Zojirushi

There are different kinds of rice. The rice eaten in Japan is short grain rice.

Short Grain Rice:
Short grain rice, also sometimes called Pearl Rice, is short and round in shape, becomes sticky when cooked and is suited for eating with chopsticks. It's easy to arrange into sushi and rice balls. Mochigome (sweet rice) is another kind of short grain rice.

Medium Grain Rice:
Medium grain is longer than short grain rice, and the flavor and texture is very similar. Because of this reason, it is used at Japanese restaurants in the USA. Also, Asian recipes use medium grain rice as a substitute for short grain. Medium grain is widely consumed in the Caribbean and Central America, and is used to make rice pudding.

Long Grain Rice:
Thin and long, each individual grain's length is 3 to 4 times that of its width. Long grain is characteristically loose and includes varieties of jasmine, with its unique fragrance, and basmati. Long grain is used in salads, pilaf and paella; in Indian cuisine, Chinese and Southern cuisine in the USA.

Rice is threshed from the rice plant grown in fields to become edible rice.
The difference in brown rice and white rice is the milling process afterwards.

Rice Plant:
Rice in its natural state as it grows in the fields. Rice is a grain from the rice plant, which is harvested and treated to be sold as food.

Brown Rice:
Threshed grains that are well balanced in nutrition. Brown rice contains bran and regular cooking will result in rice that is either too hard to eat or too mushy; but by using our rice cookers that include a brown rice cooking setting, the Micom control will easily cook soft and delicious brown rice. Its oil content is high, so raw brown rice is best kept refrigerated or frozen.

White Rice:
White rice is rice with the bran and germs removed completely. Rinse-free white rice is processed with a new technology which reduces the remnants of bran on the rice's surface, thus becoming "rinse-free". Cooking rinse-free rice uses a different amount of water from white rice, so please be careful.

Japanese food basically includes rice as a main dish, grains, vegetables, legumes, fruits, seafood and
seaweeds and meats, using salt as a basic seasoning. Other seasonings are also used such as soup stock
that contains umami, soy sauce, miso, sake, sweet sake (mirin), rice vinegar and sugar, and vegetable oils
such as canola and sesame. There are also many foreign dishes which have been adapted to Japanese tastes
in recent years, which are now called Japanese foods.

In Japan, the words "rice" and "food" are synonymous, which explains how recipes are created with rice as the focus.
As a side dish, seasonal ingredients are cooked in a way that enhances their original flavor. Start your Japanese dish by cooking tasty rice with one of our rice cookers. With rice as the focus, Japanese cuisine encompasses many serving styles, from the straight traditional, to bento, to tabletop cooking with the family. As bread is the main staple in Western cultures, rice is the center of Japanese cuisine.


Ichiju-Sansai: Ichiju-Sansai consists of a bowl of rice and a bowl of soup, with 3 dishes (one main entrée and two side dishes). Traditionally, Ichiju-Sansai table setting places a bowl of rice on the left and a bowl of soup on the right closest to you. A light side dish is positioned in the center, with a main entrée dish to its left and a heavier side dish to its right. However, it is also interesting to freely arrange the positioning as shown in the picture. When you use seasonal ingredients to plan a Ichiju-Sansai menu, you can prepare a nutritiously balanced, season-oriented, ideal menu of your own.	Kaiseki: Japanese cuisine includes meals specially designed for aristocrats, lords, priests, etc. Among them is Kaiseki, a type of meal served at tea ceremonies. Originally, it was a tea ceremony based on Zen Buddhism, with the host's wholehearted spirit for entertaining his guest, represented by all that existed in the room including all the food and dishes. Today Kaiseki is still served at tea ceremonies, but is also available at restaurants.	Ikka-Danran (Tabletop): This is a tabletop cooking dining style, meant to enjoy with family or friends. It is a favorite time at home for all Japanese people. Teppanyaki or nabe cooking, well known in America, are popular in Japan; and many cooking appliances are available for this purpose. When the whole family eats together, use a serving plate for the main entrée, prepare individual side dishes and a soup for everyone; you'll get the spirit of Ichiju-Sansai.	Bento: Traditionally, bento was prepared for outdoor laborers, for travels, or for an outing. Today, aside from the purpose of simply taking out food, the bento has become a fun way to take out food for picnics to events. The Makunouchi Bento was a type of lunch that was eaten during the intermissions between acts at stage shows, which was the beginning of the bento culture in Japan. Perhaps the most well-known style of bento is the Shokado-Bento; essentially Kaiseki put in a lunch box.

