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(More customer reviews)I come from south India, which means that I grew up eating rice every day. This also means that for me, rice is not just an important food, but a way of life. At any given time, you can expect to find five different kinds of rice in my pantry at all times (10 kg long grain white rice, 10 kg white sushi rice, 5 kg Basmati, 1 kg brown sushi, 5 kg long grain brown). I still eat rice every day, although the noodles, pasta, and bread are easy to find.
When I was young, my mother would by the typical rice cookers, where it would have a flimsy aluminium pot, a cheap electric part, and a cheap glass lid that didn't actually keep the moisture in. Measuring the water was a game of roulette, because although the rice always got cooked, variations in the moisture levels inside the cooking pot were bound to get wonky rather quickly. Furthermore, they never lasted too terribly long if you weren't extremely careful with them.
When I moved out on my own, I continued the tradition of getting the standard, cheap rice cookers. I was unwilling to spend this sort of money on a rice cooker. Until my third one fried out on me.
This model keeps rice piping hot, and tender, and fluffy, for three days. It cooks up the following rices perfectly (as in, I've tested it myself): Jasmine, White Basmati, Parboiled Basmati, Haiga-Mai, White Koshihikari, Brown Koshihikari, long grain Brown, and long grain White.
When using the slow cooker pot, I can churn out a pot of lentil soup quickly or slowly, depending on how much time I have on my hands. The tofu cycle works for the Indian dish known as idli. You end up with rather a large idli, but it's easy enough to cut up into four pieces. It makes steel cut oats in one hour flat, but makes sure that they're tender but not mushy. The minimum capacity is 2 cups, and the maximum is 10. It comes with a steaming basket to steam vegetables, however, I doubt that I'll be using it any time soon for steaming vegetables. What that basket is good for is a no-fuss Chinese dim sum steaming, without having to turn on the stove. Just set your buns down on the little steaming tray, and set your rice cooker to do the work for you. No poking around and watching the water levels for you!
The instructions are easy to follow: measure the dry rice with the provided cup, and then fill water to the line indicated on the inside of the pot, depending on the type of rice (or porridge, as needed). Also, get used to measuring the rice out exactly, because that will get you more consistent pots of rice, especially when you're working with unknown rices. There is no guesswork.
You will be cooking with less water, because the steam is contained inside the chamber, and not flying out into the air. In the last few minutes of cooking, you will notice a bit of steam being vented from the top, but that's minimal in comparison to how much steam is produced from a conventional rice cooker.
The rice pot is EXTREMELY nonstick. For easy cleanup, wait for the rice and the starch and the rest to dry out. Then wipe down the inside with your hand, and watch everything fall away like magic. Then, go ahead and wash as normal.
The plastic chassis is easy to clean with a soft cloth and a bit of water. Give it a wipe down after every use, and it'll look sparkling clean and beautiful there on your counter top.
Go buy this now if you're considering it. You won't regret it.
UPDATE: It's now January of 2011, and I bought this in September 2008. The rice cooker is still a work horse, and we've been using it if not every single day, pretty close to every single day. Pot after pot of perfect rice. Nonstick surface is still going strong.
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Sanyo ECJ-HC100S 10-Cup Micro-Computerized Rice Cooker and Slow CookerCook top-quality rice dishes, slow cook stews or soups, steam veggies, boil eggs, and even make tofu in this impressive micro-computerized machine. The unit includes two separate inner pots and inner lids to keep slow cooked dishes separate from rice, thereby maintaining the integrity of the rice flavor. The titanium-coated extra-thick (3mm) non-stick rice-cooking inner pot provides a round bottom for maximum heat distribution, optimum cooking, and effortless food release. To help ensure perfectly cooked rice, the 10-cup (20 cups cooked) rice cooker provides a variety of multi-menu, one-touch selections, including programs for white, brown, mixed, rinse-free, sushi, and haiga rice. Depending on the program entered, the cooker's micro-computer chip technology automatically adjusts the temperature and cooking times. Its steaming function steams veggies with a timer programmable for up to 58 minutes. The unit can also function as a slow cooker. For cooking soups or stews, program it to slow cook for up to 12 hours on either the high or low temperature setting.
Even more, the cooker comes equipped with an LCD clock and 24-hour preset timer, a keep-warm function, a retractable cord, and a carrying handle for taking cooked food right to the table. Accessories include a special container for making homemade tofu, a steaming tray, a measuring cup, a spatula, and a multi-language instruction manual, as well as an exclusive Martin Yan recipe booklet with 16 original recipes from the celebrated master chef. Ideal for home chefs who like to display kitchen appliances on the counter, the good-looking cooker elegantly blends in with a wide range of kitchen designs. The cooker measures approximately 14 by 11 by 10 inches.
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