Best Asian Rice Cooker – Top 13 Options

Cooking rice perfectly isn’t always easy. Fortunately, Asian rice cookers come to our rescue by helping us make delicious, fluffy rice every time. All we have to do is prepare the rice and press a few buttons. Whether you’re cooking brown rice, white rice, mixed rice, or feel like sticky rice, a good Asian rice cooker should be in your kitchen.

There are many different brands to choose from, and not all of them are going to meet your needs. In this article, we’ve made a list of the best Asian rice cookers and will also discuss what features to look for and why these rice cookers are so popular.

Are you looking to buy a new rice cooker? Stick around, because we’re going to introduce you to the best!

Don’t have time to read? Here’s a quick summary of the products we recommend.

Our Top Picks of the Best Asian Rice Cookers

Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker and Warmer

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First on our list is a very popular brand, Zojirushi. You’ll actually find more than one model from these guys on the list and any of them can be crowned the best Asian rice cooker because the manufacturers are great at making rice cookers.

This rice cooker is made with superior fuzzy logic technology and can cook 5.5 cups of rice, giving you 10 cups in total. This is the ideal rice cooker for medium-sized families or small families that eat a lot of rice. It does cook a bit slower than similar cookers, though.

Made in Japan, this rice cooker can also prepare sushi and porridge to perfection. The steam function also makes it easy to whip up delicious steamed vegetables or fish, making this a versatile appliance.

The programmable beep function will let you know when your rice has been perfectly cooked, or as soon as it has been warmed up nicely with the ‘keep warm’ function keeping everything fresh.

Using this rice cooker is fairly easy, and you also get a few impressive extras for free, including a spatula and spatula holder, and two measuring cups.

There is also a delay timer in case you want to have your rice prepared at a specific time. The non-stick inner pot makes for easy cleaning as well.

Pros

• Easy to use
• Versatile cooking
• Many useful features like the keep warm function
• Extra accessories included
• Ideal for medium-sized families

Cons

• Cooks a bit slower than the competition

Tiger JAX-T18U-K 10-Cup (Uncooked) Micom Rice Cooker

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This attractive stainless steel cooker is ideal for bigger families as it can cook 10 cups of rice in one go. That’s an impressive amount of rice. It has a very convenient feature, called the “Tacook” synchro-cooking function that allows you to cook more than rice. 

This unique feature also makes this specific rice cooker stand out because you can cook rice as well as other food at the same time.

Thanks to the fuzzy logic technology used, you can expect your rice (and other meals) to always be perfectly cooked.

The Tiger’s slow cook function makes it easy to cook porridge, risottos, soups, and stews. The steamer is another useful feature that enhances your cooking experience, and it lets you easily steam seafood and vegetables. You can prepare a whole meal at once with this rice cooker.

You get ten computerized menu settings to cook any kind of rice you want to without effort. The heat distribution is also very even, and the inner lid is easy to remove and clean thoroughly.

The ease of use of this rice cooker is also impressive, and you don’t have to continuously check up on your food — the machine is smart enough to do it all on its own. The only drawback you’ll notice with this rice cooker is that its power cord isn’t retractable so it might cause a bit of inconvenience.

Pros

• Versatile cooking
• Easy to use and clean
• Huge capacity
• 10 computerized menu settings
• Synchro-cooking function

Cons

• Non-retractable power cord

Toshiba Rice Cooker with Fuzzy Logic

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If you’re looking for a more affordable rice cooker that is still capable of cooking rice that tastes wonderful, the Toshiba Rice Cooker with Fuzzy Logic could be just what you need. Although it doesn’t have a huge capacity and can only cook three cups of uncooked rice at a time, it’s still an impressive cooker. 

With an impressive 8 pre-programmed cooking settings, you can cook sushi rice, white rice, mixed grain, and even brown rice.

Not only that, but you can also cook eggs, cake, and porridge. The rice cooker also allows you to slow cook your food for better taste.

