It’s hard to find someone who never heard about sushi. Sushi is, by far, one of the most popular dishes to come out of Japan. However, most people don’t even have a clear idea about sushi, and they don’t even know that you can cook sushi in a rice cooker!

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll talk about sushi, the best rice cooker for sushi, and how you can pick the perfect one for yourself! So, let’s get started!

What’s Sushi?

Even though it’s one of the most popular Japanese dishes in the world, it’s surprising that most people don’t even hold the right idea about sushi. While most people think that sushi is raw fish, that’s not the case. 

In Japan, the inhabitants used to use fermented rice to preserve other more expensive foods such as raw fish, shrimp, etc. The raw fish that you think to be sushi is actually known as sashimi, and sushi is the fermented rice that’s used to preserve the fish. 

The main purpose of the sushi was to preserve the fish before refrigerators were invented. In fact, a lot of people even discarded sushi, and only the preserved food was eaten. This is why a lot of people are led to believe that sushi is actually raw seafood and not the rice itself!

Can You Use Any Type of Rice for Sushi?

A lot of our readers recently asked us whether you could use any type of rice to prepare sushi. Now, rice is a major part of the dish, which is why it needs to be perfect. You can’t have the perfect sushi experience with every type of rice. 

To get the perfect sushi rice, you can go for the long grain Calrose rice. However, this rice type can retain a lot of water, which I don’t like personally. If you don’t like too much watery rice, you can go to the ‘Sushi-rice.’ This type of rice can be found in supermarkets, and you can get them at an affordable price as well. If you’re looking for the perfect sushi rice, you can get these as you won’t have to take any risk with this type of rice. 

However, what matters more when cooking sushi rice is how you cook it. You can’t cook sushi rice in the same way you would’ve cooked standard white rice. So, we highly recommend you follow the right procedures for cooking sushi rice. 

Cooking Sushi Perfectly:

As we’ve said before, the cooking process is very important when you’re cooking sushi. In this section, we’ll discuss the cooking process in detail. 

When you’re cooking sushi rice, you need to make sure that the rice isn’t too soft. If you’ve had sushi before, most probably, you’ll agree with the fact that soft rice can’t provide good sushi flavor. That’s why it’s important that the rice is firm and strong. If the rice isn’t firm enough, it’ll become mushy when you add the vinegar to it. In fact, most chefs would agree to the fact that your rice is better off being undercooked than mushy. 

However, you don’t have to worry about these if you have a good rice cooker. There are some amazing rice cookers out there that provide dedicated ‘Sushi’ mode. This mode allows users to cook their sushi rice perfectly. If you’re worried about overcooking the sushi rice, you can get one of these rice cookers for avoiding the hassle!

Then again, some rice cookers even come with an integrated microcomputer. These microcomputers sense the amount of water, rice, and temperature through pressure and heat sensors, and they can set the parameters in a way that the rice can be cooked perfectly. These rice cookers come at a much higher price than the standard rice cookers. However, if you can spare the extra money, you’ll get a hassle-free cooking experience with them. 

So, at the end of the day, it can be said that the rice cooker that you’re using determines how the sushi rice would be. If you’re new to cooking sushi, you’ll need to spend a considerable amount of time before you can master the art of cooking sushi. 

On the other hand, if you have the advanced rice cookers with the sushi mode, you won’t face any problem at all! 

How to Choose the Best Rice Cooker for Sushi?

As you can see, it’s very important to buy a good rice cooker for sushi. But how will you know if a rice cooker is good for sushi or not? Here are some of the factors that’ll help you select the perfect rice cooker for sushi for yourself! 

Cooking Capacity:

The first and foremost thing that we want our readers to look for is how much rice the rice cooker can cook. In a general sense, the bigger the rice cooker is, the better it is, and the more expensive it is. However, it’s not practical. 

If you’re looking for large rice cookers, you can get ones that can cook up to 10 cups of uncooked rice. However, if you’re cooking for yourself only, you won’t need more than 2 cups of uncooked rice. In this case, there will be a lot of empty space in the rice cooker, and it brings a set of problems along with it. 

For starters, as the rice cooker is bigger, it will need more energy than you require. As more energy is spent, you’ll end up paying higher electricity bills than you actually need to. Then again, if the provided rice doesn’t fill up considerable space in the rice cooker, there’s a great chance that you’ll end up with uneven heat dissipation. This will keep you from cooking a perfect dish of evenly cooked rice. 