This is a basic sushi guide; how to make it, and a few varieties. First, let's start with perfect sushi rice. Once you master this, you can make the many different sushi combinations. With the help of our rice cookers, anyone can cook professional grade sushi rice with a push of a button.


	Measure rice, rinse, measure water and cook. Put cooked rice in a bowl and mix in sushi vinegar, lightly turn over to dry out the moisture, cool to skin temperature and it's ready.

Lay on your favorite ingredients or roll it and its ready to eat. If you don't have fish, you can use meat, vegetables, or anything you like. It's also fun to have a handroll sushi party with your family.


Make a bite-size ball, dab wasabi on the surface and lay fresh seafood or tamagoyaki (sweet rolled omelet) on top and shape it. In ancient Edo, what started as sushi was sold at street stands and then spread across the entire country.	Spread seasoned rice on nori, place ingredients and roll with a sushi mat. Today various ingredients are being used, such as seafood, vegetables, pickles, etc. Temaki-sushi, a hand roll which is made one by one as you eat, is very popular in Japan at restaurants and at home.	Chirashi-sushi is prepared at ceremonies and festive occasions. Thinly sliced seafood, vegetables, and regional specialties are mixed with seasoned rice and topped with ginger and kinshi-tamago (thinly sliced egg crepe). In some regions in Japan, this sushi is called Bara-sushi and Gomoku-sushi.	There are many other types of sushi, such as Inari-sushi, where the sushi rice is stuffed into a seasoned fried bean curd pouch. Chakin-sushi is a sushi wrapped in a fried egg sheet. Different regions have unique sushi variations. For example, Oshi-sushi, Saba-sushi and Sake-sushi. The next time you visit Japan, try the different kinds of sushi.

Nigiri Sushi	Maki Sushi	Chirashi-sushi	Oshi-sushi


More and more, families and friends are discovering that throwing a Sushi Party at home can not only bring people together for good times and good food, but having your guests prepare their own food saves time while it creates fun! Here are some basic instructions on how to roll your own. It's easy to learn and teach your guests!
	1. Prepare ingredients to serve the entire family.	2. Spread sushi rice on nori and top with your favorite ingredients.	3. Roll and eat.	4. Enjoy a good meal while creating a happy time together with your family. See recipe for details.

Now that you've mastered the art of rice, maybe you cannot live on sushi alone. If you're starting to want more on your menu, try expanding your repertoire with different ingredients and different ways to prepare your rice.



Onigiri symbolizes Japan in a rice ball. Ingredients that are used inside can be umeboshi (pickled plum), salmon, or even tuna salad or barbecued meat. Rice can also be wrapped with vegetables or a thin blanket of scrambled eggs; the latter called Omu-rice, a very popular dish in Japan.	You can make a tempura bowl by placing tempura on a bed of rice in a bowl, or use chicken to make a chicken bowl; whatever you want to create your own rice bowl. There are dishes where you pour stews over rice, like rice curry, a universally popular dish in Japan.	Stir-fry your rice with some chopped ingredients and you've got fried rice. Lightly rinsing cold cooked rice will prevent it from becoming sticky when cooking. Also remember to cook at a high temperature and experiment with any of your favorite ingredients such as meat, seafood or vegetables.	It's a simple way to cook by mixing your rice with your ingredients. For example, mix Japanese tea leaves, fish, or seaweed by folding them into the rice. This recipe is basically good for ingredients that are hard to cook with rice.	This recipe mixes the ingredients with the rice as it all cooks together. In Japan, seafood or vegetables in season are used. Seasonal foods include oysters, matsutake mushrooms, or chestnuts. Takikomi Gohan made with chicken and fried bean curd can be enjoyed throughout the year.

