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Growing up, cooking rice seemed to be one of those things that was always a difficult thing to attain, at least according to popular culture. Sure, I’ve had some mis-steps here and there, but overall, I’d say we’ve honed in on a fairly foolproof way to get our rice (usually jasmine) done on the stove top. So, why a rice cooker? That’s what I aimed to figure out with the Toshiba TRCS02 Rice Cooker.
Toshiba TRCS02 Rice Cooker: what it is
That should be fairly obvious, but just in case: the Toshiba TRCS02 Rice Cooker is what Toshiba considers one of their small cookers, able to take on up to 3 cups of dry rice (resulting in 6 cups cooked). What it aims to do is make your rice cooking easier, and hands-free. First, though, let’s talk about the components.
You of course have the large outer shell, which is where all the electronics and heating element live. The lid has a removable inner cover (which means it’s easy to wash out) as well as a steam escape valve. For power, you’ve got a standard 3-prong power cord that is removable. Why removable? So it’s easier to store in the cabinet or on a shelf, is our guess. The cooker also has a built in handle, so it’s easy to move around the kitchen, or even over to the table to serve up the rice once it’s done.
How does it make cooking rice easier?
By it’s very design. First, though, you have to figure out how to measure things. The Toshiba TRCS02 Rice Cooker comes with a cup measurer, but it’s not the same as your 1-cup measure. If you use that, it seems you can use the marks on the removable cooking bowl (also making it easier to clean!) to then measure out your water. Alternatively, you can use the ratios of rice-to-water than are on your bag of rice.
What I settled on is a recommendation from our good friends, and I’ve been using the Filipino method to measure things out. Basically, measure out whatever amount of rice you want (we’re usually in the 1 to 2 cup of dry rice range), and then rinse it a few times. Dump that into the cooker, and then set your fingertip (yes, please wash your hands first) on the rice. Then you add water until the level reaches the first knuckle of your middle finger. Yes, I know, ever finger is different, but the results speak for themselves. It just works!
Of course, the rice cooker is also doing some of the lifting here as well. Once you close the lid and set it in the mode you want (ie, white rice or mixed grain), it takes over. In my experience, it always started at 50 minutes, but then the timer would adjust itself as the fuzzy logic controller in the cooker figured out where things were at, and eventually it hits zero.
So, with a potentially 50-minute cook time, how is this simpler than my regular stovetop rice method, which generally takes about 10 minutes once the water has boiled? For one, you’re not dealing with a hot stovetop, so you can have this cooker going anywhere you have electric, meaning you can free up kitchen workspace. Secondly, it’s very much plug-and-play. Once you set it going, you don’t have to touch it again (other than stirring now and again if you want). With the stovetop method, you’re constantly watching, because you don’t want to burn the rice in the pot. With the cooker, that’s not a concern, as it drops the heat once it senses the rice is done.
How well does it work?
In a word: amazingly. We kept things pretty simple, and have just cooked jasmine and sushi rice in it so far (so, just the white rice mode). I’ve tried it both with the included measuring cup, standard measuring cups, and the Filipino method mentioned in the previous section. In all cases, the rice came out perfectly.
Additionally, there’s settings in here that can really come in clutch when making a larger batch. Along with not having to watch over it constantly, you can set it to kick off on a timer (much like a crockpot), and then it can put itself into keep warm mode (for up to 24 hours) once the cook is done, allowing you to have warm rice whenever you want, regardless if you’re running late or the meal goes on for a long time.
Wrapping things up
Prior to going hands-on with the Toshiba TRCS02 Rice Cooker , I was resistant to the idea of having a purpose-built device that does one thing to replace the pot-on-the-stove method. However, now that I’ve been using it, I think it has three things going for it:
- Measuring does not have to be as precise, as the cooker will adjust to what you have in there
- You can set it up and walk away, not worrying you’re boiling over or burning rice in a pot
- It is setup for easy cleanup for all parts that come in contact with the rice and steam
In other words, this is truly a kitchen gadget that I think is worthwhile having in a home that consumes rice with any regularity. Past that, this can also do stuff like make porridge, a cake(!), and eggs, so you can extend it’s utility even further. The version we reviewed here is on a 10% discount over at Amazon, dropping the price to $80.99. You can check out more details at Toshiba, and of course buy it directly from Amazon