So, we highly recommend you get a slightly bigger rice cooker than your daily needs. For example, if you need a rice cooker with a storage of 2 cups, you should get one that offers 3 cups of cooking capacity. 

Electrical Rating:

It’s very important to check out the electrical ratings of the rice cooker. You can get two important information from this, the voltage and the watt. 

From the voltage, you can determine whether the rice cooker is suitable for use in your region. The voltage varies from region to region, and it’ll be a waste if you get a voltage that doesn’t match your region. 

Then again, there’s the wattage. How many watts your rice cooker will use per hour determines how much you’ll be paying as electricity bills. 

This is why it’s highly recommended to check the electrical ratings before you buy a rice cooker. 

Sushi Function:

It goes without saying; there’s no point in getting a rice cooker that doesn’t come with the Sushi cooking function. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t cook sushi with the standard rice cookers. Cooking sushi rice with the standard rice cookers is possible, but you’ll need to be careful about the cooking time, as you may end up overcooking. On the other hand, if you have an advanced rice cooker with the sushi function, you’ll have perfectly cooked sushi rice. 

Non-Sticky Pot:

Most rice cookers on the market come with a non-stick pot. However, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t any that comes with a sticky pot. So, you should be aware of what you’re buying. If you don’t get a non-stick pot, you’ll find it hard to get the rice out of the pot, as the rice at the side will be stuck to the surface of the pot. 

Accessories:

Accessories are like extras, and the more you get there, the better. You’ll need these accessories when you’re cooking rice or other items. 

Most rice cookers will provide a measuring cup. The measuring cup allows users to measure how many cups of rice is being used. The quality of the measuring cup depends on how premium the rice cooker brand is. 

Then again, most rice cookers also provide a spatula as well. This is great as you won’t have to buy an extra. Then again, you can’t use a metal spatula with rice cookers as that may harm the surface of the cooking pot. That’s why the addition of a plastic spatula is very convenient. 

Furthermore, you can get accessories like a rice rinser and steam tray. The rice rinser will allow you to rinse and drain the rice properly. Rinsing the rice is very important as it’ll help you get fluffy and non-sticky rice. Unless you rinse the rice well, the rice will become very sticky after cooking. 

Then again, the steam tray is an essential rice cooker accessory. The steam tray is used for steaming vegetables, meat, and fish. You can’t steam these by placing them on the rice cooker pot directly, as the part touching the pot will get burned. Only a steam tray will allow you to steam these without getting them burned. 

However, not all rice cookers come with steam trays, and buying an aftermarket steam tray is a great hassle. The steam tray might not fit your rice cooker, and it might not be of good quality either. So, we highly recommend you get a rice cooker that comes with a steam tray.

Price:

Last but not least, you need to fix your budget. We often get a lot of customers who don’t have any idea about their budget, and they have a hard time figuring out what they actually need. If you don’t set your budget first, you’ll be overwhelmed with a large number of models and brands, and it’ll only cloud your judgment. 

Top 5 Best Rice Cooker for Sushi: 

Now that you know how you can pick the best rice cooker for sushi, it’s time to look at a few products from which you can choose one for yourself. We’ve tried our best to add a rice cooker from all the price ranges, but we couldn’t incorporate some as they lacked the sushi mode feature. 

1. Zojirushi NP-NWC18XB:

Product Description:

We’ll start off with the most expensive yet the best rice cooker for sushi that you can get your hands on, and this particular rice cooker is from the Zojirushi brand. We must mention that you’ll find a lot of Zojirushi rice cookers on this list, and that’s because they make the best rice cookers for cooking sushi! 

As for the Zojirushi NP-NWC18XB rice cooker, we can say that it comes with cutting-edge induction cooking technology. This technology allows the rice cooker to cook the rice evenly. This rice cooker is equipped with the most advanced heat sensors and pressure sensors, and it also comes with a microcomputer integrated into it. 

The sensors collect the data of the cooking medium’s state, and the micom or the microcomputer analyzes that data. Once the data is processed, the micom sets the temperature, pressure, and cooking time to ensure that the food is cooked perfectly. 

This function makes the Zojirushi NP-NWC18XB rice cooker completely AI-based and intelligent. Plus, this rice cooker also offers a dedicated sushi mode that’ll allow you to cook restaurant-quality sushi with the touch of a button. 