Tenmusu	Ten-don	Shrimp Yakimeshi	Green Tea Rice	Takikomi-Gohan

Omu-Rice	Summer Curry	Vegetable Yakimeshi	Wakame-gohan	Kurigohan

It stands to reason that with all the varieties of rice grown around the world, all kinds of amazing recipes would exist. Here are just a few, done Zojirushi style.


Jambalaya: An example of an international takikomi gohan, Jambalaya is a rich blend of meats and vegetables that can be mixed into your rice as it cooks, Zojirushi style. Origins of Creole and Cajun Jambalaya can be traced back to Louisiana and the French Quarter of New Orleans, making this hearty favorite a uniquely American dish.	Loco Moco: A local breakfast favorite in Hawaii, this hearty dish takes advantage of the fact that brown gravy goes really well with white rice. Hawaiian food historians seem to agree that the dish originated in the 1940s at a family restaurant, and the name came from a "crazy" football player and his teammates who frequented the hangout.	Paella: World renown Paella originated in Valencia, on the eastern coast of Spain. The word paella comes from the Valencian word for pan, and refers to the special shallow metal pan used to cook this dish. Our Zojirushi paella is made with our rice cooker, a special version adapted from the original, but equally as delicious.	Artichoke Mixed Brown Rice: A USDA study has found artichokes to be the highest in antioxidants among all vegetables, and seventh among a list of a thousand different foods. As a vegetable which is good for digestion, a large artichoke contains a quarter of the recommended daily intake of fiber. Combined with the healthy benefits of brown rice, this dish is a tasty way to get your grains and veggies.	Bibimbap: This is a signature Korean dish which literally translates to "mixed meal". This is very descriptive when you consider the variety of ingredients that sit on the rice and the way it is eaten. All of the toppings are mixed into the rice prior to digging in. It takes some work, but well worth the effort.

		Some models come with a steaming basket as an accessory. You can easily cook steamed dishes by adding water and setting the steaming time. The gaskets on the lid form a tight seal, keeping liquids inside as it steams.

		Cake baking is a separate function. Pour cake batter into the inner pan and set the baking time. Because it uses a compact space compared to ovens, rice cooker baked cakes are moist and plump.

		Select the slow cook setting to prepare stew type dishes. Put the ingredients in the pan and set the time. The gaskets on the lid form a tight seal, preventing loss of liquids as your food cooks.

		Did you know that rice cookers can cook other grains like oatmeal and wild rice? Enjoy a variety of dishes with our multi-purpose cookers and go beyond just rice.

If you've read all of our rice cooking tips up to this point, you may be such a rice fan that you wish you could enjoy your rice dish all the time. Enter the Bento, a classic take-out Japanese meal.

	Take out in a lunch jar: What's the best thing about bento? Healthy eating that you can control? Being able to enjoy hot food at family picnics or outdoor events? Yes, it's all of that and more--it may be that bento in a lunch jar not only keeps your creation fresh, tidy and appetizing, it gives you a chance to really enjoy your active lifestyle, in style. Soon you'll be developing your own recipes especially for your bento. So much fun you'll want to share with friends!

	"CHARA-BEN" (pronounced "kyara-ben", as in "character" bento): Making bento lunches in the shape of cartoon or superhero characters is a favorite among Japanese Moms and their kids. Some creations are so clever with the ingredients that are used, you could almost call it food art. Try one yourself, either for your family or for that special someone. The joy of eating is unmistakable!