 people, rice + steamed veggies).
* You can use it for cooking soup/stew - though I haven't actually tried it for that yet.
* Great for an office or dorm room. (I have one at the office, as well as home.)

Cons:
* When you use the plastic basket for steaming, you won't be able to cook the max quantity of rice.
* The plastic basket will stain.
* It will bubble out the lid's vent hole (messy) if you don't add butter or oil. And it helps to rinse the rice before cooking.

I add serrano peppers and cilantro to my rice while it's cooking. That's why mine will sometimes bubble out the vent hole if I don't add a bit of oil. I'm usually steaming carrots (stains the basket) and brocolli at the same time, too. Yummy.

kwasiblind wrote:So, what I'm reading is this really doesn't compete at all with a Tiger rice cooker then? Been looking for a while, I have some Hawaiian friends who have told me nothing beats a Tiger. Rice is nearly an everyday staple for them. Just wasn't wanting to drop 60-80.

You have to go to any Chinese grocery store and they usually carry the Tiger rice cookers.

Aldan wrote:As someone who's eaten and used rice cookers since I was a child, I'm gonna weigh in here.

This style of rice cooker is awful. Sure it cooks rice, but so does a pot. The T-Fal one should hold its non-stick coating better, but that's not really the issue here. The problem is the placement of the heating element. In this case you usually get rice that is either more of a cake, or burned.

If you want something cheap that cooks rice, go buy a pot. It works okay. And you can make other stuff with it. If you want to steam stuff, buy a dedicated steamer or a steamer insert for your pot.

If you want good rice, buy an Aroma cooker that has the full jacket around the bowl, or (if you can afford it) a Zojirushi with Fuzzy Logic.

I agree with this. I have used rice cookers for many years and this style is a waste of money even if the bowl is good quality.

I had a Zojirushi and lost it in a move, so I bought a similar style Aroma and it has performed well for many years.

Since I cook with it so much, for me it's worth the extra cost, but the Aroma was a great compromise and I'm very happy.

Having lived in Japan for nearly a decade and love love love rice I would not even look at this for cooking rice.

I have a National/Panasonic cooker and though it was a bit more expensive it has been going strong for nearly two decades without one missed grain!

Just started steaming in it and WoW. Since this type of cooker is nearly a closed system steaming is super fast but also keeps the flavor (and hopefully the vitamins, etc) inside and so yummy!

The one I have is a small size and the minimum is two dry cups of rice which makes a lot of cooked rice actually... but when you eat rice made right it is just sooooo yummy - especially the first cup right from hot steaming cooker...

btw, Amazon sells some pretty good Japanese rice for very decent prices!

Is this 8 cups cooked or 8 cups dry? That is a huge difference

I don't aspire to be the Next Iron Chef. I have a nearly identical cheapo model - never had a problem. The minimum amount I do is one of the included measuring cups - which looks to be 3/4 cup dry. Is it easier than a stovetop pot because I don't have to babysit it while it cooks? Yep. Does it provide me cooked rice that is perfectly acceptable to my palate? Yep. If you don't have a rice cooker, these inexpensive ones are fine. If you are a quasi-chef amazing person in the kitchen, you want to go top of the line instead.

Aldan wrote:As someone who's eaten and used rice cookers since I was a child, I'm gonna weigh in here.

If your eating the rice cookeryouprobably didn't follow the instuctions or the warning on the box. " Remove rive from cooker prior to ingestion"

I'm not sure what the beef is with this design. It looks nearly identical to the model I've been using for nearly a decade without any issue at all. Ours gets used at least 2-3 times a week with everything from basmati to sushi rice and grain mixes.

I guess I don't get it. What's so difficult about cooking rice that people need a specialized pot for it? Two parts water...boil... one part rice...bring to boil then turn down to low and cover. Set timer for 15 minutes. Done. C'mon, really?

As someone who tends to have a bit of ADD when it comes to cooking rice (and tomato soup) I like using this cooker. I don't want to have an experience with my rice, I just want it cooked without boiling over on my stove. It took a couple of times to figure out the water to rice ratio exactly to what I like but now I don't have to spend 20 minutes trying to scrape the burned rice aftermath off the burner.

fjp999 wrote:Having lived in Japan for nearly a decade and love love love rice I would not even look at this for cooking rice.

I have a National/Panasonic cooker and though it was a bit more expensive it has been going strong for nearly two decades without one missed grain!

Just started steaming in it and WoW. Since this type of cooker is nearly a closed system steaming is super fast but also keeps the flavor (and hopefully the vitamins, etc) inside and so yummy!

The one I have is a small size and the minimum is two dry cups of rice which makes a lot of cooked rice actually... but when you eat rice made right it is just sooooo yummy - especially the first cup right from hot steaming cooker...

btw, Amazon sells some pretty good Japanese rice for very decent prices!

Agree 100% I found a Sanyo model at Goodwill for about $8 (sells for around $200 new) and there is NO COMPARISON to these models with the thin aluminum pots and lids that do not seal. My unit has a thick titanium-coated bowl and a gasket sealed hinged lid, NEVER sticks or burns.

I've owned a half-dozen thin models over the years and they all ended up burning, boiling over or just being messy.

You're better off just doing rice in a microwave.

I wooted a very small rice personal cooker and I like it very much but it cannot compare the way my wife and her family from the Dominican Republic cook rice. If you think rice is rice "one part rice and two parts water" and you just cook it, you are really missing out.

However, the advantage of a rice cooker is that you'll never burn it. A true rice cooker will detect when the water has been absorbed by monitorng the rise in temperature at that point. Then it automatically turns to keep-warm mode.

As others have said, even inexpensive rice cookers like this are awesome if you don't need bells and whistles and don't want to scrub burnt rice off of pots. No one is going to make you buy one if you'd rather use a pot on your stove...

