For those of you who eat rice often, a bad bowl of rice can often spoil an entire meal. Some might say that “rice is rice, whether you cook it stove top or in a pot, it’s all the same”. I beg to differ.

Being of Japanese descent, I grew up on short/medium grain white rice. Japanese / Cal-rose rice is still my favorite. But lately I’ve been trying a variety of rice and grains thanks to my new fuzzy logic rice cooker. I’ve tried brown rice, jasmine rice, Italian risotto, pilaf, steel cut oats, and even tapioca.

I gave away my rice cooker to my roommate before I moved to my new apartment, and so I was in need of a new rice cooker. I debated for a long time whether it was worth it to spend $100 for a fuzzy logic rice cooker, or if I just needed a plain rice cooker with a single on/off switch.

Ultimately, I decided to go with spending the money and I am very happy with my purchase. Since Zojirushi was so expensive, I went with a less popular brand and model: Sanyo ECJ-D55S. I paid a little less than $100 for it, but I am impressed with its features and capabilities. The best thing about it is the various cooking settings the rice cooker offers: white rice, brown rice, porridge, stew.

If you do pick up one of these rice cookers, make sure to also check out The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook. This cookbook covers a wide range of recipes and dishes you can make in a rice cooker. Many of the recipes require a “porridge” setting available on fuzzy logic rice cookers. I’ve made an amazing Takikomi-gohan (Japanese steamed rice with chicken and shiitake mushrooms) and I’ve also made a chicken and mushroom risotto.

I love the fact that you can make a whole meal in the rice cooker. It’s kinda like an Asian version of the crock-pot. I’ll keep trying different recipes to see what else I can make. But the best part about this fuzzy logic rice cooker is that my Cal-rose rice comes out perfect every time!