Apparently it's on cans of Apple Sidra though, which I buy frequently. I think most Americans would love Apple Sidra, I serve it to most of my friends as the default "welcome beverage" when they arrive to my apartment.
Huge fan of these cookers myself, and they’re definitely iconic - undoubtedly so in Taiwan.
This recent “discovery” of sorts reminds me of how not long ago, social media started blowing up the awesomeness of using scissors in a kitchen / culinary setting - something that’s been a staple with Korean households and restaurants.
Yes and no. They are there, but using them to for instance cut meat on the grill was something I never thought of until seeing it at a Korean barbecue.
Using kitchen scissors more widely is the new thing.
FWIW Yun Hai has super amazing offerings. It's been one of my favorite retailers for a couple years now (along with Rancho Gordo, Mila brand frozen xiao long bao, and Carmina/Meermin shoes+belts). My guess is the author of this piece is also a huge fan of Yun Hai and wanted to support their business with her bully pulpit at Food Network. Yun Hai is a fairly small company with close-knit communal ties to suppliers in Taiwan and a local cultural presence in Brooklyn.
It could be a paid piece, but Yun Hai doesn't really fit the profile of larger companies which typically do that sort of thing. It's more of a small family/community-supporting company. It probably turns a decent profit now but felt like a lifestyle business when they were a bit smaller.
Yun Hai did put out a LOT of marketing and storytelling about the Tatung steamer they started offering about 12 months ago, and likely the author felt the information provided by Yun Hai would make it super easy to write a unique article.
Edit: I have this Tatung steamer and I've not figured out a great use-case for it. I don't often put in the effort to make the types of dishes that would be most appropriate for it, and I prefer the simple wooden basket stovetop steamers for heating up dumplings or steaming Bok Choy / snow-pea leaves. The Tatung steamer has a surprising number of combinatorics that you can arrange the interior pieces into, and it's never very clear what the correct arrangement is for the dish I'm cooking. I think if you grew up in a culture of using this type of appliance you'd know how to use it as second-nature, but as someone who didn't grow up in an East Asian culture or family, I'm often at a loss for how to use it and it mostly sits unused.
That said, the foods offered by Yun Hai are fucking outstanding.
> And isn't "use your rice cooker to bake a cake" one of those food hack ideas I see endlessly brought up?
It's not really a rice cooker to be honest -- I think most people who own this would be more likely to use a Tiger or Zojirushi to cook rice, but I could be wrong. It's really more made for cooking steamed dishes. It would only generally be used to cook "cakes" that are specifically designed to be cooked by steaming, which are fairly common recipes in Dim Sum but I don't think you'd want to try to cook western style cakes in it.
Feel free to check my post history for signs of authenticity. And while you're at it, consider re-reading the HN commenting guidelines[0].
I understand that the glowing reccomendation is unusual and out of place. But we're in a world where it's increasingly difficult to find decent retailers and even more difficult to find decent authentic reviews. If there's something that I know is amazing quality, I'm going to tell people because I'd like them to tell me about great retailers and brands that they love.
In short, your criticism is useful feedback -- it's nice to know how my comment is received. But in all honestly I knew it sounded like a shill and I didn't really care because I truly believe in what I'm recommending and I think a lot of people here will love them. A more useful comment would tell me how I could change what I wrote to feel to feel more appropriate for HN while still communicating the important information about the brand.
That said, I am going to edit it to say that I have the Tatung steamer and I've not been impressed by it because I don't actually know how to use it and I don't often cook the type of foods that are most appropriate for it. I also upvoted the counterpoints from 'boomboomsubban
Don't companies branching out into new markets usually do things like hire firms to control the debut that may do things the original wouldn't?
Also, the direct link to the store to buy it is behind at least two seperate ublock origin ad filters. Even if the entire thing wasn't paid for by Yun Hai, they're definitely paying for that link.
>It's not really a rice cooker to be honest
It's sold as a "Tatung Electric Rice Cooker and Steamer." The also advertised cookbook contains a recipe for a black sugar cake that looks like a fairly standard Western cake.
These kinds of appliances were old school in Hawaii when I was a kid 60+ years ago. Almost everyone used/uses them as rice cookers; my mom had a large family-size model. Maybe using them for other things is what's new. I have a smaller Panasonic version that I still use multiple times a week that goes back at least to my college days. I had to replace the plug and repair the handle on the cover, but otherwise it works fine. The removable cooking pot depresses a spring-loaded heating element in the bottom of the outer container when the pot is placed inside; somehow the weight of the contents conditions how long the thing cooks before it shuts itself off (my cooker has no timer or temperature dials, just on/off.) However it works, it's very simple.
(Off topic a little, but old appliances seem to last longer for being simpler. I have a washer/drier combo that's 29 years old; all they've needed were new belts around 10 years ago. My fridge is also 29 years old and works fine - does nothing but keep food cold, doesn't even have an ice dispenser.)
