7 Best Asian Rice Cookers: Everything You Need to Know

If you have ever visited the Asia-Pacific countries, you know that rice is a staple food on the table. Most people there cannot go through the day without eating rice and side dishes. Thus, it is only natural that they produce the best Asian rice cookers and export them to the global market.

Furthermore, people are too busy to make rice alongside managing office jobs and studies. Hence, the quicker, more efficient, multi-functioning, and electric savior a rice cooker is, the more demandable it can get. Besides, you need to agree, not everyone can achieve the perfect textured rice on a stovetop.

It is a common phenomenon to burn, overcook or undercook rice while cooking on a gas stove. If you are a beginner, you might smash the rice by over-stirring. As a result, you might miss out on eating fluffy and delicious rice.

After discovering the gem called “rice cooker,” life has become easier for many people. Not to mention, at this point, even I have become a total expert in rice cookers.

Here are my top picks for these Asian rice cookers based on their performance, longevity, efficiency, and budget. If you want to know more, keep on reading.

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Why are Asian Rice Cookers Better?

Asians are known to be rice lovers around the world. However, preparing rice and side dishes for every meal is not an easy task. Thus, with the rapid growth of technology, it is a given that Asian companies are inevitably bringing out the best rated Asian rice cookers in the world.

Ensuring the comfort of their own country’s people is the utmost priority for Asian tech companies. Not to mention, these rice cookers are flexible in various terms other than only cooking delicious rice.

People may hold negative ideas about oriental rice cookers. So, let us get into the reason why Asian rice cookers are better;

Smart Technology and Premium Quality

The best thing about rice cookers is you can cook various dishes besides plain rice. With rice cookers, you can make stir-fried meals, risotto, or even difficult foods like paella. You have a variety of options with a simple interior.

What I liked the most is that you can cook whole grain meals with rice cookers. It helps you to maintain your balanced diet. Furthermore, most of the high-tech rice cookers come with LCD control panels, LED digital panels, and cutting-edge Fuzzy logic technology.

These mechanisms help you to monitor your meals properly. So you will not have to worry about burning your rice. Not to mention, the Fuzzy Logic technology ensures that your fluffy rice stays warm until you put it out.

Smart technology ensures the “delay” system as well. It ensures the reheating cycle of the cooked meals. Asian rice cookers are hands down the most convenient ones to use.

Most Asian rice cookers come with stainless-steel inner parts. Furthermore, the detachable lids make cleaning easier. Thus, you can have various smart settings in one rice cooker.

Multi-Cooking setting

Most of the high-tech Japanese and Korean rice cookers have various menu settings. Mostly, they come with 8 to 13 different menu settings. The most common ones are white rice, brown rice, sticky and non-sticky rice, and so on.

Some even come with double lids for steaming vegetables. For example, Tiger JBV-A10U follows synchronized cooking technology. Thus, these are the most convenient ones you can get for your kitchen.

Easy to Use and Clean

Japanese rice cookers are very convenient among Asian ones. They come with thorough guidelines and cute designs. Most of them are often compact. So you can carry them with ease and decorate them in your kitchen.

The great thing about Asian rice cookers is they come with easy and precise instructions. You just need to put the ingredients in and push the start button. When the timer goes off, you will have delicious meals ready.

The best part is you do not have to clean them thoroughly. These rice cookers are easily cleanable and storable. They are convenient for lazy folks like me.

Preventing Health Problems

Most Asian Rice cookers are designed to cook whole-grain meals and brown rice. Brown rice is good for health but is too fuzzy to cook. With rice cookers, you can easily cook brown rice, porridge, or cereals.

On the other hand, rice cookers come with BPA-free cooking plates and steaming baskets. BPA and Lead are often found in cooking dishes. These are harmful substances that can cause health damage.

However, most Asian rice cookers focus on these aspects. Thus, these compressors are more health-beneficial for people of all ages. You should invest in these Asian rice cookers with these benefits in mind.

Top 7 Best Asian Rice Cookers

The following products are the best Asian rice cookers available in the market. You can go through each of them and choose for yourself, following their features, advantage, and pricing criteria.

