Tatung TAC-6G(SF) 6-Cup Multifunction Indirect Heat Rice Cooker Steamer and Warmer

There are a million rice cookers on the market, and lots of them boast all kinds of advanced features, have keypad-like buttons, and/or digital readouts. If you're a tech gadget junkie then maybe you're into all those bells and whistles, but I tend to go for the more simple, time-tested products that have as few extra features as possible. It's my thinking that the more things a product has to do, the more that can go wrong with it. And I'm a bigger believer in the idea that the best products are streamlined to do one thing really well and don't even bother tacking on a bunch of features that raise the price tag but don't necessarily improve on the primary function. That being said, this TATUNG 6 Cup Rice Cooker fits the bill of what I look for in kitchen appliances: simple design, well-made, easy to use, and moderately priced. It's not the cheapest, but certainly not the most expensive.I've had nothing but great experiences using this rice cooker, and all of the positive reviews listed on Amazon have proven accurate. The indirect heating is great, and I've not yet encountered any burned-to-the-bottom rice (I do generally add a minimal amount of oil, about a teaspoon, or a tiny bit of butter before adding the rice and water). Another thing that was a deciding factor in my purchase was that this rice cooker has a stainless steel lid and bowl (in which the rice actually cooks). I'm not a fan of plastic (BPA-free or otherwise) when it comes to kitchen appliances, and am even more concerned with using aluminum products. So, this TANTUNG quells all my fears about harmful chemicals and heavy metals seeping into my food. It may seem a minor concern, but just try finding another quality rice cooker with a stainless steel bowl.. it's harder than you might think.As far as the specifics of my use, I've made lots of varieties of rice in this cooker: long-grain white, sushi, brown rice, etc. All have faired well. The instructions included (a brief manual comes with it) are pretty dead on. However, I will say that I tend to add just a touch more water than indicated, as I prefer my rice to be on the softer side of steamed. And the warming function does just what it's intended to do, keep the rice warm for a few hours without drying it out. Of course, since this cooker uses indirect heat, it works wonderfully as a steamer of veggies, too.You can scour Amazon for feature-filled cookers and spend days reading the reviews, instructions, and programmable functions of each one, but in the end I found that this very simple rice cooker is the best for the money (and seemingly better than many of the $100+ models I researched). Follow the instructions included in the box and you'll be pleasantly surprised with how great the rice turns out every time.

After purchasing a series of rice cookers, which ranged in price from $25 - $55, I finally went up another bracket and shelled out $85 for a Tatung Rice Cooker. It's a rock star, and if you don't believe me, then take a look at the country of Taiwan where Tatung commands like a 95% market share in the rice cooker market. Now that's a nation where people eat LOADS of rice and their machines take a heavy beating, daily.And if that doesn't convince you enough, think about the lack of waste from using this type of rice cooker. As opposed to direct heat cooking (which is like the majority of rice cookers), the Tatutung relies on indirect cooking. Say you're cooking 2 cups of rice, you use 2 cups of water for the interior + then you put 2 cups of water in the outer container.... which means, your rice cooks evenly, nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan, and your rice is fluffy at the end. Perfect rice. Simple to operate.The stainless steel cooking container is important to note -- it makes for an easy cleanup (i.e. no scrubbing, again b/c of indirect cooking method.) and there is NO NON-STICK LINING. Super important to note b/c there's research available which link non-stick coating/human consumption to cancer. My family's health is way too important to take the 'easy way' out.You can cook other dishes with this thing too (i.e. soups, steam buns) - it's like a crock pot in a way. This thing is built to last and it will easily outlast all the other Panasonic, Black & Decker, Oscar rice cookers that we've purchased in the past. HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend the extra $30 to buy something that is this durable, easy to use, and with an end result that is sure to please.We're going to be purchasing a 3-cup Tatung soon, so we can have it when we do roadtrips / family vacations.

I had a TATUNG rice cooker used ALL THE TIME that I loved for 50 years! It worked fantastic and my rice came out perfect every single time. The only reason I bought a brand new one was because it was getting worn out looking and the little knob fell off to switch the rice on and off.The new one works well, but I can’t get the rice consistent… Not yet, anyway. I’m sure I will eventually.Also, they used to have little handles on the inner pot to lift in and out of the outer pot, which was very convenient and easy and they don’t have that on the new one, that’s why I took off one star. But it’s very nice and I like it… But not quite as much as my LOVED my old one that I had for 50 years!But I still highly recommend.

We needed a rice cooker that was not "Teflon coated" this one appears to be stainless steel. I have made rice 4 times and it has been perfect every time. This cooker steams the rice instead of just boiling it. The results are fabulous. It is a LOUD unit. But it did not sputter any water on the counter. This is my 4th rice cooker and it is by far the best one we have had. I have a water softener and I had not had any discoloration in the inner cooking area. The MFG's directions could use a little work. don't get the wrong idea -after I read it a couple of times I understood what I needed to but - the person that wrote this -English is not their first language. STILL it is a good unit and they even sent a DVD to help with the directions. What is different about this unit is the inner pot. On this cooker you put water in the inner unit and in the pot. it does have a table to help you with it.