The Best Japanese Rice Cooker Reviews for 2021

Japanese are particular when it comes to Rice, thus Japanese rice cookers are always of very high quality. Rice is a staple in the Japanese diet and also it is a very important crop there. Japanese rice cookers are made to simplify your life in the kitchen, their products are still one of the best, this doesn’t come as a surprise as Japanese eat about 144 pounds of rice per person in one year, on average. Most of these rice cookers are multifunctional and they help speed up your cooking process.

The best Japanese rice cooker comprises of four different components, which include, the Rice cooker’s main body, the inner cooking pan, a heating plate (they are mostly located on the bottom of the cooker’s main body), a thermal sensing device (this can be found underneath the heating plate).

If you like eating rice, you should consider buying a Japanese rice cooker, which will give you a high quality cooked rice every time. Getting one of these rice cookers in your kitchen will help you make good quality rice hassle-free.

Reviews of Best Japanese Rice Cooker

Tiger JNP-0720-FL 4-Cup Rice Cooker and Warmer

The Tiger brand rice cooker has been one of the best Japanese rice cookers out there, they are known for their high-quality products and outstanding performance. Tiger Rice cooker is visually appealing with its unique floral design.

It comes with a measuring cup, a washable and removable steam vent and a spatula or spoon. This rice cooker has a large capacity and can take care of a family of about 5 to 6 members. After cooking, it automatically switches itself to the “Keep warm” mode which helps keep your food warm and fresh.

Key Features:

• Removable and washable steam vent
• Keep for warm for up to 12 hours
• Inner pan is non-sticky
• Measuring cup and Spatula included

Pros:

• Automatic keep warm feature
• ​Cooks perfect rice really fast
• Beautiful floral design
• ​Comes with a retractable power cord
• ​Durable non-stick interior
• ​Removable and washable steam vent
• ​Advanced design that ensures comfortable cleaning process

Cons:

• The keep-warm feature lasts only up to 12 hours or less
• ​Some users claim that the interior wears out in very few cycles

Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 5-1/2-Cup Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker

Zojirushi rice cooker is one of the best Japanese rice cookers that have massive sales along with good reviews and ratings from every part of the world. This rice cooker will not only cook your rice but also comes with a steaming basket which can be used as a steamer.

It has a high capacity to cook rice for a very large family and it comes with a wide variety of functions which include sushi rice, white or brown rice, mixed rice, quick cooking, steaming, porridge and sweets. Zojirushi features Multi-menu selections which include automatic keep-warm, extended keep-warm, and reheat cycles.

Key Features:

• A washable and detachable inner lid
• User-friendly LCD panel
• Delay timer with two settings.
• Micro computerized Advanced Neuro Fuzzy logic technology
• Programmable melody or beep audio indicator
• Auto keep warm, and reheating cycle
• Built-in retractable power cord

Pros

• It has a fuzzy logic technology for excellent cooking results
• Consists of an easy to use LCD panel
• Automatic keep-warm options
• Easy to clean stainless steel surface and detachable interior

Cons

• Rice dries out really quickly
• The keep-warm feature is not up to the mark
• Low-quality interiors

Toshiba TRCS01 Rice Cooker

This rrice cooker by Toshiba is one of the best Japanese rice cookers with its amazing 3D cooking technology, it also features 6 steps cooking process. This Rice cooker has a capacity of about 6 uncooked cups to get 12 cups of cooked rice.

It has seven different pre-programmed settings to cook any type of rice ranging from brown rice, white rice, and short rice, it can also be used for porridge and oatmeal. It comes with accessories such as a measuring cup, steam basket, serving spatula and soup ladle.

Key Features

• Fast Cooking ability that shortens the cooking period to 30 minutes
• Keeps warm automatically  (up to 24 hours)
• Delay timer that is programmable with 2 different settings
• Digital Control Buttons and Easy-to-Read LCDs

Pros

• Inner pot is non-sticky for easy cleaning.
• Handle can be fold-down for easy transport.

Cons

• A little bit heavy
• The power cord is short

COMFEE’ 5.2Qt Asian Style Programmable All-in-1 Multi Cooker, Rice Cooker

Comfee multi-cooker is an excellent cooker that was developed to achieve a great cooking performance. This rice cooker has 6 steps process while cooking. It also features an inner pot and a steam valve which helps to preserve the rice every time.

This Comfee has an easy to use and user-friendly LED display. This display has a sophisticated touch panel so all your cooking activities can be done by with the touch of a button. Comfee cooker is one of the best Japanese rice cookers with its flexibility for meal planning and a 24-hour delay timer

Key Features

• 10 Cup Ultra Capacity
• Stainless steel housing
• Steam Valve

Pros

• User-friendly digital LED display
• Easy to Clean
• Automatic keep-warm mode
• Delay-timer

Cons

• No water to rice ratio instructions
• Takes good space

COMFEE’ Rice Cooker

Comfee products are known to be one of the best Japanese rice cookers in history.

This rice cooker is designed to make you cook your rice with less stress, it also features an integrated temperature probe that monitors the cooking temperature and reduces the chances of overcooking. You can also use this cooker as a pressure cooker.

This Comfee rice cooker comes with a digital display that shows indicator lights, the cooking time, it also has buttons which can be used to adjust time and temperature. The cooking pot is dishwasher safe which is very easy to clean. It has a convenient lid holder that helps keep your countertop mess-free.

