The Zojirushi NHS-06  3-cup Rice Cooker
351820
My first introduction to a dedicated rice cooker began in December 1996 when I moved into my new home in El Paso, Texas.  My friend Mike who I worked with in Pakistan and his wife Kim gave me a large Zojirushi rice cooker as a house-warming gift. I really liked the way that it cooked rice but even with a family of 4 I never needed to cook more than 3 cups of raw rice which was its minimum and unfortunately I often pitched a bunch of rice in the trash.

Jump to March 2010 - Throughout the years I had enjoyed this cooker until it died.  So off I went to buy an new rice cooker.  Recently divorced, I did not need a rice cooker that would make a gallon of rice so I decided to scale down.  This time I purchased the Zojirusho NHS-06 3-cup rice cooker.  It is a very basic machine that does not have a warming feature that its predecessor had; but what did I need that for anyway.  Besides, I can cook from 1-3 cups of raw rice and that is exactly what I needed.

I must say that my rice cooking experiences have varied somewhat since I purchased this cooker.  I have found that your basic white rice, no matter how you cook it is terrible but that is just my preference.  Basmati rice, however, RULES!
1596761
This is a rice cooker that you can leave on the counter top at all times because it is cute and small. The design and yellow color make it look ornamental. But be prepared to wait about 40 minutes for 3 cups to cook. If you used to have the  Zojirushi NS-RNC10 Automatic 5-1/2-Cup, you'll find the cook time for this one too slow. It is great for regular use; will not be practical when you have extra people to serve or for dinner parties. Or when you are really hungry and craving rice
1093940
We make all grains in this rice cooker. We steam veggies and fish on top. Add a little fresh ginger or other spices and you are set. I love that we can make a meal in 20 minutes with this simple machine. Plus it's a great deal for a stainless steel cooker.
4773442
I had a little rice cooker for 20 years.  That little rice cooker moved out due to changes in family circumstances.

This one is the same size ,  I usually make two cups of rice, sometimes one cup,  but it looks like it will easily make three "cups" .  I'm not sure what the "cups" is because the measure cup (included with purchase) is less than a full cup but it feels like more than a cup come out.  I suppose you could put two cups of cooked rice into a cooking container, but you'd have to smush it in. Served fluffed up into a serving bowl its probably 1 1/2 the stated measure when cooked. My point is, that the little cooker will make plenty of rice for a family meal .

This cooker has a couple of advantages over the one I lived with for twenty years. It has a clear glass top which allows you to look in,  but you never really need to look in... if you've never had a rice cooker this is a major advantage when rushing to cook dinner for a family.  You pop the rice into the removable metal pot, take it to the sink and fill to the marked lines inside depending on how much you put in,  plug in the cooker and don't need to look in until scooping it out as one of the last things to put on the table... it shuts itself off and the rice will stay warm and ready to serve when it finishes up before you've finished your other food.

The no-stick pot is FAR easier to clean that the steel/alluminum allow of my old one.  I needed to soak that one overnight to get rid of the rice residue.  Thats a big time saver.

My only negative is that this cooker does not come with a peforated metal disc to put at the bottom of the pot.  Our old one had one of these and while it was another thing to clean it created a little buffer between the bottom of the pot and the rice.  Without one of those, the rice at the bottom of the cooker gets a very light browning on some of the rice touching the bottom of the pan.  Not a burn,  not enough to taste, but if you scoop the entire pot out your bowl of rice has a number of grains that aren't perfectly white.  Its not unappatizing,  the color is a normal cooking color of begining to brown something... but its not perfect.  They didn't seem to offer the disc as an accesory either.

