Best Japanese Rice Cooker - Chef Reviews

Do you know how much can go wrong trying to cook rice in a regular pan over a stove - it’s a recipe for disaster, excuse the pun.

Janaki of Insider.com identified 7 different things that can go wrong when cooking rice this way. Problems with measuring, seasoning, treating all kinds of rice the same, disturbing the rice as it cooks, cooking at the wrong temperature, and not fluffing before serving. That’s quite the list hey?

But you can solve just about all of these issues by getting yourself a Japanese rice cooker.

Here we’re going to look at some of the main players in the space: Zojirushi, Toshiba, and Panasonic…

Jump to:

• Comparison Table
• Key Criteria - How We Compared These Japanese Rice Cookers
• Best Japanese Rice Cooker
• Frequently Asked Questions

Zojirushi is known for having the most Japanese rice cookers on the market, while the Japanese brands Toshiba and Panasonic have been big names in household appliances here in America for a great many years now, and have been great innovators in the field of Japanese rice cookers.

Let’s kick this off with a quick comparison table, before we go into some in depth reviews of what each of these brands of rice cookers has to offer.

Then, we’ll top the article off with a section where we answer some of your most frequently asked questions on the subject.

Comparison Table

Key Criteria - How We Compared These Japanese Rice Cookers

So, here are the different things we took into consideration to compare and assess these Japanese Rice Cookers.

How much rice it can cook?

Ok, we’re going to level with you here. Japanese portions don’t necessarily match our American portions.

So if you’re planning on making a curry and rice dish for the entire family or household, then you’re going to need a rice cooker with a 5-cup capacity, if everyone wants to get served at the same time.

What rices it can cook?

Most people just like to cook white long grain rice, and that’s perfectly fine. But if you want to expand your culinary horizons and perhaps experiment with cooking other, healthier types of rice, then you’ll want your rice cooker to adapt to that perfectly.

And, as a matter of fact, many Japanese rice cookers can also be used to make porridge from steel cut oatmeal. How versatile is that? And others can be used to steam meat or vegetables.

How easy is it to use?

Although we’re going to be showing you some of the best Japanese rice cookers, we can assure you that there will always be a manual in the box with full instructions in English.

However, it may interest you to know that with some of the rice cookers that made our shortlist, they are so easy and intuitive to use, you may not need to ever look at the manual again after the first few uses!

Special Features

Special features always go down well with us. And when it comes to Japanese rice cookers, our favorite special feature is the keep warm feature.

This means that if anyone is late to the table for whatever reason, their rice doesn’t go cold by the time they get home.

Value for Money

Japanese rice cookers can really vary in price, so our advice to you is to check prices as you go along.

Best Japanese Rice Cooker

1. Best for Fuzzy Logic Technology: Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 Rice Cooker

Comparison Criteria

This product met all the comparison criteria that we set out earlier…

It has a high capacity, coming in at 5.5 cups, which is more than enough to provide enough portions for a small family. And if that’s not enough for you, you could instead go for the 10 cup version.

And you can cook several kinds of rice with it, including white rice, brown rice, and multigrain. Or you can also set it to sushi rice if you like. It will even cook frozen rice!

You can also use it to make oatmeal, or soup, and to steam vegetables and fish.

It’s also very easy to use, with large, easy to read buttons, and a large display showing how much time is left on the rice.

And it has that “keep warm” feature we mentioned earlier.

Manufacturer Background

The Zojirushi Corporation has now been around for over 100 years, having been established as far back as 1918.

It had relatively small beginnings as a maker of hand-blown vacuum bottles, but its product lines have expanded massively during the following years…

Now they cover things like small electrical appliances, specialty cookware, restaurant equipment and more, and their products fly out to countries all over the world.

Today they are probably best known for their rice cookers, and many people who switch from the Zojirushi brand to other brands often say that they preferred their Zojirushi.

Why is this the best Japanese rice cooker for fuzzy logic?

