Convince Me to Get Something More Expensive than The $13 Kmart Rice Cooker

LKlyJuly on 21/01/2022 - 21:09
Last edited 21/01/2022 - 21:22

I never had a rice cooker growing up until I bought the Kmart once when I moved out, and I found it great! Easy to use, cooked rice just fine for my tastes (I'm not fussy) and was of course very cheap. It got damaged in a subsequent move 6 months later and now I'm rice-cooker-less again. I see rice cookers for $100s of dollars, what makes them so much better than the $13 Kmart one that justifies the cost? If I wanted 'the next model up' what would that be and what would I get for it?

I terms of size I really won't need to cook anything more than 2-4 cups of rice at one time so a 6-7 cup model seems fine, 10 is overkill, and at this stage I'm not looking for a fancy multi function device, just cooking rice well is fine. Easy to clean, durability and food safe materials are desired. I only eat rice ~2 times per week so not an everyday thing, but regular enough.

Cheers

Food & Grocery Rice Cooker

Comments

  • bobokingdom on 21/01/2022 - 21:12
    +8

    Panasonic is a good compromise on Price / Cooked Rice Quality.

    • KlyJuly on 21/01/2022 - 21:21

      What do you find it better specifically compared to the Kmart one?

      • bobokingdom on 21/01/2022 - 21:43
        +16

        Rice will be more fluffy. To me, it even smells and tastes better.

        Take the cheapest Panasonic Rice Cooker: https://www.binglee.com.au/products/panasonic-sr-df101wst-ri…

        The lid is designed to keep heat and moisture inside the cooker while cooking.

        It is like the $0.20 vs $2 ball pen, both will write but the $2 most likely will write a bit smoother, has a nicer barrel.

          • ntt on 24/01/2022 - 10:45
            +16

            @mrvaluepack: I'm an Asian, moved to down under decades ago. First thing I did is go to buy a cheap rice cooker, around $35 and it cooked fine for me until I got a proper rice cooker that sent from oversea. Man! I forgot what I missed until then. The rice is more fluffy, soft and cooked evenly, not burned at the bottom. If you're not an Asian (eastern), you may not understand. I used to cook rice from kerosene, wood, charcoal, gas, etc.. etc…since primary school so trust me, you never know what you miss until you try it.

        • Polska Kielbasa on 24/01/2022 - 21:19

          I was on board to try it until I saw the price tag… Though in your pen example there was also a 10x difference in price, it still hit differently seeing triple digits for fluffier rice.

          • ntt on 25/01/2022 - 15:49

            @Polska Kielbasa: I don't understand why people buy a fancy rice cooker with too many functions. To me, a good ricer cooker is just a good rice cooker, I don't need to do slow cook or pressure cook or whatever. I won't pay more than $200 just for a cooker. I don't need a music to remind me the rice is cooked either.

            • HarlieQuinn on 26/01/2022 - 22:02

              @ntt: Well obviously buy only what you'll use. I'm also asian and have a fancy overseas rice cooker and its the bomb. Obviously we use it almost daily so the price/quality is worth it, the rice comes out so good I sometimes will just eat plain rice. It has multiple settings and a smart sensor so you can cook different types of rice or many other kinds of grains or beans without burning or overcooking or thinking about it. And also does congee and soups which we also use on occasion, and some other settings we don't use. It's lasted over 3 years and still going so if you calculate it per use the price tag is a pittance and has saved me heaps of time and dissapointment from having badly cooked rice.

          • polstralian on 25/01/2022 - 18:02

            @Polska Kielbasa: Nice username btw!

      • Zonty on 25/01/2022 - 01:06
        -8

        Why do you need rice cooker? It’s better buy kettle. And use boiling water on rice after toasted with butter little. Make sure use right portion water against rice and salt. My rice every time taste great no need rice cooker.
        I eat straight away left over for tomorrow fried rice.

        • ntt on 25/01/2022 - 15:50
          +5

          are you a friend of Gordon Ramsay by any chance?

          • Zonty on 25/01/2022 - 23:31

            @ntt: I am chef 15 years worked by the way. It’s was my personal experience. Rice cooking on normal pot is not hard. I believe people still need fancy equipment to cook basic,

            • greatlamp on 26/01/2022 - 09:35
              +1

              @Zonty: I agree, a saucepan can cook rice in the same way as any rice cooker, once you learn the water and temperature ratio for your saucepan.
              It was difficult for me when I had a gas stove top, but with electric It's possible to finely control the temperature.

              I think people like rice cookers because it maintains the rice warm after it's cooked, automatically. It's the convenience of not having to watch the pot rather than being unable to cook rice any other way.