The fuzzy logic technology ensures that you will have perfectly cooked rice every time. Thanks to the triple heating function, which heats from the side, bottom, and lid, you’ll have even heating and all your food will be cooked well throughout.

However, the cooking process can take longer than with other cookers.

Cleaning the rice cooker is made easy with the non-stick inner pot and a steam vent and an inner lid that are detachable. As for using this appliance, the LED smart digital display makes that as easy as can be.

You can delay your cooking by 24 hours with the delay timer and although this is a small and compact rice cooker, it comes with a warranty. Warranties aren’t common with these cookers, but you get a 1-year warranty from Toshiba.

Pros

• Comes with a warranty
• Easy to use and clean
• 8 Pre-programmed cooking settings
• Versatile cooking
• Triple heating
• LED smart display

Cons

• Cooking takes a bit long

Zojirushi NS-TSC18

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The second Zojirushi rice cooker on our list could easily be the best Asian rice cooker if you’re looking for something with good capacity. You can cook up to ten cups of rice in this 1.8-liter cooker with no worries about space.

Like all other cookers from this brand, the fuzzy logic technology ensures that your rice is always perfectly fluffy and delicious. The design makes cleanups easy with a removable inner lid that is almost effortless to clean.

With a steam basket, you can steam delicate foods as well to eat with your rice. The inner cooking pan and retractable power cord add to the appeal of an already great cooker. The stainless steel exterior is also very easy to keep clean.

You can choose from two settings with the delay timer and the LCD timer also has a clock feature for extra ease of use.

The automatic ‘keep warm’ and reheat settings are uncomplicated and will keep your rice fresher for longer.

The only thing that might bother you about this model is that it doesn’t seem to be quite as durable as other Zojirushi cookers.

Pros

• Easy to use and clean
• Versatile cooking
• Retractable power cord
• Impressive capacity
• LCD timer
• Automatic keep warm function

Cons

• Doesn’t appear to be as durable as expected

TIGER JBV-A10U Rice Cooker and Steamer

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Here we have another Tiger rice cooker, this one is one of the more affordable models on our list. It is an ideal budget rice cooker with a cooking capacity of 5.5 cups of uncooked rice. For a cooker as compact as this one, that’s not too bad. 

Like all other Tiger cookers, this one comes with unique technology that allows you to do multi-cooking. The Syncro-cooking function is something that makes these cookers really stand out.

Add to that the fact that you can easily do some slow-cooking as well, and you can see why Tiger is such a recommended brand.

The non-stick inner pan is super easy to clean and the exterior can be cleaned with a thorough wipe. It won’t be a massive chore to clean this cooker. The inner steam cap is detachable for easy cleaning as well, and the cooking plate is BPA-free. 

You get four cooking menu settings to make your cooking experience a lot easier, and the automatic ‘keep warm’ function will keep your food fresh and warm. However, the rice will go brown if left in the cooker for longer than eight hours. You can easily cook brown rice, plain rice, vegetables, and even meat in this rice cooker.

Pros

• Syncro-cooking function
• Easy to use
• Affordable
• BPA-free cooking plate
• Cleanups are easy
• Versatile cooking 
• Good rice capacity

Cons

• Keep warm function is a bit disappointing

Cuckoo 6-Cup Rice Cooker and Warmer

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This South Korean rice cooker is one of the best for people on a tight budget. However, just because it’s a bit cheaper does not mean it’s inferior, this model can keep up with the best Asian rice cooker you can think of with ease.

It comes with 11 unique menu options and allows you to cook brown rice, white rice, porridge, and more. You can also make delicious sticky rice, sweet rice, savory rice, or extra soft rice thanks to the customized rice cooking functions. In fact, the Cuckoo has 16 unique rice flavors and textures to choose from.

Cleaning is fairly easy thanks to the removable non-stick inner pan, a detachable inner lid, and an auto-clean function. The excess water drainage dish also ensures that everything is kept neat while you cook.

This colorful and attractive rice cooker has a capacity of 6 uncooked cups o