Sanyo ECJ-N55W 5-1/2-Cup Electric Rice Cooker with Porridge/Soup Cooker and Steamer

Comment: I've only made rice with this. It comes out well every time, following the water-to-rice instructions (brown, white, wild, mixed - all work). However, the seal is a bit annoying to clean, and the removable silicome part that goes in the lid (it's two parts, one plastic, one silicone) is very small and I am always worried about losing it. I doubt there is a better design out there, though. The one-piece lid makes for a tight cooking seal and well-prepared rice, so unfortunately I think the cleaning issues are inherent to design.

Comment: Have used the cooker twice. First time: rinsed the rice quickly, had great results! Second time: same rice, no rinse, still very good, but slightly more sticky. Will definitely not skip the rinsing step in the future! I'm a procrastinator, and did not clean the unit right away as was recommended. Had no problem cleaning the unit. I made 3 cups so am not sure if it would have been harder if I had made a larger quantity. Bought a second as a gift for a friend who loves rice.

Comment: I was so excited to finally be getting a rice cooker stateside! But I hate this one. Here are the reasons:
1) No handles for the pot. I can't take the pot for the rice out without using a potholder or towel. There are no handles for easy lifting in and out.
2) Pot is not secure. When I want to get my rice out, I have to use a towel or potholder to hold onto the pot because it won't stay still when I'm scooping out my rice.
3) No beep for finished rice. Why isn't there a beep or a noise to indicate when the rice is done cooking?
4) Over-warms rice. I left the cooker on with rice in it overnight, and instead of being yummy the next morning, it was mostly dried out and hard. What a waste of rice!

In retrospect, I should have shipped my original rice cooker back with me from Japan. It had all these features, and I got it third-hand. Pay the extra money to get a real Japanese one, not an import.

Comment: This rice cooker is good for one time cooking. The rice does not last more than 12 hours. I usually leave my rice for 4 days so that I do not have to keep cooking it (lazy). I returned it and bought Cukoo rice cooker (made in Korea). The rice lasts for 4 days without changing color or get old. Cukoo is more expensive but it will last for years.

Comment: I've had mine about 2 weeks now and have to say I am very happy with it. It works great with brown rice and white. Reading the water level is difficult as others have mentioned. But I resolved that by taking the special spoon that comes with the cooker, standing it upside down in the pot and filing small marks on the side of the spoon handle that correspond to the pot markings. Now when I add water, I stand the spoon up in it and add water to the mark on the spoon. This makes it much easier for me.

Another thing I did was carefully measure the volumn of the measuring cup that comes with the cooker. I was afraid it would get lost, so I made note of the US measurement equivalent - 2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon.

A few folks have mentioned that it is hard to clean. I found it very easy. But I always rinse my rice first to get rid of excess starch. For me, this elimiates the foamy/boilng water mess. I wash the pot right after cooking, so it cleans easily. The vent in the top lid and the condensation cup both pop out easily for cleaning. A quick wipe down with a sponge and it is clean.