            • HarlieQuinn on 26/01/2022 - 22:06
              +1

              @Zonty: Do you use a microwave? Or a toaster? Or a kettle? None of these things are hard and can be substituted with a stove and pot/pan but heck do they make it a lot easier! It all boils down to how often you are going to use the appliance.

              Also whilst buttered rice is nice on occasion, truly delicious fresh rice correctly cooked can be eaten straight with no additions.

            • iori57 on 26/01/2022 - 23:34

              @Zonty: lol rice cooker is not fancy. If you eat rice frequently and wants perfectly cooked and warm rice ready for dinner every time after a busy work day, it is a godsend.

            • ntt on 27/01/2022 - 13:51

              @Zonty: look, you just proved my point. Gordon is a fancy celebrity chef. Nothing to stop you to create your own version but it's not how we eat rice every single day. You can cook it with any thing you find, clay pot, pot or saucepan with gas/induct whatever stoves. But it's not what we Asian want rice for 2 times a day, just normal rice. This is nearly the same arguments with washing machines like 50 years ago. Put things in, set water, press a button and go do something else. Don't need to just standing there watching how it's going on.

        • RatBargain on 25/01/2022 - 16:29
          +4

          Uncle Roger would put his leg down for sure

        • Lockieasy on 26/01/2022 - 13:13
          +1

          I like rice cookers because you can just 'set and forget'. Worth the price for that convenience alone.

        • linkii on 26/01/2022 - 13:44
          +3

          It depends how often you cook rice. I think people that don't eat rice at least once every 2 days wouldn't know why you will want a rice cooker. But if you eat it everyday. Then you'll want a better one just for the convenience, easier cleaning, better rice and longer lasting. When you average it out over say 5 yrs. Its really only extra 10c per day for better rice. Will I pay extra 10c for better fluffy rice and convenience. That's a big yes.

          I cook rice with a dedicated rice cooker so at the same time I can use a stove to cook other things.

    • Akya on 31/01/2022 - 05:37

      I bought the Panasonic SR-ZX105KSTM a bit over 5 years ago for $250 and the last year it’s very inconsistent. It is cooking rice 2-4 times a week for my husband and I. The last 6 months I realise I have to tweak the water amount for all the water to be absorbed and definitely not as fluffy as it used to be. Expected it to last longer :(

  • djsweet on 21/01/2022 - 21:16
    +50

    You won’t need a more expensive one till you try a more expensive one. I had a $15 Kmart one for a couple of years. Now I have a $200 one which is much better. I’m sure if I bought a $600 tiger or cuckoo I couldn’t go back. Same with a lot of things. Shoes, tvs, bed linen, towels, cars. When you don’t know any better, what you have is fine. Once you go to the next level you can never go back.

    • KlyJuly on 21/01/2022 - 21:19
      +3

      What tangible features do you use/give a better experience of use, cleaning etc?

      I'm someone who really doesn't care about brand, a $5 AliExpress wallet stores my cash and cards just as well as a $$$ fancy handcrafted leather one.

      • djsweet on 21/01/2022 - 22:21
        +9

        It’s easy to clean. Very unfussy about how much water you put in it. Will keep your rice hot and an good shape for several hours. Has different modes for different types of rice. Can steam veggies.

        • kiitos on 21/01/2022 - 23:46

          Which cooker do you have now?

      • Daabido on 23/01/2022 - 18:20
        +23

        $5 wallet? Get off OzBargain. Real men shove their notes in their pockets and use no name plastic wrap if they have lots of coins.

        • Lucille Bluth on 24/01/2022 - 09:59
          +3

          Can't believe someone downvoted your joke 🤦

          Here's a +1 to offset. I found your comment funny.

        • RudedogandDweebs on 24/01/2022 - 17:16
          +1

          This is the way

        • JayM on 25/01/2022 - 10:15
          +1

          Real men don't even waste money on wallets and just use their mobiles to pay for everything!

      • Jaysful on 25/01/2022 - 10:35

        You can also have modes to make congee, slowcook meat and also make cake. The quality of the non-stick on the pot makes it easy to scrap off rice/clean. You can pre-set time to cook the rice, there's also fast-cook which can cook 3 cups of rice in around 15-20min. The feature list goes on.

        If rice is main part of your diet. $15 cooker will not be an option once you've tried something like Tiger from Japan. The rice you make is so good you can season it into sushi rice and it'll taste just like the real deal.

