The Best Rice in the world - Japanese High Tech Rice Cooker 

Glad you are taking the plunge!

So happy you got something out of the video! Thank you for letting me know.

dont know if anyone gives a damn but if you guys are stoned like me during the covid times then you can stream all of the new movies and series on instaflixxer. Been binge watching with my girlfriend during the lockdown xD

@Reese Larry Yup, I've been watching on instaflixxer for months myself :D

You are so welcome! I hope you can find the rice cooker and grade of rice that you are satisfied with!

Glad you enjoyed it

Glad it was helpful!

Glad it was helpful!

:) You must have bought a very expensive, high quality brand of rice!

Did it come in? How is it?

Should you be able to source some Koshihikari locally, please let me know. I'm also in Australia. I got my Zojirushi almost three years ago from Japan through eBay... there was very little if any shipping cost involved. I'm as happy as a puppy 😁

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching!

Happy to hear that!

That is great! Test it out and enjoy!

Thank you for watching and sharing your experiences in Japan. It is hard to find really good rice once you leave Japan. Even when I return to Hawaii, I don't eat rice usually as it is never the same. I think I got spoiled! :)

@@MikeMatsuno please check out the rice factory in kakaako. It would be cool if you made a vlog on it too. I believe it’s the best place in Oahu you can get for Japanese grade koshihikari and other varieties

Leonard, they are the same type of IH rice cooker. One is a 3 cup and one is a 5 cup cooker. 3-cup rice cooker: amzn.to/3tEh7dB 5-cup rice cooker: amzn.to/3k4w1I2. Thank you for bringing that to my attention. I did not realize that the one I had listed was the 3-cup rice cooker. So I also added the 5-cup to the decription. Thank you!

not haircuts, they can't cut a straight line...lmao

Glad you liked it! Thanks for watching.

For regular white rice, the white rice setting. Sweet rice is for sekihan, I believe. That also uses a different type of rice.

He is from the United States

Such a weird comment. …. Even people from the US have an accent gosh…

​@@MEM2022No his comment was calling out idiotic racism.

Hi Darren, are you my classmate from Roosevelt?

@@MikeMatsuno the same one. Where do you live? Never been to Japan but like to visit soon with my family when safe

@@darrenaoki5962 Class of '76, played basketball and went bowling together? Father is a dentist?

@@MikeMatsuno correct on basketball & bowling

Very cool! Sounds like you have the best rice possible in HNL.

@@MikeMatsuno yes one of the best rice and straight from smaller independent Japanese farmers. Also the rice is fresh they mill the rice right on the spot and you should eat within two months. The rice was so good big difference between the cheaper variety and Japanese koshihikari

Same here, did you find anything? I would like to buy the Zojirushi on the links but would need 220 volts.

Do it Charles! 🤙

Yes, the IH Pressure (atsuryoku) cooks the best in the IH series. But it does cost a bit more: amzn.to/3BxD8ii That would be my pick if I were to buy a new rice cooker.

I’ve had both, I returned the pressure IH and kept the regular IH. I couldn’t tell any difference in rice quality from the regular IH, and I’m very particular about my rice. I also use Koshihikari rice. Cheers.

I hope the Zojirushi works out for you. It is my favorite and I think it is the best rice cooker manufacturer in Japan.

Congratulations!! I have been thinking about getting that rice cooker.

Thank you for your confirmation of the quality of Japanese rice and a real Japanese rice cooker!

Sorry, Doug. I am not sure. I will ask around and see if I can find out.

Hi Doug, Sorry I did not get back to you sooner. When I asked around, the Japanese did not know what Shirakiku was. I went back and checked around and found out Shirakiku is a brand. Shirakuku is the name of a rice company. So they make various different kinds of rice. So you will have to look at what kind of rice is being sold under the Shirakuku brand. www.google.com/search?q=shirakiku+rice&rlz=1C5CHFA_enJP895JP895&sxsrf=ALeKk02A7YY9EHB6805kan_3cqsUN96g7g:1614053880904&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=-0bW9iQkgFiIzM%252CN1RMo--N805mNM%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kToKwu04qm7zKPu8RhIfvQIcxWitg&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjWu-Chk__uAhW9KqYKHaEpB9EQ9QF6BAgIEAE#imgrc=-0bW9iQkgFiIzM

Thanks for sharing about your rice cooker history!

Yes, I have a IH Pressure that I use everyday here. Outside of a gas rice cooker which is not available outside of Japan, I believe the IH Pressure is the next best for the quality of the rice and the cost of the rice cooker. Also it would be better to use a higher level grain of rice, like a koshi hikari grain. :)

Thank for the reply, I just bought some Haiga rice from Amazon once its gone I will try the koshi.