#1 Zojirushi NS-TSC10 5-1/2-Cup (Uncooked) Micom Rice Cooker

When it comes to texture and consistency, the Zojirushi NS-TSC10 rice cooker is a perfect fit for you as the best Asian rice cooker. This rice cooker is large enough to hold around 1 liter of water or roughly 5.5 cups of uncooked rice. It is convenient for big families.

Furthermore, it has a reheating option, an automatic stay-warm mode, and a prolonged keep-warm mode. The Zojirushi NS-TSC10 rice cooker has a stainless-steel exterior. So, it will prevent rusting and burning.

You can cook and steam your meals with this BPA-free steamer basket. However, the great part of this tool is the MICOM microcomputer technology. It automatically adjusts the rice cooker’s temperature and rice variety.

For instance, you can choose from white rice cake, rice meals, sushi rice, porridge, steamed, mixed rice, brown rice, or rapid-cooking processed meals. You can also monitor the time and delay function through the smart LCD control.

To cook the rice, you will need roughly 60 minutes. With its fuzzy logic technology, you can accurately measure the rice temperature and cooking duration. Moreover, you can set this one’s cooking time to forty-five minutes; then again, the rice will not be as fluffy and soft.

It takes significantly more time to cook brown rice. The time can take from Ninety to One twenty minutes. Even though this rice cooker has a Chinese rice steamer, it is efficient in various ways.

The Zojirushi NS-TSC10 rice cook is 14 inches in height, 10 inches in length, and 8.5 inches in width. The power requirements are 110 volts and 610 watts of power.

#2 CUCKOO CR-0675F | 6-Cup (Uncooked) Micom Rice Cooker

We all know how CUCKOO has been a gem in the Korean electronic industry. Like its peers, CUCKOO CR-0675F does not disappoint the customers.

Whether it is a simple rice meal or a hearty stew, the rice cooker can handle it all thanks to its flexible menu selections. Let us now look into the product details;

This Cuckoo rice cooker has a three-way cooking option; sticky, soft, or savory. So, you can enjoy any type of rice without too much hassle. Furthermore, it has a removable lid, a non-stick material inner pot, and an automated steam cleaning program.

Hence, this rice cooker is very convenient to use. Other than the qualities, this CUCKOO CR-0675F rice cooker can hold up to 6-cups of uncooked rice. Also, this multi-cooker can handle anything from quinoa to oatmeal with its 13 different cooking modes.

The menus that you can include are; baby food, white rice (various types), GABA rice, burnt rice, sticky rice, porridge, reheating process, and more. If you want to avoid carb intake, you can simply switch to other delicious home-cooked meals without struggling too much.

On the other hand, you will get, Fuzzy Logic technology digital controls, an LCD, and a measuring cup with this rice cooker. These features ensure perfectly cooked rice every time.

Furthermore, the automatic water drainage function keeps your food from getting stale and prevents bacteria. With this rice cooker, you will not have to worry about eating unhealthy food and getting stomach aches. It is quite a smart investment for your entire family.

#3 TIGER JBV-A10U 5.5-Cup (Uncooked) Micom Rice Cooker

Tiger JBV-A10U promotes a versatile rice cooking mechanism. It allows you to cook two dishes at once with its latest technology. This rice cooker features a patented ‘Tacook’ synchronized cooking mechanism.

Thanks to this advanced technology, you can cook rice and side dishes simultaneously. Furthermore, Tiger’s BPA-free cooking plate is uniquely engineered. So, it prevents flavors from the cooking plate from transferring to the rice.

A BPA-free inner cooking plate is another huge advantage of this tool. This feature ensures safe cooking and prevents any harmful chemicals from leaking into your food from the cooker. You can be safe from Bisphenol A exposure from the inner cooking pan and enjoy your rice without any worries.

Moreover, it comes with four cooking menu settings. They are synchronized mode, plain rice mode, brown rice mode, and slow cooking. Thus, you can make delicious rice without hassle. Also, this rice cooker measures 10.6 by 13.9 by 8.4 inches.