      • skimp on 27/01/2022 - 12:29

        Hi Op, I disassembled my Tiger rice cooker once and found some interesting design features.
        Firstly, the body of the cooker is insulated. This allows heat to be more contained within the cooking pot and more evenly distributed. This also allows the cooked rice to stay hot for much longer even when fully switched off.
        Secondly, the top lid has a heating element inside. This allows the rice to be cooked much more evenly, especially if you are cooking a large amount.
        Thirdly, the silicon rim on the inner lid prevents evaporation when the rice has finished cooking. The cooked rice will stay moist for hours even on the keep warm setting. You could cook your rice much earlier than your planned meal time, and anyone arriving late would still enjoy hot and fluffy rice.
        As someone already mentioned, the steam vent does not spit out hot droplets of water because of the design of the inner lid.
        Because of all of these feature the rice is never hard, brown / burnt down the bottom.
        The only time I used a cheap glass-lid cooker is on holidays when we take a small cooker with us.
        Hope this helps.

  • AustriaBargain on 21/01/2022 - 21:16
    +21

    You'll impress your future Asian wife with a $400 Panasonic rice cooker.

    • KlyJuly on 21/01/2022 - 21:21
      +2

      I know you're just joking, but I'm not looking to impress anyone, function over form.

      • UncommonName on 21/01/2022 - 23:33
        +27

        function over form

        That's what she…

      • ATangk on 23/01/2022 - 16:19
        +1

        Function over form you'd get a more expensive rice cooker. They can do a whole lot of things too that a cheapo kmart one cant.

        Its not the same as a wallet.

        • AlienC on 25/01/2022 - 12:36

          Such as..

          • ATangk on 25/01/2022 - 12:48

            @AlienC: You can do porridge, soup, cakes, steam. With timers and other functions.

            Basic ones just stop cooking when the water is all gone.

    • bobbified on 22/01/2022 - 17:25
      +10

      I don't think so! She'll tell him he's stupid to spend that much money on a Panasonic instead of a Tiger or Zoji.

    • AEKaBeer on 25/01/2022 - 16:18

      My Asian wife and family are into the more basic end of rice cookers. We recently upgraded to more expensive but still on the lowish end and I really couldn't tell the difference between it and the cheapies. Other than it being a pain to clean.

      Nothing beats a pot and some attention when cooking rice. Rice cookers were built to save on effort, but I've yet to have rice from one that comes close, to that includes a close friend's Tiger rice cooker.

  • altomic on 21/01/2022 - 21:20
    +19

    I lived in Japan for 4 years and had a Tiger rice cooker there.

    now have the Kmart rice cooker.

    I only use it to cook rice.

    it does the job well.

    happy with the Kmart one

    • tebbybabes on 24/01/2022 - 10:50
      +1

      Yep, the MIL kept raving about all the extra features. I don't have any use for any of them. Used both. Rice came out pretty much the same. So no, I won't be springing for the fancy expensive one.

    • sharper360 on 24/01/2022 - 16:07
      +1

      This. A basic rice cooker is all you need for basic rice. Buy the cheap one and spend the leftover money on something else that will make cooking stuff to go with the rice easier/better, like a slow cooker, sous vide or maybe a blender or something.

  • Ryanek on 21/01/2022 - 21:33
    +7

    Digital Aldi one coming up this weekend for $59.

      • capslock janitor on 23/01/2022 - 17:08
        +5

        I see three 8's, I like

        • drezy on 24/01/2022 - 13:21

          They know CNY is coming

        • MrFrugalSpend on 26/01/2022 - 00:51

          Its 888 because Aldi knows they will make a lot of money from selling them!?
          Triple fortune for Aldi ??!!

        • nobro25 on 26/01/2022 - 23:23
          +1

          Yea but the 5 in front negates all that. 5 in Chinese or Cantonese specifically sounds like the no word. So 58.88 sounds like "no rich". 38.88, 88.88 or even 98.88. 1 or 2 starters are good. You wanna avoid 4 or 5 starter numbers, 4 in anything is not good, 7 can be offensive but not necessary offensive. 1 and 6 are usually neutral so that's fine.

          Actually 5 can be good or bad if 5 followed by something positive then it flips the position. If it's followed by something negative, it doesn't become positive but just not negative.

    • ddhar on 23/01/2022 - 19:59

      Anyone knows if this is a decent rice cooker compared to Panasonic stuff?

    • diasaha on 23/01/2022 - 22:19
      +4

      We eat rice pretty much every day for lunch and dinner. We have been using this Aldi one for past year and half.
      Has not skipped a beat and rice come out very fluffy and does not stick with each other.
      Water to rice ratio is 2:1.
      It easy to adjust how soft you want cooked rice to be by slightly adjusting the water to rice ratio.
      Comes with steam basket for steaming veges while cooking rice.

