Suddenly I want to cook more rice again. I wonder if my desire could be related to the impending rice shortage – probably. Thankfully, this is not a big issue for us – so far. Rice is a versatile staple and satisfying complex carbohydrate, but I was never very skilled in cooking it the old-fashioned way. So when we bought this little Panasonic 3-cup Rice Cooker (Model SR-W06PA) about two years ago, it opened up a new world of cooking as this was my very first rice cooker. All those years, I had been cooking rice in a pot, never getting the rice/water ratio or the cooking time quite right. This resulted in overcooked rice sticking to the pot, mushy rice from too much water, or undercooked rice.

When I began the hunt for a rice cooker on Amazon, I first considered the high end Zojirushi, but kept looking because we wanted something smaller and cheaper. So having no particular brand name loyalty with rice cookers, I found a good fit, the Panasonic 3-cup cooker, which provided plenty of rice for two people, a very reasonable price (about $13) and a lot of good reviews. And so I bought it.

Rice cooking novice that I was, when I first started using this cooker, the ease of use had me cooking rice every other day. Compared to the old days of watching the pot, making sure it didn’t boil over or burn, this method is idiot-proof and after more than two years of use, the rice still comes out perfect every time.

How to Use

First take out the non-stick pan from the cooker. Measure (the cup comes with it) and add rice and water. Put the pan gently in the cooker. Cover, then push down the switch and wait about 30 minutes. The switch will pop back up and the light will go off. The manual says to wait another 15 minutes for rice to steam. I don’t always wait this long, but this depends on the type of rice (brown rice tends to need more time and little more water). The manual also suggests pre-soaking. This is a good idea for brown rice, but for my favorite Jasmine rice (which has a wonderful fragrance and sticky texture), I usually just rinse it in a strainer first with no pre-soaking and it comes out perfect every time.

For each cup of raw rice, add 1 to 1 and a quarter cups water. For brown rice, I add about 1 and a half cups, plus presoak before cooking. The only problem I’ve had (and it’s minor) is that when I cook the maximum amount of rice, especially brown rice, a little water tends to bubble up and dribble over the sides of the cooker. I just lay a folded kitchen towel over the lid to hold it down and catch the water.

Theoretical Steaming of Vegetables

This small cooker/steamer comes with a wee little perforated tray for steaming vegetables. I’ve only tried this once without satisfying results. Because of this cooker’s size, it only steams about one serving size of vegetables for our tastes, plus it takes too long compared to using the new plastic microwave steaming bags.

What You Get

Cooker (the body) with built in cord
Non-stick pan (with measuring lines on the inside)
Steaming tray
Measuring cup
Glass lid (with plastic handle)

Care and Cleaning

Soak pan to loosen residual rice (if necessary) and wash with wash cloth or sponge. Don’t use anything abrasive to avoid ruining the non-stick coating. The lid can be washed by hand or in the dishwasher. The sooner I wash the pan after cooking, the easier it is to clean, but after more than two years, cleaning still takes very little effort. The non-stick coating hasn’t worn off or scratched.

I highly recommend this little rice cooker for singles or people with small families. It makes rice cooking incredibly easy. Plus, with the automatic shut-off, there is no worry about forgetting to turn it off. The warm steaming rice will be patiently waiting for you when you remember it.

Note: Although my rice cooker matches the model number shown, it does not match the picture shown here (but does match the model shown on Amazon), as the glass lid really sits snugly on top of the metalic inner pan.

***This review was written for The “Let’s Help Motivate Kimm to Write a ‘Movies’ Review Challenge...!!.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 13.00