kimpossible
02-22-2008, 01:43 PM
http://www.tatung.com/appliance/english/cooker/IMG/Tac-3s.jpg
Tatung .5L (3 cup) mini rice cooker
Quick run down
Makes about 3-5 rice bowls, depending on how much you're willing to jam into the pot to cook
Extremely small profile. Takes up hardly any space.
Clean up doesn't get any simpler.
No extraneous electronic functions. This could be good or bad.
Runs about $40 US.
Fantastic cook time. Very fast.
Smaller bowl and fast cook time sometimes leaves rice on top a little less cooked than the bottom. Read review on how to work around this.
You can steam other items in this just like a regular sized Tatung.
Tatung vs. Zojirushi
Recently, I traded in our older Zojirushi for the above Tatung Mini. It was hard for me to break up with the Zojirushi because it was multi-featured. Timer, cook time readout, sweet rice function, rice porridge function, sealed top, it had all this plus an inner bowl with protective coating. What I previously valued I came to realize later was more a burden of feature creep; features added to the point that the overburdened the main point, that I needed an easy to clean, reliable - and simple, rice cooker.
I'm no stranger to Tatung, my husband and I inherited a classic green artifact from somewhere in the 80's, which brings me to another point. Tatungs are extremely reliable and will last generations. Having grown up with the stove top pot method where you measure the water you add to the rice with your knuckles, then Zojirushi rice cookers, by the time I first had a Tatung I dismissed it as a primitive rice cooker. Then I started cooking Chinese foods. After I realized how much more steaming I was incorporating, as well as rice porridge (jook, zho, shi fan, okayuu, whatever you want to call it) I not only came to value Tatungs more but also came to the conclusion that I could actually do more with a Tatung, even without the pre-programmed menu features.
Pros and Cons
This model takes up very little counter space. It takes up less space on my counter than a bunch of bananas. The mini Tatung also has a fast cook time, which is good and bad. If you've never used a Tatung before, you have to add water to the unit that you place the rice pot in as well as the rice pot itself. It can sometime result in the top portion of rice being only partially cooked. But having rice done by the time you're done prepping is worth it.
Use and Recommendations
Since this model is much smaller than the 'standard' Tatungs, the water and rice ratio required some fine tuning. I highly recommend not adding rice to full capacity so you can add a bit more water if needed. The one time I tried full capacity the rice on top was a bit crunchy because it received less steam. This is due partly to the limit of the water you can add to the unit outside the pot because once that's gone, the cooking mode clicks off. Additionally, stuffing causes greater boiling over. I use the common trick of placing a heavy, short ceramic cup over the top of the handle to 'seal' the top on and even that got knocked off when the Tatung chugged on full capacity. Make about 15% less than full and place a mug on lid. Rice is cooked through and it still feeds a family of three, sometimes with a bit leftover.
I'd recommend the Mini Tatung without reservations to anyone in a dorm, living single or small family. It performs just as a full-sized Tatung, the only caveat cook time and volume will be limited by the basket size (because it will hold less water).
Tatung .5L (3 cup) mini rice cooker
Quick run down
Makes about 3-5 rice bowls, depending on how much you're willing to jam into the pot to cook
Extremely small profile. Takes up hardly any space.
Clean up doesn't get any simpler.
No extraneous electronic functions. This could be good or bad.
Runs about $40 US.
Fantastic cook time. Very fast.
Smaller bowl and fast cook time sometimes leaves rice on top a little less cooked than the bottom. Read review on how to work around this.
You can steam other items in this just like a regular sized Tatung.
Tatung vs. Zojirushi
Recently, I traded in our older Zojirushi for the above Tatung Mini. It was hard for me to break up with the Zojirushi because it was multi-featured. Timer, cook time readout, sweet rice function, rice porridge function, sealed top, it had all this plus an inner bowl with protective coating. What I previously valued I came to realize later was more a burden of feature creep; features added to the point that the overburdened the main point, that I needed an easy to clean, reliable - and simple, rice cooker.
I'm no stranger to Tatung, my husband and I inherited a classic green artifact from somewhere in the 80's, which brings me to another point. Tatungs are extremely reliable and will last generations. Having grown up with the stove top pot method where you measure the water you add to the rice with your knuckles, then Zojirushi rice cookers, by the time I first had a Tatung I dismissed it as a primitive rice cooker. Then I started cooking Chinese foods. After I realized how much more steaming I was incorporating, as well as rice porridge (jook, zho, shi fan, okayuu, whatever you want to call it) I not only came to value Tatungs more but also came to the conclusion that I could actually do more with a Tatung, even without the pre-programmed menu features.
Pros and Cons
This model takes up very little counter space. It takes up less space on my counter than a bunch of bananas. The mini Tatung also has a fast cook time, which is good and bad. If you've never used a Tatung before, you have to add water to the unit that you place the rice pot in as well as the rice pot itself. It can sometime result in the top portion of rice being only partially cooked. But having rice done by the time you're done prepping is worth it.
Use and Recommendations
Since this model is much smaller than the 'standard' Tatungs, the water and rice ratio required some fine tuning. I highly recommend not adding rice to full capacity so you can add a bit more water if needed. The one time I tried full capacity the rice on top was a bit crunchy because it received less steam. This is due partly to the limit of the water you can add to the unit outside the pot because once that's gone, the cooking mode clicks off. Additionally, stuffing causes greater boiling over. I use the common trick of placing a heavy, short ceramic cup over the top of the handle to 'seal' the top on and even that got knocked off when the Tatung chugged on full capacity. Make about 15% less than full and place a mug on lid. Rice is cooked through and it still feeds a family of three, sometimes with a bit leftover.
I'd recommend the Mini Tatung without reservations to anyone in a dorm, living single or small family. It performs just as a full-sized Tatung, the only caveat cook time and volume will be limited by the basket size (because it will hold less water).