      Only cons is that it takes about 40mins to cook rice and until it finishes cooking, do not open lid to check, it might trip your mains power supply.

      Still One of the best buys from Aldi and great value for money.

      :-)

      • Hamlet on 24/01/2022 - 17:07

        10 cup capacity is pretty much overkill though… I like the preset digital timer but 40 mins is quite a while compared to my Kmart 20 minute…

        Do you have any other suggestion for a smaller capacity rice cooker with a preset digital timer?

      • wjojff on 26/01/2022 - 11:30

        Is that ratio you measure manually? Or are you using the cup it comes with?

    • aimon on 25/01/2022 - 14:36

      So any thoughts on if this is any good?

      10 cup capacity
      LCD display
      10 dedicated preset menus
      24 hour keep warm and preset timer
      Accessories include steamer, measuring cup, rice scoop and soup scoop

      So it has an LCD display. Who cares?

  • Tiredman on 21/01/2022 - 21:33
    +13

    We use a Japan made Zojirushi. Love it. Accidentally left rice inside the rice cooker for 2-3 days and it was still warm and fluffy. Plus it sings when it's done so that's good.

    • capslock janitor on 23/01/2022 - 17:08

      It didn't go yellow reddish after 3 days?

    • diddy50 on 23/01/2022 - 17:21
      +8

      You didn't eat it, did you?

      Bacillus cereus and those nasty toxins it makes…… Death

      • EBC on 23/01/2022 - 17:57
        +49

        Come on, B. cereus

      • banana365 on 23/01/2022 - 19:28

        Had that once years ago. Obviously it didn't kill me, but at the thing I wish it did.

        That takeaway closed down not long after as it seemed to be a fairly common occurrence so people just stopped going there.

  • westzod on 21/01/2022 - 21:34
    +2

    my cheap one just died actually and im subbing on this to see recommendations :D

    • westzod on 24/01/2022 - 16:56
      +1

      I'm getting a Kmart one

  • Hugh G Rection on 21/01/2022 - 21:51
    +11

    i started with kmart, and now have a tiger. kmart does the job, but very minimally.

    its like when i bought cheap boots that were machine made in china, but now own rm williams handmade in Australia. both are boots and both get the job done, granted one would be temporary.

    or like living in a shed and a mansion, both provide shelter.

    if you don't cook rice much i wouldn't buy anything more then kmart. if you do eat a lot of rice, then i would definitely upgrade your rice cooker.

  • capslock on 21/01/2022 - 21:57
    +9

    I find you get a thin layer of weird brown gunk at the bottom of the rice in cheap rice cookers which doesn't happen in expensive rice cookers.

    • silent1 on 23/01/2022 - 17:03

      Some people find that to be one of the good parts. The slightly burnt part which crisps up nicely, although hard to emulate with a rice cooker.

      • capslock janitor on 23/01/2022 - 17:09
        +1

        Mum likes the crispy bits. I do not.

      • johnno07 on 23/01/2022 - 19:08
        +1

        The Spaniards call it socarrat!

        • derrida derider on 25/01/2022 - 10:55

          Yep and it is the most prized part of a paella, served to the guest of honour. Though I don't think you could make good paella in a rice cooker.

    • Dontdoit on 24/01/2022 - 14:31

      You mean tahdig? It's probably the favourite part for every Iranian.

      https://www.google.com/search?q=tahdig&oq=tahdig&aqs=chrome.…

  • JimmyF on 21/01/2022 - 21:59
    +1

    No

  • mmd on 21/01/2022 - 22:10

    I posted this comment in the panasonic rice cooker deal https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/612094#comment-10237898

    Not sure abt other brands, but we bought a cheap glass lid one before (Kambrook).
    Water spits out of the little nozzle on the glass lid which meant the rice wasnt cooked properly. It was horrible. I would like to describe it as italian al dente rice, which it should never be.
    We actually own the model I posted for a few years now.
    Solid machine, no issues

    The more expensive rice cookers should have more functionality like brown rice, cakes, steam basket for veggies at the same time, paddle holster.

  • leelemon on 21/01/2022 - 22:45
    +10

    Maybe a controversial opinion but I think investing in good quality rice has a bigger impact on rice enjoyment than the rice cooker - however, if you are a foodie, it's worth the upgrade.

    The rice cooker influences the texture of the rice.
    I've had cheap $20 once (similar to the kmart), mid range (Panasonic) and currently have a Tiger.