Thus, you can fit 5.5 cups of uncooked rice and have fluffy and delicious meals. It will help you to prepare dinner or lunch for big families in one go. Additionally, the inner pan has a non-stick coating.

A non-stick and BPA-free feature makes this rice cooker easy to clean. Moreover, you get a detachable inner steam cap and automatic keep-warm technology. So, you will not have to worry about eating cold rice after returning home from work.

For the budget-friendly price point, at least it is not your regular Asian rice steamer. Rather, this rice cooker will help you to save money and time. If you are lazy and do not want to spend much time cooking and cleaning, this gem is just the right fit for you.

#4 Zojirushi, Made in Japan Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker, 5.5-Cup

The Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker is made of mind-blowing and advanced mechanisms. This rice cooker features Fuzzy Logic technology. Furthermore, the use of modern technology has incorporated the feature of “thinking” in this tool.

Thus, the cooker makes precise changes to the cooking time and temperature. So, you do not have to worry about eating burned rice. It is a perfect remedy for lazy people or sick days when you let the rice cook and forget for hours.

This rice cooker can prepare 10 servings of rice and fit around 5-1/2 cups of uncooked rice. It has several menu options; regular white rice, porridge, mixed rice, sweet rice, brown rice,semi-brown rice, fast-cooking quinoa, and sushi. Furthermore, you make both soft and hard rice with this kitchen tool.

In addition, this appliance features a black, thick spherical inner cooking pan with stay-cool side handles. The reheating and automatic keep-warm technology is also a staple for this rice cooker. In addition, you have easily removable and cleanable inner lids.

This Zojirushi Rice Cooker has a smart edge control panel or LCD feature. You can simply let your rice get prepared and check the process. Not to mention, this rice cooker has a dual-mode delay timer with a stowable power wire.

Now, let us look into the dimensions. This rice cooker comes 10-1/8-by-13 by 8-1/8-inch in size and requires 680-watt power. It is pretty big and luxurious looking.

Thus, you can make fluffy rice for the full family in one go. In addition, you will get a spatula, two rice measuring cups, and a spatula holder in the set of extras in both regular and rinse-free models. This rice cooker is convenient and efficient.

#5 Toshiba Digital Programmable Rice Cooker

Toshiba Digital Programmable Rice Cooker is a smart and multitasking kitchen tool. This rice cooker comes in 5-8 pre-programmed menu settings. For example, you can cook white rice, mixed grains, quick rice, brown rice, slow cooking process, porridge, cake, and eggs.

In addition, this rice cooker consists of smart Fuzzy Logic technology. Because of this mechanism, you get three heating functions to cook your meals. They are the bottom, side, and lid.

These functions help distribute the heat eventually throughout the ingredients. Thus, you get perfectly cooked meals every time. Moreover, the Toshiba Digital Programmable rice cooker comes with a LED smart control panel.

Thus, you can monitor, read and use the cooker easily. Moreover, this kitchen tool has other convenient features. For instance, it has a 24 hours delay timer, an inner pot made of non-stick material, an inner lid, and a detachable steam vent. Hence, cleaning is more convenient now.

This rice cooker is slightly different from the others listed above. This one is a small cooker for small families. Thus, you can fit 3 cups of uncooked rice (1.4 Qt). So, it will produce 3 to 6 cups of cooked rice.

On the other hand, I have one concern about this rice cooker. This cooker is not labeled BPA and Lead-free. It means that the inner lids and materials might contain BPA and Lead.

These substances are found in a lot of steel cooking utensils. However, they are proven to have bad effects on health if you keep getting exposure for a long time.

#6 YumAsia Panda Mini Rice Cooker

YumAsia Panda Mini Rice Cooker consists of high technology and cutting-edge material. The unique ninja-style Fuzzy Logic technology is set out to make your life easier.

You have various cooking options thanks to Fuzzy Logic Technology’s multi-menu selection digital Micom. For instance, long grain rice, short grain rice such as sushi, brown rice, and quick cooking options. Also, the rice cooker’s 7 Ninja cooking phrases ensure a perfectly cooked and delicious meal.