There are many Zojirushi rice cookers on the market at the moment, and they all feature their special fuzzy logic technology…

This technology basically enables the machine to “think” for itself. And it is programmed to make automatic adjustments to the time and temperature of the cooking according to information from it’s sensors.

And this is how Zojirushi rice cookers give you perfect rice every single time.

We chose this as our favorite Zojirushi rice cooker for a number of reasons, including the aesthetic, the capacity and the variety of rice that it can cook. And it will even play “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” when your rice is ready.

Experience of Using the Product

Customers love using this rice cooker. After well over 6000 individual customer ratings on Amazon, the average customer rating still comes out at a whopping full 5 stars out of 5.

Moreover, they also gave it at least 4 and a half stars out of 5 for a range of different features, including: easy to clean, easy to use, timer function, versatility, battery life, and durability.

You begin by removing the inner cooking pan, use one of the included cups to measure your rice, then drain the rice until the water runs clear. Replace the pan, and close the lid.

Select what rice you’re using, then press the cooking button, and you can simply let the rice cooker do all the rest.

And for rinse-free rice, the only difference is that you press the pre-washed button before selecting the type of rice. It really couldn’t be easier.

And cleaning the pan afterwards is also very easy too.

Pros

• Large 5-cup capacity that can serve 10 small portions
• Features fuzzy logic technology to give perfect rice every time
• Very easy to use, with a large display, and few buttons
• Comes highly rated by customers for several features

Cons

• The display panel can be hard to read in low light because it's not backlit.

Amazon occasionally has deals on this particular rice cooker, simply click on “Check price” to see if there’s a deal on now.

2. Best for Ease of Cleaning: Toshiba TRCS01 Rice Cooker

Comparison Criteria

This product met all the comparison criteria that we set out earlier…

It has a large 6-cup capacity, which means it can take up to 3 liters of uncooked rice to produce 12 cups of cooked rice. And that means there’s plenty for the entire family, and maybe even guests too.

It’s not just for white rice, you can also cook brown rice with it too, and mixed rice. It doesn’t matter if it’s short or long grained, it can do the job. Or if you like a nice, hot oatmeal in the morning, it can even do that for you as well.

It’s also very easy to use - all the buttons are very clearly labelled, and the time display is even backlit, so you can still read it even in low light.

And it comes with some great special features, there’s the “keep warm” feature we mentioned earlier, and there’s a delay option, so you can program your rice to be ready for when you come home from work.

And there’s also a quick rice feature that will get your rice sorted in as little as 30 minutes.

And not only does it meet all of our criteria, it’s also available at an excellent price, even if you don’t manage to catch one of Amazon’s occasional deals.

Manufacturer Background

Toshiba is an even more well established brand, having been around since as far back as 1875! But it remains a leading manufacturer to this day because of its constant innovation in its products.

It is a Japanese multinational conglomerate, and has been one of the biggest manufacturers of consumer electronics, home appliances and personal computers.

And while in recent years it has had to close down some of its subsidiaries for a number of reasons, many Toshiba products are still of excellent quality and are easy to get hold of.

But what’s particularly noteworthy about Toshiba in the arena of rice cookers is that they were actually the very first to develop them back in 1955, and sparked a kitchen revolution. A clear industry leader.

Why is this the best Japanese rice cooker for multiple types of cooking?

And as you may imagine, they’ve had plenty of time to work on and develop the product since 1955. And now it comes as a far more high-tech version than its predecessors, incorporating the latest technology to deliver results that are just superb.

This latest model can now handle all kinds of rice through an intelligent 6-step cooking process that will produce the perfect rice texture and flavor.

And while the ease of cleaning probably wasn’t one of their main concerns in developing it, it is certainly one of the great things it’s got going for it.

The removable inner pot is entirely non-stick, so you won’t have to scrape bits off and scrub it down, making it very easy to keep clean. And the inner lid is also removable for easy cleaning too.

Experience of Using the Product

Out of over 1,400 Amazon customers, more than 80% of them rated it at a full 5 stars out of 5, which brings their average customer rating to 4.7 out of 5.