Product Design and Quality: 

The Zojirushi NP-NWC18XB rice cooker is designed to be the best. It offers all the features that you can ask from a rice cooker, and it’s built to last. Even if something heavy falls on this rice cooker, it’ll be able to retain its shape with its amazing build quality. 

The Zojirushi NP-NVC10 can be bought in two variants. There’s the 5.5 cup variant, and there’s the 10-cup variant. You’ll need to choose one of them depending on your necessities, but the larger rice cooker will cost significantly more than the smaller one. 

Then again, the rice cooker also offers a colored LCD display. You’ll find all the relevant information and the timer from here. This display will also help you determine the mode that’s being used. 

Product Features:

• Induction heating technology for a perfect cooking experience
• Lit up LCD display 
• Comes in two storage variations
• Built like a tank
• Has integrated AI for providing the smoothest cooking experience

Product Link: Click Here

2. Zojirushi NP-HCC10XH (B00VAG84O2):

Product Description:

If you’re looking for a Zojirushi rice cooker, but you can’t pay the high premium for a Zojirushi NP-NVC10 rice cooker, the Zojirushi NP-HCC10XH rice cooker might be the right choice for you. The Zojirushi NP-HCC10XH comes with most of the features of the NP-NVC10. In fact, it’s actually a cut-down SKU from the NP-NVC10 rice cooker. 

With the Zojirushi NP-HCC10XH, you’ll get induction heating technology. As we’ve said earlier, this is the most advanced heating technology that you can get in a rice cooker right now. Unlike standard rice cookers that keep on heating relentlessly, the induction heating rice cookers provide the necessary heat only. 

Then again, the Zojirushi NP-HCC10XH rice cooker offers a lot of different cooking modes that’ll allow you to cook your favorite food item. You’ll get the sushi mode, but other than that, you’ll also get modes for cooking plain rice, brown rice, long-grain rice, porridge, etc. 

Then again, you can also select how you want your rice to be. You can get regular rice, hard rice, or even soft rice with this rice cooker. This versatility and the cut-down pricing make the Zojirushi NP-HCC10XH a great rice cooker for sushi. 

Product Design and Quality: 

Although it’s a much cheaper version than the other Zojirushi rice cooker that we talked about, you won’t feel that it’s cheap in any way. The Zojirushi NP-HCC10XH rice cooker also features a robust build quality, and it will be able to withstand years of usage easily. 

We checked some user reviews on neutral forums; we found that there are people who have been using this rice cooker for years, and they didn’t find any problem with it. In fact, we can vouch that Zojirushi rice cookers are among the best, as we have customers who have been using rice cookers from this brand for two decades now! 

So, you don’t have to worry about the build quality of the Zojirushi rice cooker. If you feel that this is the right one for you, you should get it right away!

Product Features:

• Induction heating technology
• Can cook different types of rice, including sushi
• The hardness of the rice can be personalized
• Built to last
• Digital LCD display

Product Link: Click Here

3. Cuckoo CRP-P0609S (B01JRTZVVM):

Product Description:

Although Zojirushi makes the very best rice cookers overall, it doesn’t mean that other brands don’t offer good rice cookers. Take the Cuckoo CRP-P0609S as an example; this rice cooker from Cuckoo is amazing. It looks sleek and has all the features that you may expect from a rice cooker for sushi. 

The Cuckoo CRP-P0609S is a programmable rice cooker that comes with a diamond plated inner pot. The rice cooker is non-sticky, so it can be used to cook all sorts of rice without any hassle! It’s also very easy to clean, which saves a lot of post-cooking hassle. 

Although the Cuckoo CRP-P0609S rice cooker doesn’t offer a dedicated mode for cooking sushi, you’ll still get the perfect result from it. The Cuckoo CRP-P0609S features an intelligent cooking algorithm. Simply put, the cooking technique is similar to the induction heating technology of Zojirushi. Thus, you can expect similar results. 

We simply loved the voice navigation system of this rice cooker. If you get the Cuckoo CRP-P0609S rice cooker, you’ll be able to glide through the menus and options with voice commands, and this rice cooker supports three languages! You can speak in English, Chinese, or Korean. 

Then again, this rice cooker offers safety features such as pressure control, pressure valve, reed switch, etc. All of these features make the Cuckoo CRP-P0609S rice cooker extremely safe. 

