Rice cookers that are small and great!

[Changeling]

Well I guess I should have paid more attention to what "Dale in Louisiana" was saying about rice cookers but i was wrong in trying to second guess him for what I needed.

Now I want a good/great rice cooker that will "NOT" take up a lot of room as i am running out of counter space. I don't need one that will handle more than 2 or 3 cups of uncooked rice. I'm single and if I needed more I would just buy a bigger one later.

I just want a really good one! I got tired of things electric that only lasted a few months to a year and never did what they were supposed to several years ago. Better to start good and not worry about it! That is just my philosophy, others may have a different idea about things!

Anyway, all help is appreciated.

[Tom-ADC]

Since there is only the two of us we use a Aroma brand rice cooker will make up to 3 small cups of ring with one usually being enough for two people.
If you have a Japanese market close by they will have a good selection. Bought our first one in Yokohama in 1969 when we lived there.
Check amazon for a selection if you don't have a market close by, they are about $30 and last for many years.

[fatnhappy]

A laotian woman at work gave me a Black & Decker RC400 as a present a couple years ago. She said even stupid white guys like me can make perfect rice in it.

She was right. It's very small and makes enough perfect rice to feed a dozen hungry guys at deer camp.

ymmv

[runfiverun]

you can cook other things in them too the cook till they run out of liquid then turn off.
if you keep on adding broth or whatever you can use them like a slow cooker.
chicken [boneless] in broth is excellent, then use the leftover broth to make rice.

[Mk42gunner]

I had a Rival brand one for years. It worked great at sea level, not so good at 3900 feet when I was in Fallon, NV.

Robert

[scrapcan]

we just replaced one that we killed (we eat a bunch of rice). We bought a cuisenart. it was a much better size and outside it is a square. It has the steamer basket also.

But if you want the ultimate original easy to store use an appropriate size pot and put 1 knuckle of water over your rice and heat on low heat. Or atleast that is what I was told by an elderly woman who has done it that way all of her life, even after she came to the US about 50 years ago.

[Changeling]

we just replaced one that we killed (we eat a bunch of rice). We bought a cuisenart. it was a much better size and outside it is a square. It has the steamer basket also.

But if you want hte ultimate original easy to store use an appropriate size pot and put 1 knuckle of water over your rice and heat on low heat. Or atleast that is waht I was told by an elderly woman who has done it that way all of her life, even after she came to the US about 50 years ago.

I've already been taught the error of my ways in cooking rice in a pot by the guys here, thats no longer a problem.
I'll check out Amazon and see what those reviewers have to say.

Thanks to everyone.

[SmuvBoGa]

I've had good luck with a small rice cooker from k-Mart - approx $15. It cooks up enough rice for me alone or share with SHMBO. I also get BIG point for "cooking" - whoo Ha, scoop of rice & two of H2O - soooo easy to clean up with the Tufflon removal cooking cup.

:p :smile: JMc

Checked at home it is a Black & Decker - 1.5 cup

[Changeling]

Confused, need to ask a question:

When they say a rice cooker is a 3/5/10 cup or whatever cooker are they talking about the number of cups you put in of raw rice or the number of cups you get out of the cooker? I've read some things that make me unsure!

Also, can you cook less rice than one of these call for or do you have to cook whatever it says? This refers to the first sentence, confusing.

[PineTreeGreen]

A friend gave me a 16 cup rice cooker a while ago. I live alone and never did figure out a need for 16 cups. The other day and decided to make a batch of Recluse's 45/45/10 tumble lube and thought the rice cooker would work fine and did.. Cooked all those solvents out of the JPW.

[frankenfab]

Confused, need to ask a question:

When they say a rice cooker is a 3/5/10 cup or whatever cooker are they talking about the number of cups you put in of raw rice or the number of cups you get out of the cooker? I've read some things that make me unsure!

Also, can you cook less rice than one of these call for or do you have to cook whatever it says? This refers to the first sentence, confusing.

Mine has a non-stick bowl with lines and numbers, and came with a "special" measuring cup which looks like about 1/2 cup by volume. You dump "X" number of cuos of rice in the bowl, and then fill it with water to the "X" number mark on the bowl. The yield is that many cups cooked rice. 1-5 cups.

I have only used the Jasmine rice so far. It smells sooo good when cooking, and is good plain or with salt,pepper, butter.

