How to cook Japanese rice in a rice cooker: Follow my rice-to-water ratio tips, and you’ll get the perfect steamed rice every time! No more soft or dry rice!
Japanesepeople eat rice almost every day, sometimes 3 meals a day! Cultivated for thousands of years in Japan, rice occupies a very important place in the culture and is the staple food par excellence of the Japanese diet.
When it comes to rice quality down to cooking technique, we take all aspects seriously.
Today I will share how the Japanese cook rice in a rice cooker. Most importantly, how we measure rice and water to achieve a perfect result.
The rice-to-water ratio for short-grain
rice Over the
years, I’ve received many questions from my readers asking why their rice comes out dry
.
And I think I know the reason.
Most online resources will tell you that the rice-to-water ratio for Japanese short-grain white rice is 1 to 1.
But what you probably didn’t know is this:
the
Japanese golden rule for rice-to-water ratio is 1 to 1.1 (or 1.2).
That’s 10-20% more water (which you didn’t add)! For 1 cup rice cooker (180 ml or 3/4 cup American) of rice, you will need 200 ml of water, not 180 ml.
That means, if you still want to use a ratio of 1 to 1, the rice should be soaked in separate water for 20-30 minutes (for that extra 10-20%) and drained well before adding the measured water in a ratio of 1 to 1. In this way, you ensured that your rice received the moisture it needs.
Most online recipes don’t include that step, which means the rice lacks the extra 10-20% of water it needs.
So… Exactly how much water do you need for each cup?
The plastic rice cooker cup
that comes with the rice cooker is 180ml or 3/4 cup American. In Japan, this amount is called ichi go (一合). This is the amount of room temperature water you need for each cup of Japanese short-grain white rice rice when you follow the ratio of 1 to 1.1 (or 1.2): 1 cup
rice cooker (180 ml) = add 200 ml water 2 cups rice cooker (360 ml) = 400 ml 3 rice cups (
540 ml) = 600 ml 4 rice cups (720 ml) = 800 ml 5 rice cups (900 ml) = 1000ml Calculation: 180 ml x 1.1 (or 1.2) = 198 ml (or 216 ml)
Or simply pour water up to the marked water line. My family and I preferred to add a little more water than the water line in the rice cooker bowl (see below). Every time we cook the rice according to the specified water line, the rice comes out a little dry. Therefore, I strongly recommend that you test and adjust the amount of water whenever you change the brand of rice or the region where the rice is harvested.
Important tip: Never skip
the soak!
Short grain rice always requires soaking (20-30 minutes) unlike other types of
rice. Rice
grains are rounder and fatter, so they need an advantage to absorb moisture to the core of the Rice Almond.
For newer rice cookers, about 10 minutes of “soaking” time is already scheduled into the rice cooking menu. However, in my opinion, 10 minutes is not enough. I would suggest soaking the rice for at least 20-30 minutes so that you have enough time to absorb more moisture.
Remember…
- When using a new crop (新米), reduce the water slightly
- Different brands of rice – require a slightly different amount of water.
- No measuring cup? – Use a cup to measure rice and water (exactly the same volume). Soak the rice for 20-30 minutes and drain well. Then add the measured water (a 1-to-1 ratio approach).
.
How much rice do we need to cook?
You can divide the number of servings you need in half to calculate how many cups of Japanese short-grain white
rice cooker cooker: 1 cup rice
cooker (180 ml, 3/4 US cup, 150 g) of raw rice produces about 2 servings (13/4 US cups, 330 g) of cooked rice. This is enough for 2 bowls of Japanese rice (typically 150 g each) or 3 balls of onigiri rice (typically 110 g each). 1 American cup cooked rice weighs 6.3 oz (180 g).
11/2 cups rice cooker (270 ml, 11/8 US cups, 225 g) produce approximately 3 servings (23/4 US cups, 495 g) of cooked rice.
2 cups rice cooker (360 ml, 11/2 US cups, 300 g) produce approximately 4 servings (32/3 US cups, 660 g) of cooked rice.
3 cups rice cooker (540 ml, 21/4 US cups, 450 g) produce approximately 6 servings (51/2 US cups, 990 g) of cooked rice.
4 cups rice cooker (720 ml, 3 US cups, 600 g) produce approximately 8 servings (71/3 US cups, 1320 g) of cooked rice.
5 cups rice cooker (900 ml, 33/4 US cups, 750 g) produce approximately 10 servings (91/6 US cups, 1650 g) of cooked rice.
The best way to
store cooked rice
What is the best method to store cooked rice? Simply freeze the rice in airtight containers and reheat for later enjoyment! This is by far the best approach to keeping your rice fresh and moist.
<img src="https://www.justonecookbook.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/How-to-Cook-Rice-step-by-step-20.jpg" alt="How to store cooked rice
rice
My favorite rice cooker Rice
cookers in Japan are
more high-tech and have a very futuristic look, but they are also very expensive. The rice cookers, which many of my friends in Japan have, would have cost $1,000!
Those of us who live outside of Japan don’t have too many (fancy) options. Since I arrived in the United States, I have been using only Zojirushi brand rice cookers (3 of them).
This is my current Zojirushi rice cooker. It is a 5.5 cup Zojirushi induction pressure cooker and heater (Amazon).
Since we eat rice at home almost every day, I rely heavily on a superior rice cooker to cook the perfect rice for my family.
Zojirushi rice cooker uses pressurized cooking and AI (Artificial Intelligence) to cook rice. It also has a platinum-infused nonstick inner skillet that highlights the natural sweetness of rice.
The other features
include:
- Automatically selects from three pressure levels depending on
- GABA brown rice Settings
- Menu settings include: white (regular, softer or harder), umami, mixed, sushi/sweet, porridge, brown, GABA brown, reduce steam, sing-free, rinse-free and quick cooking
- Made in Japan
the selected menu Healthy cooking options: brown rice and
With this rice cooker, I’ve never had to worry about dry or soft rice. It’s absolutely one of the must-have kitchen gadgets I can’t live without!
If you are interested, you can buy the rice cooker on Amazon.
Other Japanese rice cooking methods
How to cook rice in a pot
- on the stove
- instant pot How to cook rice in
- a Donabe (Japanese earhtenware pot)
How to cook rice in an
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Making delicious
sushi rice
How to make
sushi rice For
Make all kinds of sushi (sushi rolls, nigiri sushi, hand rolls, etc.), you will need sushi rice seasoned with sushi vinegar.
- Delicious Takikomi Gohan
- Recipes12 Donburi (Rice Bowl) Onigiri Recipes (
- Japanese Rice Balls)
- Fried Shrimp Rice
(Mixed Rice) Rice
I hope you found the above tips helpful. I’ve also included more topics about rice after the recipe below. If you have any further questions, leave me a comment below!
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