    The Tiger is over 20 years old (it was a family member's) - everything still works perfectly, where as the cheaper one I had only lasted a couple years.
    It also makes a lot less mess than the cheap one (a lot of water sputter + steam that made a mess around the glass lid).

    • Mosher on 23/01/2022 - 16:20

      I was thinking the same thing

      If you use good quality rice it would go a long way

  • mewx on 22/01/2022 - 00:08
    +3

    I would recommend you to buy The $13 Kmart Rice Cooker. As a native rice eater, anything that is called "rice cooker" does the job right.

    If you are not using a pot, that's good. You are already on the right track! Congrats!

    • mewx on 22/01/2022 - 00:09

      One exception is that you are using rice that costs you more than $10 per kilo.

      • capslock janitor on 23/01/2022 - 17:10

        Whys that

        • mewx on 23/01/2022 - 17:37

          Better rice deservers finer cooking procedures :-)

    • capslock janitor on 23/01/2022 - 17:10
      +6

      What's wrong with pot

      • mewx on 23/01/2022 - 17:37

        Just general purpose tool vs dedicated tool. Rice cooker is has a whole optimized process of cooking rice especially the temperature control part.

        Similarly, imaging using a pot to cook 63-degree egg.

        • abb on 24/01/2022 - 15:06

          Rice cooker is has a whole optimized process of cooking rice especially the temperature control part.

          The cheap ones just have a very basic temperature sensor, when the water is gone the temperature rises and it turns off.

          I haven't personally tried the expensive microprocessor controlled rice cookers like Panasonic or Zojirushi, but a saucepan and a clock get me good results, at least on par with my Mum's (Tefal?) rice cooker.

          • mewx on 24/01/2022 - 18:14

            @abb: oh, I mainly mean when the cooking is done, it goes to a lower temperature automatically.

            Say you can cook the same rice for 30 minutes or 3 hours.

            However, with a pot, you would have to stop the fire manually, aka standby.

            • abb on 24/01/2022 - 19:11

              @mewx: That's true, if you want to cook your rice hours before your meal that's difficult on a stovetop as they may not go to a low enough power setting.

      • Dreamcast on 23/01/2022 - 20:53

        This. It's so satisfying cooking the rice perfectly in a pot. Never have and never will use a rice cooker.

        The other kind of pot, well… I'd avoid it.

  • altomic on 22/01/2022 - 00:37
    +5

    aldi have one this week for $58.88

  • huntress_love on 22/01/2022 - 02:34
    +2

    haven't used mine since my pressure cooker, i think the Phillips one. does it perfectly and super fast 3min. i use it for everything else too and was just a bonus when i googled it and was able to do so, so fast. going be putting my rice cooker away now and make more space on the benchtop!

    • Willywolfy on 22/01/2022 - 12:50
      +1

      multi/pressure cooker is the way seeing as you can use it for so many other things. Having said that following instructions on the manual and using the rice setting resulted in shit rice first time. Took some figuring out on manual to get it right.

      • huntress_love on 22/01/2022 - 23:51

        i dont use any of the options, usually just google it and choose the right timing.

        • Jackson on 24/01/2022 - 16:13
          +1

          I also got rid of my rice cooker when I realised that my pressure cooker made much better rice. I could never get decent brown rice out of my basic rice cooker, but with the pressure cooker it's amazing, soft and full of flavour. It's also much faster, about half the time for me as I only make small batches typically (otherwise it would be faster still), so the cooker takes a while to get up to temperature, but it turns 25 minutes into under 15. By the same token it's probably using less energy too. And the fact that I use my pressure cooker for heaps of other stuff so it's not a one use item, and mine is only a very basic $30 plug in one from target. I doubt I will ever get a dedicated rice cooker for this reason.

  • apsilon on 22/01/2022 - 06:26
    +1

    I haven't used a Kmart or other cheap one so can't compare how the cooked rice differs but my Tiger one for example has a removable pot, different settings for different types of rice, a setting to make rice porridge and can also be used as a steamer and slow cooker to do stews and similar. You can also set the time it starts cooking and of course a keep warm function. My guess is the cheap ones have none of these extra functions.

  • omguleh on 22/01/2022 - 10:25
    +2

    The more expensive ones would be induction heat, so the whole pot is cooking at a even temperature no matter the surface. The cheap ones would have a single heating element at the bottom.

    Got a Tiger from Costco few years ago and the output is consistent every time. Use it every night on the Ultra setting that feeds 7 people. Ultra setting takes a good 75mins to cook compared to the quick setting which only takes 30mins so or so.

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