I bet it would be really good with Hickory's "hot pepper butter" on it![smilie=l:

[Changeling]

you can cook other things in them too the cook till they run out of liquid then turn off.
if you keep on adding broth or whatever you can use them like a slow cooker.
chicken [boneless] in broth is excellent, then use the leftover broth to make rice.


I've looked at rice cookers till I'm going nuts (more than usual) . Is there any logical reason to get one of those really good ones that run around $100.00 over one of the simple ones that are way less than that. I looked at the reviews on the Internet but that confuses things even more, sometimes I think they do it on purpose. One feature that I wanted was one that would keep the rice warm for a few hours in case I was away from home. Totally confused.

[frankenfab]

If you really like rice, it will be worth it to get one of the expensive ones. Mine cooks 1 to 5 cups cooked yield, and you can leave rice in it for 2 days, though I never do. I am still using mine about once a week after 5 years. You might want to get one of the cheap ones first if you're not sure.

[zxcvbob]

I cook rice all the time, *brown* rice usually (it's harder to cook) in just a saucepan on the stove. Have you tried that? Do you need some help with the technique?

Rice cookers seem to be most useful for very large batches, or for freeing up a burner on the stove. Neither of these seem to be the case here.

[Changeling]

If you really like rice, it will be worth it to get one of the expensive ones. Mine cooks 1 to 5 cups cooked yield, and you can leave rice in it for 2 days, though I never do. I am still using mine about once a week after 5 years. You might want to get one of the cheap ones first if you're not sure.

That sounds like a plan frankenfab. I ordered some book that everyone recommended from Amazon, supposedly it shipped a week ago but I haven't seen it yet, USPS is getting slower and slower, at first I thought it was just my imagination but now I think it's them.:groner:

Update, I just checked the delivery date, get this, the estimated delivery date is September 21, 2110 I ordered it August 30, That means it will only take 22 days to get here!

One cooker that was # 1 recommended was a Micon ECJ-D55S, when I first started searching for deals it was $90.00, after searching for a few days it went to $115.00, anyone notice this sort of thing happening, I have on several different things now. Also supposedly it takes about 120 minutes to cook rice!!


zxcvbob, I think I will wait till I get a R cooker and let it do the figuring out, LOL. However I really appreciate your offer of help.

[Dale in Louisiana]

I cook rice all the time, *brown* rice usually (it's harder to cook) in just a saucepan on the stove. Have you tried that? Do you need some help with the technique?

Rice cookers seem to be most useful for very large batches, or for freeing up a burner on the stove. Neither of these seem to be the case here.

My rice cooker handles brown rice quite easily. The trick is to add more water. this extends the cooking time as the extra water must either boil off or be absorbed for the cooker to shut off.

On my three-cup cooker, I put two measures of brown rice, then add water to halfway between the 2 and 3-cup mark.

I can cook rice on the stovetop quite well, but my rice cooker gets a workout several times a week. Many Cajun homes use them now. My mom even switched over to one in her later years, even though she's the one who taught me how to cook rice on the stove.

Many Cajuns don't figure they've eaten on any day that they didn't have rice. I cooked rice and gravy for me and my son today using some meaty pork backbone.

Dale in Louisiana

[frankenfab]

Many Cajuns don't figure they've eaten on any day that they didn't have rice. I cooked rice and gravy for me and my son today using some meaty pork backbone.


Darn, you made me go start a batch of rice. I probly won't have gravy, but I do have leftover ribs. Maybe I am part Cajun? I sure do love fried Gator and Andoulle sausage as well.

[Changeling]

Darn, you made me go start a batch of rice. I probly won't have gravy, but I do have leftover ribs. Maybe I am part Cajun? I sure do love fried Gator and Andoulle sausage as well.

Well Dale seems to have that effect on people, every time I listen to him I get hungry, LOL.

So, I'm not gong to procrastinate anymore and just get the higher priced one, I feel sure if I don't I will be sorry so what the hell, besides there are some things I would like to try like the brown rice, and rice dishes that the good machines are supposed to be able to do to perfection.

Now we need Dale to give us some of those "secret" Louisiana dishes we can whip up in the rice cooker, or whatever for that matter.:lol:

Like that rice and gravy! Hey Dale in Louisiana, I and others could sure use some of your creole dishes that you are used to . It sounds simple from your end but from ours it is complicated.