This device is actually two in one called the Sanyo ECJ-HC55S 5-1/2-Cup Micro-Computerized Rice Cooker and Slow Cooker. Of course it can be used to cook restaurant quality rice but it also has the additional option of being used as a slow cooker and can cook things such as soups and stews. You can also easily use it as a vegetable steamer. Further it comes with a tofu making function to allow you to prepare your own home made tofu. That said, it is primarily sold as a rice cooker.

If you decide to buy a Sanyo ECJ-HC55S you will discover that it has not one inner cooking bowl but two. This means that it is technically possible to cook both rice and a slow cook dish at the same time. However please be aware that one bowl sits inside the other. Therefore this actually as an impact on the amount of rice that you can cook. Further the inner bowl has plastic feet and these would sit in the rice and boiling water as it cooks. There do not seem to be any warnings not to do this however personally the thought of cooking my rice with plastic is not very appealing. I am sure that Sanyo must have tested this thoroughly for safety though.

The rice cooking pot is relatively think at 3mm. It is coated with a non-stick finish that makes it easy to scoop your rice out. As with most “non-stick” coatings you may actually find that brown rice does have a habit of sticking to the pot. Personally I primarily eat white rice so I do not really encounter this issue but it is worth being aware of. You can read more customer reviews on Amazon to get a more rounded picture. The rice cooking pot has a round bottom. This means that heat is distributed more evenly which is ensures the best results. As noted above, this is a 5 1/2 cup rice cooker which provides enough rice, when filled to capacity, for about ten people. It is just the right size for a family and it gives you a bit of leeway should you be entertaining guests. There are a whole range of settings that allow you to make a wide variety of rices, for example, you can cook Japanese white rice, brown rices, mixed rices, sushi rices amongst others. This really is a top quality rice cooker. Like Zojirushi rice cookers, this Sanyo machine is able to adjust the temperature automatically to prevent the rice from burning and ensure that it comes out perfectly every time.

When you buy a cheap Sanyo ECJ-HC55S you will notice that there is a 24 hour LCD clock which can be set as a 12 hour clock. Similar to other rice cookers it has a keep warm function. This can be used for up to about 12 hours before the rice starts to dry out. Another option is to not bother with this setting. As the lid fits on so well, just leaving the machine once your rice has cooked will keep the rice warm for a couple of hours anyway with absolutely no loss of moisture. If you would like to find a cheap Sanyo ECJ-HC55S, some of the best online prices can be found on Amazon.

The Black and Decker RC3303 is possibly the cheapest rice cooker available today. Firstly, you can probably tell that this model is not a Japanese rice cooker. However while this site is primarily about Japanese rice cookers I still want to write about the best value rice cooking machines available today so therefore had to include a Black & Decker RC3303 review.

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This machine makes it easy for you to quickly prepare restaurant quality rice at home. It is a very simple rice cooking machine to use. The Black & Decker RC3303 has a 3 cup rice cooking capability. This is aperfect size for couples or people living alone. All you have to do is add some rice, measure the appropriate amount of water, then make sure to was the rice thoroughly and finally turn the unit on with a simple press of the switch.

When the rice is ready, the machine will automatically switch over to its warming setting. This maintains your rice at an ideal serving temperature without over cooking or drying it out. On top of this, the Black & Decker RC3303 has a removable nonstick pot which ensures that your food comes out easily and you are able to quickly clean up after use.

The Black & Decker RC3303 has some other features including lights that indicate what mode the machine is in, either “cook” or “keep warm”; handles that do not heat up even when the machine is turned on; and a glass lid which allows you to see what is going on inside. The glass lid is useful when you are cooking things like vegetables so you can see their progress.

Even though this machine is not a Japanese rice cooker, I hope you have found this Black & Decker RC3303 review useful.

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The Aroma ARC-733G 3 cup rice cooker is even cheaper than the Aroma ARC-838TC 8 cup rice cooker. It is surely one of the cheapest rice cookers on the market today. Even though it is small, 3 cups is still perfectly adequate for a small family as well as being more than enough for people living on there own. It is a no frills rice cooker that can be used to steam anything you like. The Aroma ARC-733G is well worth checking out if you are on a budget or if you are just beginning to get interested in eating more rice in your diet.