Key Features:

• Multi-Functional Use.
• 24-Hour Delay Timer
• Digital Panel and LED Display is user-friendly and easy use.

Pros

• Easy to Clean
• Automatic keep-warm mode
• Delay-timer

Cons

• Splurge over the top of the lid

Dash DRCM200GBPK04 Mini Rice Cooker 

Dash rice cooker is a portable Japanese rice cooker which is perfectly made for meals and meal preparation, the Dash Mini rice cooker is one of the best Japanese rice cookers as it can keep your meal and other ingredients hot and ready to eat for a very long time.

With this rice cooker, you will never have to worry about your meal getting overcooked or overheating, making you a perfect and healthy meal every time. Dah rice cooker steamer is made for more than rice, it can be used to cook oatmeal, soup, stew, quinoa, pasta and even vegetables.

Key features

• Compact size is easy to store
• All the accessories are dishwasher safe
• The non-stick pot is removable and also easy to wash
• Automatic keep warm and shut down functionality

Pros

• Simple operation
• Great design
• Super light to carry around
• Cheap

Cons

• The measuring cup is not helpful
• Time taking cooking process

Panasonic Rice Cooker & Multi-Cooker SR-G06FGL

Rice Cooker Panasonic is a one-step automatic rice cooker; the pan has a non-stick coating. It is made of aluminium, this non-stick inner coating is designed to withstand heat for a very long time, it distributes heat to ensure fully cooked rice and it is very easy to clean.

This rice cooker has an indicator light and also has an automatic shut off function which automatically shuts off the cooker when the rice is ready. Another amazing feature of this Panasonic rice cooker and multi-cooker is its tempered see-through glass lid – you can safely monitor your cooking. It includes a measuring cup and a rice scoop for easy cooking and serving.

Key features:

• A tempered see-through glass lid
• Non-Stick inner pan
• Measuring cup and Spatula included

Pros

• Cooks even rice
• See-through lid
• Single-button control
• Easy and user friendly

Cons

• The user manual is not well documented.
• Japanese rice cooker brand

Buying Guide

When looking to get a Japanese Rice cooker, there are many options you should look out for. However, listed below are some factors you need to consider to help you make the right decisions.

Size

If you want to buy your Japanese rice cooker, you have to consider how many people will be benefiting from it, if you are a small family or you would cooking be cooking for small amount of people, go for cookers that have small capacity but in a situation where you have a very big family, you have to choose cookers with large capacity.

Bowl Quality

The  kind of material that is used for a rice cooker is very important, this shows if the rice cooker will produce a quality rice or not. Most of the Japanese rice cookers in the market is made of stainless steel bowl with non-stick coating, this will allow for easy cleaning, while you might also find some that the bowl are very insulated, this can help regulate and retain the heat.

Features

If you are buying a Japanese rice cook, please note that the “Keep Warm” and “Delay start” feature is very important and very useful. These type of cookers keep your rice warm and allow you to control when cooking starts.

Easy to Clean

You know you have to be cleaning your Japanese rice cooker after finish cooking, finding the cooker that is very easy to clean is important. Most Japanese rice cookers have a detachable inner lids which will ease your cleaning process and the bowls are also made of non-stick coating.

Japanese Rice Cooker Brand

Tiger Corporation:

Tiger corporation makes one of the best Japanese rice cookers in the market. They have automatic cooking logic systems in their products, this helps monitor the cooking temperatures to make perfect meals for you.

Another amazing feature Tiger corporation is known for is the “keep warm” function in their products, which means Tiger rice cookers can hold up your meal warm for up to 12 hours.

Panasonic:

When it comes to appliances, Panasonic has won many household’s hearts for years. Panasonic produces one of the best Japanese rice cookers, one of them is the Panasonic SR-DF101 switches off automatically therefore prevents overcooking.

Zojirushi:

This brand is also one of the top brands that makes the best Japanese rice cooker, Zojirushi is known for her induction heating which produces the perfect serving of rice every time. Most Zojirushi products come with the multiple menu available for selection.

Japanese Rice Cooker Instructions

• The ratio of rice to water should be 1: 1.1
• Rinse the rice: Add enough water to submerge the rice, you can repeat this process like 2 – 3 times.
• Use your fingers to gently wash the rice for about 15 seconds, repeat this two times
• Add water and discard (repeat this process for about two times)
• Make use of the sieve to drain excess water
• Transfer the drained rice into your Japanese rice cooker
• Add water and close the lid
• Select your menu and press the Start button
• Regular white rice takes about 50 minutes to cook
• Once the rice cooker is done cooking the rice, let it steam out for about 10 minutes (some rice cookers include steaming time automatically).
• Open the lid and you can start serving the rice with the rice paddle or spatula

These instructions above are for the basic rice cookers, some high-quality rice cookers feature additional functionalities such as:

• Settings for different types of rice
• Real time adjustment of temperature functionality
• Keep-warm option
• Remaining time display
• Long-simmered cooking option
• Digital display windows
• Quick cook options
• Scheduled cooking and delay-start options
• And many more…

Conclusion

Once you are well informed about the best Japanese rice cooker in the market, the features and price, it becomes very easy to pick which one is best suitable for you. But before you make that decision, you might need to check what your budget is? How frequently do you plan to use a rice cooker? What kind of features are you looking for in your ideal rice cooker?

Your answers to these three questions will help you to properly understand your needs and pick the right choice.