need rice cooker/steamer

I need a fairly large rice cooker and steamer. Don't want anything fancy just something to plug in and tell it to go. I had one years ago but been too many moves. Main thing I liked is I could steam three pounds or so of vegetables and sausage in the one I had. Doctors say I have to change my eating habits and canned vegetables are just nasty compared to fresh. Need a rice cooker too but I could buy them separately.

What do I want? From where?

Thanks for any advice!

Hu
 
Well, I'm quite fond of our fuzzy logic Zojirushi (from amazon) but its pretty fancy with lots of bells and whistles (figuratively and literally it actually plays little songs when the rice is done). For what you want though I think its a) overly complicated, b) overly expensive and c) probably not flexible enough in its cooking style (not really sure how it would handle steaming, maybe ok? not sure).

Soo.... for your use case I'd be looking at the $50 or so variants that are just the plain old fashioned "dumb" on/off rice cookers not one of the ones with fuzzy logic, etc.. Your simplest option would be to go to the "local" asian super market like: http://www.vinhphatmarket.com/ and get the cheapest cooker off of the shelf that fits your size criteria and has a steamer basket insert.

Online - I trust the Japanese models - again Zojirushi is generally pretty solid but looking at models without the bells and whistles and including a steamer insert. I'm thinking you might want the 10 cup although that would be vast quantities of rice it wouldn't be ridiculous for veggies.
http://www.amazon.com/Zojirushi-NHS-10-Uncooked-Cooker-Steamer/dp/B00004S576
http://www.amazon.com/Zojirushi-NHS-18-10-Cup-Uncooked-Steamer/dp/B00004S577
There are 3, 6 and 10 cup versions of that NHS-06 (3C) NHS-10 (6 cup) and NHS-18 (10 cup) - details: http://www.zojirushi.com/app/product/nhs
Panasonic also has a similar product line (5.5 and 10 cups):
http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-SR-G10G-5-5-Cup-Uncooked-Automatic/dp/B0009E3F5O/
http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-SR-G18FG-Automatic-Uncooked-Cooker/dp/B0009E3F5E
probably pretty competitive.

There are probably some others on the market, its been a while since we looked at rice cookers.
 
+1 on the Zojirushi. I've got a really small fuzzy logic one and what I like is that it does such a great job on Brown rice i don't even like to eat the white rice anymore.

Of course it takes a lot longer for the brown and I have to remember to plan ahead, but that's more of a problem with me than the machine.
 
Thanks to everyone!

I went with the NHS 18 just on the theory that the one that held more rice had the bigger steamer too since that wasn't real clear in the write ups. I like to steam stuff to where it is still a little crunchy. Needed a rice cooker just because I am spoiled. Been cooking it just fine on the stove top but figure I'll wind up burning it sooner or later and I do hate the stink of burned rice.

Now back to saving for more important things than food, the Grizzly 0766. Gotta have one!

Hu
 
Making an extra post in case this matters to anyone reading. Didn't do much reading myself, turns out this may be a Japanese company but apparently this unit is made in Thailand. No idea if that matters or not. Seems like for a relatively cheap unit people are pretty happy with this one. I'll post a little follow-up in a few weeks after I use it some.

Hu
 
Will be interested to hear how it works out.

Like I noted my experience with that brand has been their fancier ones, but my previous experience with the simple on/off ones was that they're pretty simple kit so should be reasonably hard to mess up :D
 
Hu, I have to ask...is this something you are not able to do or don't want to do? Rice is easy and as Brent mentioned take a bit more time..nothing you can't do. Veggies are cheap and easy to steam with stuff you may have already. Have a lash?
 
Jim, I do use a rice cooker. It does a much better job on it than I ever have on the stove. It's easy, but a rice cooker makes it foolproof, especially with brown rice.
 
Jim,

What is a lash?

I don't have anything but a limited number of standard pots and pans that came with this house. Lost the last of my stuff a few years back. When I come in evenings I just eat whatever is easy living alone. Haven't been eating healthy so what I am really doing is trying to make healthier eating easy.

Hu
 
I do not recall the brand we have but we use it as much as if not more for steaming corn on the cob. Corn steamed in this way is absolutely delicious. We also steam cabbage wedges, kale and collards and they come out tender and succulent.

Ours will hold about 6 ears so it is fairly large
 
We have an older, one-story version of the one Darren linked to in his post. It's no longer available but, if we had to replace it, we'd go with Darren's.
 
The good news, the NHS 18 is a great rice cooker, nailed it every time old rice or new. Been triple rinsing the rice, cleaning all the black stuff out, especially the black stuff with legs, and throwing it in the pot with a little salt and a little butter.

It fell short of my old pot when it comes to steaming because the steamer tray is shallow, too shallow to suit me. This pot is designed to cook rice while steaming other food instead of one or the other like my old pot.

Not dissatisfied with the purchase, but I would have shopped some more had I knew the steamer basket was this small. I like to steam a lot when I steam.

Hu
 
To revive and add...we picked up a Cuisinart 8 cup at Bed Bath and Beyond...about $50'ish...white, brown (our norm) and a Trader Joe's mix...dead solid perfect every time.
 
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