I've had a Zojirushi for a dozen years and love it, but most people probably want to pay for the extra features.

u can cook only 1 cup if u want to. 1 cup uncook rice add 2 cup water. a little more water if u like your rice soft.

I have one of the cheapie models similar to this. I don't even know what brand! I love it though! As a working mom it's great to just throw rice & water in it when I get home and I don't have to worry about it while I run around getting the rest of dinner ready. It doesn't burn or boil over if I get distracted by warring kids or any of the other chaos going on. I've had mine since college & I've used it to make soups, one pot rice dishes, oatmeal etc etc. The fancy ones look really cool but they're just not in my budget!

how is this so different from the Aroma ones?? checked on Amazon and they look really similar!! Isn't it pretty much the same system?? Also, has anyone established whether it's 8 cups before or after cooking??

amemait wrote:I have a rice cooker that looks exactly like this one (different brand).

Pros:
* Very easy to use. Just be sure to read the directions about water quantities for white versus brown rice.
* It has never burned the rice - just stir it once during the last few minutes of cooking.
* It keeps rice warm after cooking.
* Nice for small combo meals (1 or 2 people, rice + steamed veggies).
* You can use it for cooking soup/stew - though I haven't actually tried it for that yet.
* Great for an office or dorm room. (I have one at the office, as well as home.)

Cons:
* When you use the plastic basket for steaming, you won't be able to cook the max quantity of rice.
* The plastic basket will stain.
* It will bubble out the lid's vent hole (messy) if you don't add butter or oil. And it helps to rinse the rice before cooking.

I add serrano peppers and cilantro to my rice while it's cooking. That's why mine will sometimes bubble out the vent hole if I don't add a bit of oil. I'm usually steaming carrots (stains the basket) and brocolli at the same time, too. Yummy.

Agreed re: bubbling but to solve that, I place a stainless steel 1/4 cup measuring cup over the hole. No mess.

Why a rice cooker instead of a pot?

Because if you are of any kind of Asian extraction, odds are rice is at just about every meal and you don't want to spend time watching it so it doesn't burn. You just want to dump it in the pot, add the water, push start and leave it be.

We've had basic cookers like this forever--my late great m-in-law gave us a hand me down one we used for years. My husband is Filipino American and rice is almost always part of his dinner.

The 8 cup thing means 8 cups cooked. The sort of cooker that would do 8 cups of raw rice are the huge ones you will see at Chinese buffet places--and at my sister-in-law's house!

drbayzball2002 wrote:Is this 8 cups cooked or 8 cups dry? That is a huge difference

8 cups total volume. 8 cups cooked=8cups dry, though 8 cups dry cooks to more than 8 cups

Fill the rice cooker to the 8 cup line with dry rice, add water to the top, click on cook and get ready for a big mess.

nm3210 wrote:Does anyone know the minimum amount of rice that you can cook in this?

Yes

katjoeus wrote:how is this so different from the Aroma ones?? checked on Amazon and they look really similar!! Isn't it pretty much the same system?? Also, has anyone established whether it's 8 cups before or after cooking??

Yes I have.

halnwheels wrote:
A true rice cooker will detect when the water has been absorbed by monitorng the rise in temperature at that point. Then it automatically turns to keep-warm mode.

THANK YOU! A great mystery in my life is solved. I always wondered how it "knew" the rice was ready.

drbayzball2002 wrote:Is this 8 cups cooked or 8 cups dry? That is a huge difference

8cups is a unit of volume last time i checked. 8 cups is the same dry or cooked but 4 cups of dry rice makes 8 cups cooked.

cajun200 wrote:Yes I have.

Boy are you funny!!

Blahbbs wrote:I guess I don't get it. What's so difficult about cooking rice that people need a specialized pot for it? Two parts water...boil... one part rice...bring to boil then turn down to low and cover. Set timer for 15 minutes. Done. C'mon, really?

That's fine if you eat craptastic white rice but the brown can be a pain in the arse to cook on the stove. The rice cooker works fine every time.

Does any one know of a rice cooker that can make "Tah Dig". It translate to bottom of the pot in Persian style cooking. Typically the rice will be cooked to a hard crust 1/4" to 1/2" thick at the bottom of the pot. It is the part of the rice that everyone at the table fights for. LOL.

Typically the rice will be cooked to a hard crust 1/4" to 1/2" thick at the bottom of the pot.]
I have a Oster Inspiration Rice Cooker that will do that. Yes, some like the crispy rice. If I don't want it crispy at the bottom, I use extra water and give it a stir when I hear it switch from boil to steam.

pamtha wrote:THANK YOU! A great mystery in my life is solved. I always wondered how it "knew" the rice was ready.

You're welcome! You know the old question about how a thermos keeps cold things cold and hot things hot... How does it know? !!!

kaminztor wrote:Does any one know of a rice cooker that can make "Tah Dig". It translate to bottom of the pot in Persian style cooking. Typically the rice will be cooked to a hard crust 1/4" to 1/2" thick at the bottom of the pot. It is the part of the rice that everyone at the table fights for. LOL.

I think my Sanyo rice cookers (programable, not a basic one like this one) mentioned that. This site tells how to make it in a rice cooker: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/548688.

kaminztor wrote:Does any one know of a rice cooker that can make "Tah Dig". It translate to bottom of the pot in Persian style cooking. Typically the rice will be cooked to a hard crust 1/4" to 1/2" thick at the bottom of the pot. It is the part of the rice that everyone at the table fights for. LOL.

It sounds very similar to the Domincan Con Con. Other Latino cultures call it a spanish word that in English means scrapings. You can certainly google Con Con and find out how that's done. Yum!