I absolutely love this thing. It makes plenty for two people, but takes up very little space in the kitchen. In fact, one of the best things about it is you can cook a tiny amount of rice. I've done as little as 1/4 cup (dry), and it comes out just as well as a full batch. You have to increase the water ratio and decrease the cooking time for small batches, but it works. I wouldn't say it's foolproof like an electric cooker, but it's certainly fool-resistant, and very forgiving of mistakes while you're learning. Even burned rice cleans up nicely after a soak. Speaking of burned rice, I see people saying "cook for 20 minutes." That apparently includes heating up time, which is, uh, not how recipes usually work, and not super helpful given differences between stoves. Don't ruin your very first batch like I did, do this instead: After soaking and draining, heat your rice + water over high heat (gas stove) or medium high (electric). Keep an eye on it, and as soon as steam starts shooting from the hole in the lid, start a timer for 4-6 minutes and reduce the heat a little. When your timer goes off, turn off the stove and let it stand 15-20 minutes. I've used this a LOT in the months since I bought it, and other than a small chip on the inside lid, it still looks new. The only downside is how long it takes. After rinsing, soaking, draining, heating, cooking, and resting, it's about 60 minutes. But if I start the rice first, then move on to whatever else I need to cook while the rice is going, it doesn't seem that long. I'm sure I'll drop it and break it at some point, but I'll happily buy another one when I do. Read more
When I unwrapped the box, I admit I was dismayed by the size. It seems so tiny. But this little jewel cooked up a cup of brown rice to perfection. I did everything wrong, too. Didn't soak the rice, peeked too soon, probably didn't use enough water (I used the 1:1 recommended ration, but this is brown rice we're talking about). After the first 20 minutes of steaming, the rice was still watery and semi-cooked. I thought, what the heck, let's do it again. I added another quarter cup of water and brought it back to a head of steam for a second cook. Twenty minutes later...perfect brown rice. Fluffy, dry grains, not a trace of sogginess. Rice filled the pot nicely and held the temperature for an hour. It might have stayed hot longer, but by then all the rice was gone. :). Next time I'll soak the rice, but now I know I don't actually have to if I forget. I love this little cooker, and if it breaks, I'm buying another one. Read more
I purchased this so I could get rice that tasted like it came out of a rice cooker without the toxic coating on most rice cookers. As others have mentioned, whoever packs these really needs to get with it. My first order, as others here have stated, arrived smashed. My second order arrived fine. The rice tastes good. It takes awhile to see how to make it work for you, but I feel it is worth the effort. Right now my method is soak rice for 30 minutes, cook for 30 minutes, let set for a few minutes. Read more
I bought one for myself awhile ago. I am Japanese and had been using regular pot for cooking rice, but decided to try it. I loved it so much that I ordered one for my mother-in-law (also Japanese) for her birthday. The first one came, broken. Shipped it back. The second one, shattered. I even wrote to be more careful. The third one, I didn't have to open it to know the clay pot was probably in 200 pieces. Wrote back again. Finally the fourth one came, undamaged. My mother's birthday was long passed, but she was very happy to receive it. She has been using it to cook both white rice and brown rice. It took us awhile to figure out the perfect heat and perfect timing for the perfect rice, but we didn't mind at all. The rice tastes really good. Even though it was troublesome to receive the second one, it was worth the wait. Read more
Order was delivered as promised (i.e. within 24 Hrs). Outside box looked OK. However, when moving this box one could hear sounds from "broken parts". There were 2 more smaller boxes inside and both appeared to be OK. However, the donabe in the smallest box was broken into several pieces. Only its top lid intact. Not sure what happened but it's highly likely the damage was caused during transportation. Obviously, a replacement might end up the same. Decided to return for refund. Very disappointed !!! Read more
It makes great rice (I use the oven since I have an electric stovetop). But the inside lid chipped when I dropped it lightly on the counter. The lid is thin so it didn’t take much for it to chip. Read more
Contrary to all the awesome reviews I cannot get nice rice in this thing. Usually it ends up mushy. User error but I don't have any other instructions. Don't know what I am doing wrong. Other than that it is a beautiful piece of earthenware. Read more