@@MikeMatsuno do the propane gas rice cookers have electronic controls to keep the rice warm like the zojirushi?

Not yet!

I am sorry, I did not know they even made such a type of rice cooker. I would think genmai, brown rice, would be good for health purposes. But I do not know of any rice cooker that is made for low sugar/low carb.

Yes you can! You can make chirashi zushi with sushi rice and put whatever you want on it, cooked or raw. But same for regular sushi, you can put on cooked shrimp, egg, fish, etc. Here is a link to the chirashi sushi web pages. www.google.com/search?q=chirashi+sushi&rlz=1C5CHFA_enJP895JP895&oq=chirashi+sushi&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i4l9.5618j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

@@MikeMatsuno Thank you! I wish I lived in Japan. :)

I always thought the models were slightly different. I have eaten on the Zojirushi export model in Hawaii and for some reason, it was not the same even with good rice. Not sure why. Maybe it was just me. Thanks for letting me know.

Obviously they are not exactly the same. The menus and buttons are labeled in english.

@@burprobrox9134 slightly pedantic? They are the same machine.

Rice cooker are almost all the same. It's the correct amount of water that is important.

Sorry, have not used or heard about that brand and model. But most Japanese rice cookers do a very good job on cooking rice.

Wonderful! Enjoy the rice! Maybe your roommate will eventually start liking rice if she sees how delicious it is. :)

Also you would have to check the voltage and wattage to be sure the Japanese model can be used in your country. If Zojirushi has an export model to your country, that would work best. But it would be more expensive.

I am sorry, I have not used that brand. But it sounds interesting. A ceramic rice cooker that used IH. If a rice cooker can give you the quality of rice that you want, I believe that is fine to use whatever maker you have or can find. It does not have to be a Zojirushi. I just personally like Zojirushi, but there are many manufacturers that are just as good.

The more expensive grain is actually quite good. It used to be known for making sushi rice. Enjoy!

This one is a little expensive but an IH and you can get it in Canada. amzn.to/38Wj5w0

I hope the rice meets your expectations. Happy rice eating!

Yes its the best ive ever had and bought much more since

Here is a recommendation on Amazon, amzn.to/3tEh7dB. But if you can get a rice cooker which is an IH model and works with the wattage and volts in Australia that will work fine. I like the Zojirushi brand but it can be any Japanese maker.

Hi Brian, Thank you for your questions. I am sorry but I do not know much about brown rice. In Japan, there is usually only one main kind of brown rice which is quite good but most people eat white rice. That is why brown rice is actually more expensive than white rice in Japan. On Amazon.com there are some brands like Nishiki, and Gaba is also sold, here is the link I saw: www.amazon.com/GABA-Sprouted-Brown-Rice-2-0kg/dp/B004FJVDIA/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=gaba+brown+rice&qid=1612590075&sr=8-2 I hope the Zojirushi can make the brown rice how you like it.

Go to donki or Marukai they have a brand called tamaki haiga

Too much complex carbohydrates that turns to sugar in the system? Or maybe not good for patients who have a difficult time swallowing as rice can hamper the air way?

I think it depends on what you were raised on and the difference of short-train and long-grain.

@@MikeMatsuno I was born a raised in US . From the history to the arts to the technology and cuisine and the people I love ALL thins Japanese. I really want an IH cooker .

I think you should just find a Japanese friend to help you translate it, it would be easier and more certain. But the controls usually are quite basic, so probably if you can enter the kanji or hiragana into the Google translator you could get it done.

Google translate works well enough

Sorry, I do not know of any of the modern rice cookers with a non-stick coating. There are ceramic rice cookers but they are specialty items and would be difficult to find outside of Japan.

It is both. The rice cooker and the rice. Premium Koshihikari is what I use. But it can be expensive outside of Japan.

I am sorry it did not meet you expectations. That is a huge gap of technology between the two rice cookers.

Yes, all major Japanese appliance manufacturers sell rice cookers. Matsushita/Panasonic, Sankyo, Hitachi, etc. The only limitation is if you live outside of Japan and need to buy the export model. There are only limited makers for export models.

I like Koshihikari but I think the rice cooker is the key element to good rice.

Thanks for sharing! I did not know that.

