Meet Our Rice Cooker!

 Cuckoo!

On a fall trip to H Mart in Burlington, Massachusetts, my companion and I decided to splurge on a small countertop rice cooker. We got the least expensive option because we don't really know anything about rice cookers. We are loving it!

Inner pot is non-stick and has measurement lines for water

Rice is rinsed until water runs clear, then it's ready to cook

We purchased a 15 pound bag of USA-grown rice, and we've been cooking it up 2 cups at a time. The rice cooker is very easy to use--you just rinse the rice a few times in the non-stick inner pot, then fill with water to a specific line on the side of the pot. Then you pick your settings and stand back!

The rice cooker beeps when it's done, and then it counts the hours that it's kept the rice warm for you. (In the photo above, the rice just finished, so it says "0H" meaning zero hours.)

May I say that owning a rice cooker is a revelation in rice cooking. The batches are perfect every time. The cooker has pre-programmed settings for all kinds of things, including baby food-making. So far we have used "glutinous" (which we use for all white rice) and "mixed" (which we use for brown rice).

The Cuckoo rice cooker also has different "speeds" for the rice (my term)--you can use the regular settings and get finished rice in about 30 minutes. There is also a Turbo setting that does it faster, and a reheat setting that can restore cold leftover rice to fluffy, warm deliciousness.

We also splurged on this suction cup rice paddle and caddy (above) that attaches to the side of the rice cooker. This was an excellent purchase because the paddle is always right there when needed.

It's my understanding that rice needs to be fluffed up once it's done cooking. Then it can sit in the rice cooker and be served out as desired. The cooker will keep the rice warm until you turn it off. I am curious how long it's OK to push this holding pattern... should you eat the rice within 3 hours? What about 12? We did find that rice left to warm for 72+ hours (by mistake) is not good.

It's also my understanding that rice needs to be readjusted after removing a portion so that it's all uniform and fluffy again. I got this from Paolo from Tokyo's tongue-in-cheek video called "Why Japanese Wives Hate Foreign Husbands" (one potential area of strife is lack of rice adjustment).

If you eat a lot of rice and have the counter space, I do recommend getting a rice cooker! This is the only one I've ever seen in person, but I really like it.