Customers rated it at least 4 and a half stars for a number of different features including: easy to clean, flavor, easy to use, and the timer function.

It’s very straightforward to use. Once you have added your rice and water, you simply press the menu button until you’ve selected the type of rice you want to cook, and then press the start button - it’s that easy.

The cooker will take care of all the rest.

Pros

• Large 6-cup capacity, can serve up to 12 people
• Delay time, keep warm, and quick rice features
• Available at a great price - the best bang for your buck
• Nice little recipe book included too

Cons

• Some customers have said that they prefer the Zojirushi brand

Amazon occasionally has deals on this particular rice cooker, simply click on “Check price” to see if there’s a deal on now.

3. Best for Multiple Types of Cooking: Panasonic 5 Cup Japanese Rice Cooker

Comparison Criteria

This product met all the comparison criteria that we set out earlier…

It has a large 5 cup capacity, sufficient to keep all the family well-fed at meal times.

And it’s not just for white rice - more on that a little later.

It’s also very easy to use with large, clearly labelled buttons on the lid of the device.

Manufacturer Background

Like Toshiba, Panasonic is a major Japanese multinational electronics company. It has been around since as far back as 1918.

It started out as a lightbulb socket manufacturer, but then ventured into consumer electronics in the late 1900s, and now provides a particularly wide range of products, including home appliances, automotive systems and much more.

Panasonic ventured into making Japanese rice cookers in 1959, just 4 years after its initial invention by Toshiba. The Panasonic brand is known for its quality, and it remains in high regard to this day.

Why is this the best Japanese rice cooker for multiple types of cooking?

The Panasonic 5 Cup Japanese Rice Cooker has really come on leaps and bounds since its initial conception back in 1959.

The first rice cookers to come along on the market were more basic than the models we have today. And in 1988, Panasonic developed the world’s first induction rice cooker.

Moreover, this induction functionality is not just built into the bottom and sides of the cooking pan, but is even present in the lid.

But what’s really great about the Panasonic 5 Cup Japanese Rice Cooker, is how you can use it for a lot more than your regular white rice. It will work with brown rice, rinse-free rice, frozen rice, sushi, quinoa, congee, and sticky rice.

But that’s not all, you can also use it for a number of other dishes too! It’s not just a rice cooker - it’s a multi-cooker. You can use it for oatmeal, soups, stews, and other slow-cooked meals besides. It can hold an entire liter of soup.

Experience of Using the Product

According to Amazon, more than 80% of customers rated the machine at a full 5 stars out of 5, resulting in an average Amazon customer rating of an impressive 4.7 stars.

Customers rated it at least 4 and a half stars out of 5 for a number of different features, including easy to clean, easy to use, flavor, and value for money.

Using it is easy. The rice levels are clearly marked out on the inside of the cooking pan, and you simply fill it with rice to the mark indicated, then add your water.

You can then select from the menu which type of rice you’re using, then press start, and off it goes.

The buttons are large and easy to read, as is the display panel featuring the time.

Pros

• Large 5-cup capacity - enough to serve 10 individual portions
• Can cook way more than just white rice, it will also cook other rice's, and can also be used for soups and oatmeal
• Very easy to use, with a large display, and few buttons to worry about
• Has received very high praise from customers

Cons

• Premium product at a premium price

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the best Japanese rice cooker?

We would argue that the best overall Japanese rice cooker is the Panasonic 5 Cup Japanese Rice Cooker, simply because of all the different items you can cook with it, making it far more versatile an appliance. It could even replace your slow cooker!

But we certainly get that not everyone can afford the hefty price tag that comes with it, in which case we would recommend the Toshiba TRCS01 Rice Cooker, which easily offers the best bang for your buck.

Is it worth buying a Japanese rice cooker?

Anyone who knows their rice, knows that it turns out best when cooked in a Japanese rice cooker. So if you like your rice to have the perfect taste and texture every time, it’s hands down well worth buying a Japanese rice cooker.