Still, because of the easy cleaning this is a step up, and I couldn't live without a rice cooker.
3443671
I truly hate cooking rice on the stove and once I switched to a rice cooker, I never went back to stove top rice cooking again. When the rice cooker I was using eventually died, I knew that I wanted a rice cooker with a stainless steel cooking pot without spending a small fortune. This 14-cup rice cooker suits my larger family very well. Concerned with reviews of sputtering hot water I also purchased a rice wash bowl to use prior to cooking as another reviewer suggested. I have not had any issues with sputtering following this pre-wash method. I found the portions of water to rice suggested was different from my previous cooker. It has taken a little experimenting to find the proportions that bring results we prefer. Cleanup is very easy with a quick soak of hot water. One thing I wish this rice cooker had was an audible sound when the rice was completed. It is easy to miss when the rice has completed cooking.
1034185
This was my first fancy rice cooker, and I was a bit apprehensive about how much use it would get. We're not especially big rice eaters. Not to worry, I use it several times a week. It works well as a small slow cooker, I can finally make good black bean soup (it takes a long time). I've also started making sticky rice and steel cut oats (porridge setting with 3:1 oats:water) which both take a long time. This is where the timer is great. I put in the ingredients in the morning/evening and it's ready when I get up/home. Cleanup is very easy, the gooey porridge almost falls out clean when I hold the pot upside down. Just don't try to cook too much at once, that could be a mess. The retractable cord is nice too. Now if only it made bread, yogurt, and waffles I could reclaim some precious kitchen space.
3014817
Downsized from 10cups Zojirushi to this 3 cup Zojirushi rice cooker (NS-LHC05XT).

I eat rice very frequently but when I cook just a few cups in a 10cup rice cooker it dries out very easily and takes a lot of space.
So I finally broke down and downsized to this 3 cup Zojirushi and am very happy I did!

PROS:
- Compact! Saves space in the kitchen
- Still have all the function I need (Brown rice, porridge, white rice, mixed rice, jasmine rice, quick, keep warm and 2 timer settings)
- Good price for what it does and quality (Paid $149+tax)
- Comes with rice cup & rice scooper
- Very easy to use, really.
- Rice always comes out perfectly!

CONS:
- MAKE SURE TO HIT "CANCEL" when you are done! (or just unplug)
***This was a total slap in my face. I have owned MANY rice cookers in the past and this is the first rice cooker that doesn't cancel on its own when I pull the bowl part out. I was NOT aware of this and my rice cooker "stayed warm" until the next morning when there was NOTHING inside, not even a bowl.***Zojirushi, please fix this!
- Rice bowl thing keeps rotating when trying to scoop. There is no "stopper" function so when I try to scoop rice the bowl keeps rotating inside the rice cooker, and am concerned this might damage/scratch the bottom of the cooker. My 10cup rice cooker had a handle on the bowl that secured to the rice cooker which prevented from rotating.

Overall I am happy with the quality of this product and I would continue to buy Zojirushi brand for my rice cooker.
1549671
This is a great little rice cooker that has so many features. It plays music when it is done and can keep rice warm for hours. Zojirushi is quality. I don't think any rice will ever stick to the cooker. I did buy it because it was small, but there seems to be a 2 cup limit for white rice. This will not work out for a family or even 2 people that want a lot of rice. Other than that limitation, I love it.
2084514
I have the 3 cup sized cooker. It is of high quality construction and easy to operate. So far I have made Sushi, Basmati and Jasmine rice. The Basmati and Jasmine are long grain and I followed the directions for long grain rice - I used the included measuring cup and the ratio of rice to water listed in the cooking guide. The rice came out perfectly. No spills, drips, venting issues at all. The Sushi rice is short grain and the instructions called for putting (in my case) 2 cups of rice in the bowl and adding water to the 2 cup line on the bowl. The rice was perfect.

I washed all rice before cooking and used the menu on the cooker to select the cooking routine for the rice used. I read several reviews from people who had problems. I'm thinking if you are willing and capable of following a few simple instructions you will have great success with this machine.

I don't know how I tolerated rice made using my old cheap rice cooker. This one is a keeper.
2292941
I've been using this rice cooker for 6 years. My family enjoys the soft rice and wonderful rice smell when we back home. It's easy to use and safe. It keeps the rice warm for hours and disconnect from power by itself.

I love zisha so much, I also bought zisha speedy soup pot in amazon. The soup is delicious. Everyday, I press the button for rice cooker and soup pot. Both of them are ready to serve when we back home. It's so convenient. I recommend this product to you, if you are a busy mom like me. Three kids. Ha Ha.

