It's convenient to have a rice cooker when you prepare Japanese meals. Here are my choices for good Japanese rice cookers available online.
*The capacity of rice cookers is described in cups of uncooked rice. When you buy a rice cooker by Japanese manufactures, the capacity is indicated in "gou" (traditional Japanese measuring unit). Each rice cooker usually comes with a measuring cup which holds one "gou" which is 180ml. One "gou" cup of uncooked rice yields to about 450cc of steamed rice. It's said that a 5.5-gou cup capacity rice cooker is suitable for a household of 3 to 5 people.
How to Cook Japanese Rice
1. Zojirushi Micom 3-Cup Rice Cooker and Warmer
This rice cooker uses micro-computerized Fuzzy logic technology which is a temperature control system to adjust to temperature and heating time to cook good rice. The features include a LCD display, automatic keep warm, clock, and timer functions. The exterior is made of stainless steel, and the inner pan is nonstick, and the inner lid is easily detachable for cleaning. The settings include mixed rice, sushi rice, porridge, brown rice, and more. It's nice and compact and is suitable for small families.
2. Zojirushi Micom 5.5-Cup Rice Cooker and Warmer
This rice cooker also uses micro-computerized Fuzzy logic technology. It has a LCD display, and the settings include mixed rice, sushi rice, porridge, brown rice, and more. Other features are automatic keep warm, timer, clock, detachable inner lid, and detachable power cord.3. Panasonic 5.5-Cup Rice Cooker and Warmer
It's a reasonably priced rice cooker. The inner pan is non-stick. The menu includes steam, regular rice, brown rice, soup, cake baking, and slow cook. It has a 13-hour timer.4. Zojirushi 10-Cup Rice Cooker and Warmer with Induction Heating System
It uses a new heating system called Induction Heating (IH) method to heat the inner pan. The exterier is made of stainless steel. The inner lid is detachable and is easy to clean. The cooking menu includes various brown rice settings with a timer function.5. Sanyo 5.5-Cup Micro-Computerized Rice Cooker and Steamer
This rice cooker uses the Fuzzy-Logic technology to control temperatures for cooking various rice. The cooking settings includes mixed rice, brown rice, porridge, steam, quick cook, slow cook, and more. The inner pan is titanium-coated, extra-thick, and non-stick. It features a LCD display, clock, 24-hour timer, keep-warm function, steaming tray for vegetables, retractable cord, and more.