Furthermore, the 7 distinct ninja-style phrases are, preheat, water Absorption, heating, boiling, steam, cooling down, and keeping warm. Your meal is processed through all these stages to be perfectly ready for you.

On the other hand, the inner bowl is made of 5 layers of a ceramic compressor. It is 2mm (about 0.08 in) thick and absorbs heat profoundly. The ceramic bowl of the rice cooker covers the silk print rice level measuring lines.

Not to mention, it is BPA, PTFE, and PFOA free. Thus, it distributes the heat evenly throughout the meal. Moreover, the condensation collector, steam cap, and inner lid are all made of stainless steel. These features ensure no messes and good hygiene.

The exterior of the YumAsia Panda Mini Rice Cooker is the main attraction. This tool has hardy, durable, and simple-to-clean outlooks. It boasts a highly “kawaii” (cute) white thermo-polymer body with a gray accent and a white carry handle.

This rice cooker features a Korean-designed “Smart Button” control panel. Furthermore, you get a big cold icy white LED for monitoring the tool. Pandas are ideal for single people and couples because of their tiny footprints.

#7 IMUSA USA GAU-00011 Electric Nonstick Rice Cooker

IMUSA USA GAU-00011 Electric Nonstick Rice Cooker is a staple for busy people. This rice cooker will help you with a quick meal fix from the get-go. It only takes about a few minutes to prepare the finely textured rice.

This rice cooker is suitable if you are returning home from school and need a quick meal. So, you can use this tool to steam-cook eggs, vegetables, and even chicken dishes. However, that will require more processing than a simple and quick fix.

Furthermore, it consists of tempered glass lids with air vents. Thus, you can monitor the progress of your meals without any hassle. This electric non-stick rice cooker is efficient in time and energy.

The design is a staple for decoration and transportation. You can carry this rice cooker with you for road trips and eat well-cooked meals. Not to mention, the cooking pot is detachable and non-sticky.

So, it is easily cleanable and convenient. Moreover, this rice cooker has built-in warm light indicators. So, you can rest assured and let your rice cook until the light goes off.

The most plausible part of this IMUSA USA GAU-00011 Electric Nonstick Rice Cooker is its affordability. You can never get wrong with its price point. This product is best suited for you if you are a student or too lazy to cook.

This rice cooker comes in three different sizes. They are 3-cup, 5-cup, and 8-cup containers. You can choose any size of your choice and cook delicious rice. However, this rice cooker is not BPA-free. Well, you can hardly expect that many features with that price tag.

Things to Consider When Buying Asian Rice Cookers

Before you go out to buy the best Asian rice cooker, make sure to look into the manuals. The very first thing you need to do is decide what type of rice cookers you want.

Types of Rice Cookers

There are two types of rice cookers that you can consider buying;

1. Induction Rice Cookers: It is operated by the Induction heating system by producing electromagnetism. An electric current is run through the food to boil and cook.
2. Fuzzy Logic Rice Cookers: The rice cooker device utilizes sensors to monitor the rice while it cooks. It simultaneously adjusts to the rice and volume and changes the temperature accordingly.

Other than these, you need to look into various factors when buying a rice cooker, such as;

Capacity

Rice cookers usually come in these three different shapes: small, medium, and large. An electric rice cooker’s basic small-sized inner bowl holds roughly 2 cups of uncooked rice. The amount gets encircled after a while by water.

You should consider the size of the model you need before purchasing. Large rice cookers have capacities ranging from 3 cups to 6 quarts or more. On the other hand, smaller variants have a lesser capacity, typically about 1 cup.

Small models will work if you only cook occasionally. Similarly, you will need larger models to prepare meals for big families or other grains.

However, the standard medium-sized rice cooker can hold about 5.5 cups of uncooked rice. If you live with a moderate-sized family and you are not sure about which one to get, the medium-sized one is the safest option.

Build Quality

The building quality of the rice cooker is very important. The better quality one you get, the more durable it will be. My primary choice would always be a BPA- free inner cooking plate with several layers of the bowl.