Dear Robert, I am not sure why you are having such a hard time. You have the rice cooker, the good rice, it all should be easy to have the best rice. I wonder if the rice cooker is somehow not working well? Normally, I only make 1-2 cups and it will take about 46 minutes. So if you are making more than a couple of cups, it probably will take longer. Because it is really pushing and steaming the grain to give a fluffy texture. Back to your problem, can you check your settings and make sure it is set for white rice, and also on some rice cookers you can adjust the hardness of the cooked rice. I always select the middle, normal hardness. Because if you have the setting for brown rice and cook white rice, there will be a problem. I think it is connected to your settings and what type of rice cooking feature you set it on: brown, porridge, sushi, etc. If that doesn't work, I would call their help desk, maybe it is the rice cooker itself being defective? I am sorry I cannot be of more help. :(

@@MikeMatsuno Thanks Mike, I actually use 2 cups as well. Always according to the manual. I will contact the manufacturer like you suggested. BTW. Do you know Chef Bouley from NY. NHK made a documentary with him and he is also on YT. One thing he said intrigued me, but he never responded to my email. He said that his Chinese chef friend adds some mysterious Japanese mountain seed to his rice so that it lowers the glycemic index of the portion of rice. Do you know by any chance what it might be? Much obliged! Best, R :)

@@roberthalny403 Sorry, Robert. I have not heard of the mysterious Japanese mountain seed that lowers the glycemic index of rice. Do you know the Japanese name of the seed?

@@MikeMatsuno no Mike, I don’t know the name of that seed. It’s a shame that only high paying customers at Michelin starred restaurants can enjoy healthy eating. It’s probably something very simple, and they want to milk it as long as they can. Cheers!

Nishiki simply is med grain rice, commonly used for sushi. It most cases, it is commodity grade, if you are using the one I think you are. A few tips - sushi rice needs to be rinsed 2-3 times. I rinse mine until the water is pretty clear. Takes me about 1 min to do 2 rinses in the sink (they sell a strainer to make this easier, but I don't have one). Make sure you are using the right water settings for sushi rice - it is pretty different than white or jasmine rice. Sushi rice should take 46 minutes in your machine (as does mine). When you get the chance, try to get some good sushi rice. I can easily find the Koshihikari by me for $10/5lb and another one I like to use is the pink bag Sekka one (not as good, but its $8 at the store I get it from). The expensive organic california nishiki isn't all that great compared to the japanese imports. When you are done cooking, try to cool the rice. I flap the lid a few times, wait a few mins then do it again. After it is cooled is when you add rice vinegar, sesame oil and a bit of sugar (not much, just to mellow acidity of rice vinegar). If you add the vinegar before it's cooled, it's not good. Mushes it and has off flavors. You don't stir the rice, you fold it. I make lines to chop (tic tak toe board), then fold over. About 2-3 times. My sushi rice is perfect with this method, every time. If you are just making regular rice, not for sushi, you don't need to do any of this.

Yes, the Cuckoo Brand is from Korea. I have a Cuckoo which I bought 15 years ago. It does not make as good Japanese rice as an IH Japanese rice cooker but I heard that Cuckoo does well with brown rice and other types of rice (not Japanese rice). So it may be fine. I hope it works out for you.

Sorry, Gustav. I don't have any idea of the rice cooker export model to Europe for 220 Volts.

@@MikeMatsuno Thank you. I tried to research a bit more and seems that the IH models have not been CE approved in EU and so there is no European seller. Only option is to private import a 220 volt version from Japan, which is very expensive with customs and taxes and difficult with warranty. I ended up ordering a Bamboo from Yum Asia in UK, shipped to Sweden.

I don't know the details of how the technologies work but I can give you my opinion about which I think is the most advance. IH pressure cooker is the top, then IH standard, after that a step down will be fuzzy logic technology which is actually old technology in Japan. Any IH technology rice cookers should be good.

Wow! If that was grown in Toyama, that was a great deal! I cannot believe they had Toyama shinmai Koshikari in the US. That is my favorite rice in Japan, but I cannot always find it here. Great find!

@@MikeMatsuno Found it at Nijiya market in San Jose. It really is fantastic rice!

@@MikeMatsuno Hello mike I have a question. I've found several differnt brands of Japanese rice calming to be from Japan. Are these any good. Thanks.

Hi Ozcan, I am sorry for the delay in answering your question. I am not sure what rice cookers are being offered by the closest Amazon hub in Europe. But if you are using Amazon, the IH Zojirushi is what I like the best. I use that rice cooker technology in my home now. IH means Induction Heating. Here is the link for amazon.com so you can see what model I am talking about. amzn.to/3tEh7dB If there are other distributors that sell Japanese rice cookers, they all have their own IH model. Happy rice eating! :)

So, is this IH better than the Neuro Fuzzy ?

@@vancachz18 Yes, it is. Neuro Fuzzy in my opinion is one generation down from the IH technology.

My rice cookers takes 48 minutes usually. I wash and soak the rice prior and set the timer. There is also a speed function that cuts down the time of cooking the rice. But I have never used it as the level of the rice is not as good when using the speed function.