The Sushi FAQ - sushi, sashimi and related Japanese cuisine.

Rice Cooker

What type of rice cooker should I get?

A rice cooker is not vital when making sushi at home, but a good one sure does make things easier. I have found that those with 'fuzzy logic' functionality often produce a better quality product however your results may vary. I have no personal preferences and you certainly don't need to go out and buy a gleaming $100 rice cooker that may or may not make the best rice. I, for example, still make quite good rice with my $30 Panasonic rice cooker I bought 6 years ago. But to give you a few ideas, Cook's Illustrated (#13, March/April 1995) did a rating of rice cookers. Here are their results (viewer recommendations are welcome as well):

Model	Cost*	Capacity	Cooking Time
Rival 4310	$58	2-11 cups	24 min
Oster 3811-20	$59	3-20 cups	29 min
Hitachi RD-4053	$35	1.5-9.5 cups	22 min
Zojirushi NHR-G18	$72	4-17 cups	35 min
National SR-SE10N	$100	1.75-9 cups	24 min
Sanyo EC23	$49	3-16 cups	33 min
Salton RA-10	$60	3-20 cups	32 min

*Prices (and models) may have changed a bit since 1995

Ratings: 1 = Very good performance 2 = Average performance 3 = Poor Performance

Model	Quality Of Rice	Keeping Warm	Steaming	Cleaning
Rival 4310	1	1	1	3
Oster 3811-20	1	2	3	3
Hitachi RD-4053	2	2	1	3
Zojirushi NHR-G18	2	1	3	1
National SR-SE10N	2	2	3	1
Sanyo EC23	2	1	3	3
Salton RA-10	2	3	3	1

You can find rice cookers just about anywhere. Most can be found in most major department stores or restaurant wholesale supply companies. In the US, you can find rice steamers at Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Bed Bath & Beyond, etc. Some large food wholesalers like BJs, SAMs, COSTCO, etc. also stock them.

If you don't find a rice steamer, a food steamer with a rice bowl attachment will do an excellent job. Be careful. Some smaller food steamers have tiny rice bowls. Depending on your rice requirement, you may need to do multiple batches; this is time consuming.