BPA-free inner portions have better quality designs and safe cooking facilities. Advanced technologies will always ensure the best service.

My absolute choice, in this case, would be YumAsia Panda Mini Rice Cooker. In my opinion, YumAsia is one of the best Asian rice cooker brands out there. This rice cooker has 5 layers of BPA-free ceramic inner bowl composition.

Furthermore, its high consistency thermal performance is a great factor. This feature will help with keeping the food warm and fresh for longer.

Thus, the better the quality of the thermal performance is built, the better outcome you will have. Besides that, the detachable power cord, stainless steel exterior, folding handles, etc., has great emphasis on the rice cooker.

Special Attention

A few features make a different impact on a rice cooker. A steaming basket is one of them. Go for a rice cooker with a steam basket. Some rice cookers do not include that, but steaming baskets make a big difference.

This feature helps steam veggies and meat besides rice. It minimizes dirty dishes and makes less mess in your work.

On the other hand, rice cookers made with Fuzzy Logic technology are absolute gems. The sensor’s automated shut-off feature reduces the hassle. Thus, even if you forget about your rice while working in the kitchen, this function will stop it from burning or overcooking.

Ease of Cleaning

Ease of cleaning is essential for any cooking utensils and tools. Otherwise, bacteria may form, and your rice cooker might make you sick. Thus, you should look for inner corded rice cookers with detachable lids.

Lids are important to clean thoroughly alongside the bowls. Furthermore, having detachable inner lids will help you to clean all the parts thoroughly. You will find it easier to handle the rice cooker as well.

Warranty

Rice cookers are convenient and easy to use. However, just like any other electronic device, it may have a few cons. For example,

• You might accidentally purchase a defective rice cooker.
• The compressor might stop working after a few days.
• The machine or parts of the cooker might be faulty.
• The cord might be broken.

In any case, if you did not purposefully damage the rice cooker, you can ask for compensation or repair based on the warranty services. For that, you have to claim the service by showing the warranty card to the retailers.

Most electronic devices provide a standard 1-year warranty. Thus, before purchasing the rice cooker, please check the date and legal papers.

Also Read: Why Is My Rice Cooker Boiling Over? Know Everything To Stop It

Asian Rice Cooker Cleaning Tips

There are a few tips that you can follow to clean a rice cooker properly.

Step 1:

Unplug the rice cooker properly and let the tool cool down. Wait until the steam cap, inner lid, and inner pot have reached a normal temperature.

Step 2:

Make sure to gently remove all the inner parts of the rice cooker. Remove the dew collector, spatula, inner pot, inner lid, steam cap, and any other counterparts. Make sure to use a gentle force.

You need to maintain precaution and gentleness. That way, you will prevent yourself from damaging the sensitive parts. Furthermore, you can remove the steam cap by sticking your fingers through the cutout and lifting upward.

Step 3:

You can make your cleaning solution to clean the rice cooker. To do that, you will need 2 tbs of chlorine. Otherwise, you can use a dishwasher, soap, and sponges.

Cautions you need to maintain to clean the inner pot;

• Avoid cleaning the inner pot using a sponge’s rough side.
• Do not use the inner pot to rinse or wash other parts of the rice cooker.
• Do not dry the inner pot by putting it upside down.

You might permanently damage the nonstick coating of the inner pot if you are not careful enough.

Step 4:

Make sure to dry all the parts properly before putting them all together. Use a soft cotton cloth to clean the tool parts thoroughly and carefully.

Special note: A short circuit could occur if water gets inside the rice cooker unit. Thus, be careful not to let the water flow inside the machine.

Frequently Asked Questions [FAQ]

Final Thoughts

Rice cookers are one of the essential parts of our lives now. There is no doubt that Asian companies make the highest tech and smart rice cookers. But you need to do your research before purchasing one.

Since our top 7 Asian rice cookers are enlisted by keeping many things in mind to consider the best Asian rice cooker. We recommend Zojirushi NS-TSC10, CUCKOO CR-0675F, and Toshiba Digital Rice Cooker for their high-end mechanism to provide the best smoothness of rice that you probably love.