Restaurant Quality Rice at Home
My wife and I became busy recently and decided it was time to finally get a rice cooker to save some time in the kitchen. We bought a cheap old-school rice cooker and the rice would scorch water would boil out of lid and the rice was worse than cooking the rice on the stove top.
Then we decided to invest in a good rice cooker.
The Zojirushi NS-LAC05 is everything we hoped for and more. We wanted a rice cooker that would make great rice that could handle smaller amounts of rice that had a timer and could handle a variety of different rices.
This rice cooker is a dream.
-It's attractive. We've already received compliments from guests.
-Its footprint is very reasonable for a small kitchen.
-With a thick stick proof bowl the rice doesn't burn to any spot and clean up is simple.
-It easily makes rice for 2 adults (1.5 of the "cups" for us) but could handle 4 adults (3 "cups") with normal eating habits. Note: the cups aren't full size cups of rice.
-It does a great job on a variety of rices; there are different settings for different rices and the measurement markings appear correct for different rices. So far we've tried long grain brown medium grain brown sushi jasmine white basmati brown basmati and brown/white mixes. We haven't had a bad batch of rice.
-The computer's fuzzy logic algorithm (i.e. "Micom Neuro Fuzzy") constantly adjusts the temperature so the rice comes out perfect every time. I also think the cooker starts out at a low temperature and gradually steps up the heat but I'm not 100% sure.
-The heavy bowl seems to distribute heat perfectly and there's no scorched rice or crust attached to the bowl.
-The timer is convenient for setting the rice to be completed at a specific time at which point it keeps your rice warm. We've found it completes cooking within a minute or two of the timer setting. There are two timer settings that you can adjust...presumably so you could have your rice prepared for breakfast & dinner in Japan.
-The retractable cord is a nice feature.
-There's even a little holder for the included rice paddle that attaches to the side of the cooker.
We've even used it to make Polenta. Just use 1 Zojirushi-cup of corn grits chicken broth up to 2-cup brown rice mark and cook using the white rice setting. When it's done put the mixture in a bowl and let it cool to room temperature.
I'd highly recommend this rice cooker. It's probably not big enough for a big family but for a single person a couple or a small family it will probably fit the bill perfectly. I can't over-emphasize the quality of rice the cooker produces...it's like a dream having rice as good or better than a restaurant at home. We probably eat grain cooked in this machine 6-7 nights a week. Once you switch to this Zojirushi you'll never want to go back to your old ways.
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