Product Design and Quality: 

The Cuckoo CRP-P0609S is designed to perform the best. We were surprised to see all of the advanced features in such a price range. Unlike most rice cookers that can’t retain most of the heat and pressure, the Cuckoo CRP-P0609S will be able to do that through its double-layered cover packing. This rice cooker will be sealed tightly with two rubber gaskets. 

Another amazing feature of this rice cooker is its auto cleaning facility. If you want to save the hassle and time of cleaning the rice cooker manually, this will come in handy. Due to this feature, the rice cooker can clean itself completely using heated steam. We’ve tried this out, and we saw that the rice cooker could clean itself perfectly. 

Product Features:

• Can cook all types of rice
• Comes with an advanced cooking algorithm for providing perfectly cooked rice
• Can drain the water efficiently
• Can clean itself using steam
• Can be voice-controlled
• Has safety features
• Has double layers of rubber for tight sealing

Product Link: Click Here

4. Instant Pot Duo (B06Y1YD5W7):

Product Description:

Looking for a rice cooker that’ll provide most of the necessary features without breaking the bank? You should get the Instant Pot Duo! The Instant Pot Duo rice cooker is not only a smart rice cooker, but it’s affordable and compact as well. 

The manufacturers claim that you can get this rice cooker to replace seven different kitchen appliances. This rice cooker comes with different modes through which it can function as a slow cooker, a rice cooker, a pressure cooker, a steamer, a sauté, a warmer, and a yogurt maker. 

The Instant Pot Duo rice cooker comes with a built-in display that displays the timer and the modes that are selected. It’s to be mentioned that this rice cooker doesn’t offer a mode for cooking sushi, but you can still get that done by using the functions that it provides. 

With this rice cooker, you can select different methods of cooking, manually control the temperature, and you can also control the pressure level. All of this makes this rice cooker truly versatile. 

Product Design and Quality: 

Even though the Instant Pot Duo is an affordable rice cooker, it features a great build quality. The rice cooker is tested to last for years, and if you get this, you can rest assured for years before you need another one. 

The rice cooker doesn’t look any different than the standard ones, but the use of stainless steel as the exterior covering gives it a premium feel. Then again, as it uses stainless steel, this rice cooker won’t gather many fingerprints. 

Product Features:

• Compact and durable build
• Features different modes 
• Temperature and pressure can be controlled 
• Has stainless steel exterior 

Product Link: Click Here

5. Aroma Housewares ARC-5000SB (B01N8RAZB1):

Product Description:

The Aroma Housewares ARC-5000SB is the last product that we’ll review today! This is definitely a great rice cooker for sushi, and it comes with a dedicated mode for cooking sushi. However, it offers some other features as well. You’ll get the modes for cooking quinoa, white rice, brown rice, quick rice, sauté, oatmeal, and soup. 

Then again, this rice cooker also offers a delay timer. We love the delay function as it makes life much easier. Then again, you can use the warm feature of this rice cooker to keep the cooked rice warm for a long period. 

Even though this rice cooker offers all the features that you need to cook sushi, it’s very affordable! Then again, it doesn’t offer the facilities that the Zojirushi rice cookers do, but it’ll serve you well if you want to cook sushi very fast. 

Product Design and Quality: 

The Aroma Housewares ARC-5000SB rice cooker features a durable build. Even though it’s cheap, it’s made of premium materials, and it doesn’t feel cheap in any way. The cooking pot of this rice cooker is non-sticky, which makes it great for cooking sushi.  

Plus, you’ll get all sorts of accessories with this rice cooker. You’ll get a spatula that’s easy to hold, a durable rice measuring cup, and a steam tray. We didn’t expect to find so many accessories at such a price, and we must say that Aroma Housewares surprised us quite a bit here. Overall, the Aroma Housewares ARC-5000SB is a great rice cooker for sushi. 

Product Features:

• Offers all the necessary features
• Durable and compact build
• Provides the necessary accessories
• Affordable

Product Link: Click Here

Conclusion:

At the very end of our article, we can only say that which rice cooker for sushi is right for you depend on your budget and requirements. All of the rice cookers that we reviewed in this article are suitable for cooking sushi. So, all that’s left is for you to determine which one will serve you the best! 

If you don’t have any budget constraints, you can go for the Zojirushi or Cuckoo rice cookers. On the other hand, the Aroma and Instant Pot rice cookers are budget picks.