This basic rice cooker from Aroma can cook almost any kind of rice. You simply have to add the number of cups you require and the measure the appropriate amount of water and then turn it unit on. It can be used for a wide range of other types of cooking including homemade soup or stew and can also be used to steam seafood, poultry or vegetables while simultaneously cooking rice thanks to the included wire steam rack. On top of this, it comes with a tempered glass lid with a steam vent which keeps in heat and moisture and allows you to check on food easily.

After switching the Aroma ARC-733G 3 cup rice cooker on there is nothing else to worry about. Once it has finished cooking your rice it automatically switches to keep-warm mode. This keep-warm mode maintains an ideal serving temperature without over-cooking. This may well be the best rice cooker for your needs. It certainly is a very low priced model.

This rice cooker has a cooking bowl that is made of aluminium and is not coated in Teflon as many other cookers do. This may be a good or bad thing depending upon your point of view. Rice will certainly tend to stick more to this type of cooking bowl however for those worried about possible health concerns of Teflon, this may be a more suitable rice cooker for your needs. While rice will stick to the bottom of the pan, this is easy to clean simply by soaking it in water.

The  Aroma ARC-733G comes with a measuring cup, rice spatula as well as a wire rack for steaming. At under $20 this really is a bargain U.S. made machine. Even though it is not a Japanese rice cooker I still feel it is worth writing this review.

Despite this site being primarily about Japanese rice cookers we also want to provide as complete information as we can. So with that in mind we want to mention the Aroma ARC-838TC rice cooker which in not actually Japanese but is manufactured by the Aroma Housewares Company based in San Diego. This is a great rice cooker if you want to start eating more rice but do not want to buy an expensive appliance. This is a basic model BUT to cook plain brown or white rice it has all the functionality you need.

This rice cooker from Aroma is a fairly large model that can cook up to 8 cups of rice at one time. This is enough to feed about 12 people. If you do not need a rice cooker this size, you could instead buy an Aroma ARC-733G which is a 3 cup rice cooker. The Aroma ARC-838TC certainly looks more basic than many of the top of the range Japanese rice cookers. However you have to ask yourself how much functionality you really need. My Zojirushi rice cooker has settings for normal rice, a speed cook setting, rice porridge and one for rice with red beans as well as a warming setting that can be used to keep the rice ready to be eaten for up to 12 hours. After living in Japan for over 5 years, I have only actually used the first of the cooking settings and the warming functionality.

U.S. made Aroma ARC-838TC rice cooker

The Aroma ARC-838TC appears to have just the basic options of cooking and warming. For me, that’s all I really need. So before going out and splashing over $100 on a luxury rice cooker, think about a cheaper model from a U.S. company and consider buying an Aroma ARC-838TC rice cooker. At under $35 they are a very affordable entry model into the world of rice cooking. You can find a host of cheap rice cookers on Amazon. They are a great place to find the best price.

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What is the best Japanese rice cooker?

There are many companies that produce rice cookers including Panasonic, Sharp and Sanyo. However when you ask a Japanese person what rice cooker they have, the most popular answer that you are likely to hear is Zojirushi. Interestingly enough, this company may not be as well known in the West as the three preceding ones. However in the rice cooking field, Zojirushi is the market leader in Japan. I was fortunate enough to be given a rice cooker by my landlord when I first arrived in Japan. It was actually a Zojirushi. Many people consider these to be the best rice cookers. At that time, I was under the impression that this must have been a crappy brand and he’d found someone to dump it on. So you can imagine my surprise when I found out Zojirushi is the top dog!

Zojirushi NS-ZCC10

The picture above is the Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 rice cooker. This model is for sale overseas. At first glance this might not be obvious. However all the buttons are in English! The rice cooker I use is similar to the one above although it is a slightly older model. It is the same except that mine does not come with the Neuro Fuzzy® technology. Zojirushi claim that their Neuro Fuzzy® logic technology allows their rice cookers to think for themselves and make tiny adjustments, when necessary, to temperature and heating time so that they cook perfect rice every time. However although my Zojirushi rice cooker doesn’t have this feature, I find that I am able to cook perfect rice easily. If you would like to buy a Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 rice cooker, please check out the reviews on this site.

EDIT: I have now purchased a new Japanese rice cooker which is even higher quality than the one featured on this page. My new machine is a Zojirushi NP-GD05 which is only available in Japan. It is the equivalent to the Zojirushi NP-GBC05 which is sold across North America.