By the way, I also find out both of them are good choices for gift. All my friends enjoy them. Whenever I want to buy a gift, I will always end up here.
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486616
It truly is. By now I have had the Zoujirushi NHS-06 for several years and it's showing its age - the inner pan is a little scratched but still washes spotlessly clean. The outer pot has some grime of never being wiped down but I am not much for appearances. It still makes a delcious pot of white and brown rice.

The NHS-06 is the simplest and no-frills automatic rice maker made by Zoujirushi appliances and is more of an entry-level model as far as automatic rice makers are concerned.  It features only one switch to turn it on and everything you need you make a decent pot (within a half-hour) of rice is clearly marked.  I doubt making rice gets any simpler and perfect for those with a "set-it-and-forget-it" mind set or want to free up a burner on the stove.

I do not say this much about kitchen appliances but I love this thing.  Rice is not major part of my diet but it's an awesome thing to delicious and consistent pot of white rice in order to pad out a lunch or dinner meal.
4422773
Really a great rice cooker. Good value as well. Does not scorch rice on bottom, and I like the design of the machine. Control buttons are flush and not sticking out. Exceeded expectactions.
3127601
The instructions are easy to use; the rice cooker is excellent.  I hope to enjoy using it for years.
2422588
I love my rice cooker!!! The rice comes out perfect each time. I replaced an old Zojirushi that is too large that I had for over twenty years.  This one is a great size for a family of up to six.  The first time I made rice, it came out a little soggy but then I realized that I wasn't using the measuring cup that came with the rice cooker.  Since then, I have had no problems making white, wild, or mixed grain rice.  Zojirushi makes great products.  Even though you may have to pay a little more in the beginning, it will work reliably for years to come.
3451189
I just purchased one of the Zojirushi ns-zcc10 five cup units, and would like to post my comments in order to help others in their buying decisions.

If I was to rate the product on just the quality of the finished rice/grains, it would rate a six out of five. Everything that has been cooked has been superb, including the steel cut oats we had this morning.  The electronics/controls are very easy to use, including the timer/delayed start. The unit does NOT take an extraordinarily long amount of time to cook rice compared to the old Hitachi we had. If you add the time for the 30 minute pre-soak ( which the Zoj does automatically for best quality), normal cooking time, then the 15 minute steam/rest period, they take close to the same time. You can cut out the soak time using the 'quick' function on the menu.

Unfortunately Zojirushi seems to have dropped the ball on a couple items.

The big one is no removable steam vent assembly. I cannot believe that other reviews ( that I could find) of this product did not mention this problem/design flaw.
Since the vent is fixed in the outer lid, it makes it very difficult to clean properly. There is a rubber gasket that seals it to the removable inner lid that has a lip/ledge above, that is especially problematic.
I have been cleaning it with a chopstick wrapped with a damp cloth, but it should be removable to clean under running water at the sink. The manual does not suggest any way to clean the vent, and it DOES get VERY cruddy, especially using the porridge function.

The second gripe I have is the use of aluminum on the otherwise very well designed inner lid. The removable lid itself is head and shoulders above some of the others we looked at, like the Tiger and Sanyo. It pivots in two recesses at the bottom, and snaps in at the top. The outer lid will not even close/lock  until the inner lid is in place. But why use aluminum that is going to be scratched, is soft and will  oxidize over time? I would have paid a couple of extra bucks to have a stainless steel inner lid.

Given the excellent quality of the rice this unit makes, I would probably buy it again knowing what I know now. But Zojirushi should/could do better in this price range. We bought this over the comparable Tiger brand cooker, but others may choose differently if clean-up ease means more to them.
3986453
Perfect rice cooker .I made 3 cups and its plenty enough for 2 or even 3 people.. easy to cleaned .. I loved it
3921995
I bought this rice cooker for my mother because it was well rated, inexpensive, and simple to operate, and she really liked it. The simplicity is great and it works very well, making rice like you'd get at a popular Asian restaurant that's around here (Pei Wei).