Just checked. The model number was (probably) on a label on the bottom which fell off a long time ago, probably from the heat - sorry. Anyway, as this is probably 40 - 50 years old, I doubt you could find this model. But searching on Amazon produces lots of hits for Panasonic and Toshiba rice cookers. Good luck!
A very similar looking model made by Hitachi (Japan) became famous in the 70s in Louisiana. Literally every single household practically had one as rice was incredibly common. They're handed down reverently after the death of a loved one and were common wedding gifts. Very simple tech that lasted a long time.
> Toshiba washing machine salesman discovered that washing clothes was less trouble for Japanese women than the task of preparing three rice-based meals a day. When the salesman proposed the idea of an automatic rice cooker to an engineer, who did not know how to cook rice, the engineer’s wife Fumiko Minami set herself to the task—developing the model still at the base of the appliance almost a century later.
> In 1945, while war-torn Japan faced years of rebuilding, an engineer named Masaru Ibuka opened a radio workshop ...Ibuka wrote down the words that would become iconic to the company that in 1958 would become known as Sony: “Purpose of incorporation: Creating an ideal workplace, free, dynamic, joyous.” ... Ibuka’s engineers lived in post-war Japan. Their payment for fixing radios often partly consisted of uncooked rice. This led to the fledgling company’s very first invention. Instead of a sleek radio, it was an electric rice cooker.
If you end up buying one of these, I recommend against the more expensive version with a stainless-steel exterior - it has a low-quality heating element that repeatedly burnt out from regular usage. The 20-year-old green cooker still works flawlessly, though.
I agree with the other posters that this isn't really a great rice cooker, exactly - a fancy Zojirushi makes significantly better rice, every time, and sings while doing it.
However, this thing excels at steaming, or reheating, or making soup, and so it remains a fixture on our countertop.
Could you explain why this is better for reheating or making soup than a pot on a stove? Countertop space in most places is usually in pretty short supply. And for $220?
Probably the biggest value for soup is that it never scorches due to the steam-as-heat-transfer mechanism. I don't have a steam function in my combi oven, but I imagine that would have similar value for gently reheating stuff. Those cost more than $220 - a nice Miele steam oven runs over $4k.
Hope this helps explain why these things have a bit of a cult following.
this is default tool for cooking rice in Taiwan. It is important traditional way that cooking by vapor in here. there are many food should made by this tool, e.g., steamed egg or steamed stuffed bun. You can get perfect Asian rice by one click. actually,
I never see anyone try to cook rice without this, especially their Tatung does not work...(sure, people can buy more modern replacement, but the usage is more
restricted). before microwave, it is the only way to heat food. finally, look picture, you can't see too many buttons, everything controlled by amount of water. simple structure, so more robust than other machines in kitchen.
I went with Tatung over Zojirushi because I couldn't find anything that wasn't coated in nonstick chemicals. All the Japanese ones are. Even the really fancy ceramic Tigers have a layer of other crap on top.
You could try Vermicular. I don't think the rice is quite as good as Zojirushi, but it's an oven-safe ceramic coating and it even has a "scorched rice" setting.
37 comments
[ 2.3 ms ] story [ 150 ms ] threadApparently it's on cans of Apple Sidra though, which I buy frequently. I think most Americans would love Apple Sidra, I serve it to most of my friends as the default "welcome beverage" when they arrive to my apartment.
0: https://www.google.com/search?q=taiwan+recycling+symbol
This recent “discovery” of sorts reminds me of how not long ago, social media started blowing up the awesomeness of using scissors in a kitchen / culinary setting - something that’s been a staple with Korean households and restaurants.
Using kitchen scissors more widely is the new thing.
And isn't "use your rice cooker to bake a cake" one of those food hack ideas I see endlessly brought up?
It could be a paid piece, but Yun Hai doesn't really fit the profile of larger companies which typically do that sort of thing. It's more of a small family/community-supporting company. It probably turns a decent profit now but felt like a lifestyle business when they were a bit smaller.
Yun Hai did put out a LOT of marketing and storytelling about the Tatung steamer they started offering about 12 months ago, and likely the author felt the information provided by Yun Hai would make it super easy to write a unique article.
Edit: I have this Tatung steamer and I've not figured out a great use-case for it. I don't often put in the effort to make the types of dishes that would be most appropriate for it, and I prefer the simple wooden basket stovetop steamers for heating up dumplings or steaming Bok Choy / snow-pea leaves. The Tatung steamer has a surprising number of combinatorics that you can arrange the interior pieces into, and it's never very clear what the correct arrangement is for the dish I'm cooking. I think if you grew up in a culture of using this type of appliance you'd know how to use it as second-nature, but as someone who didn't grow up in an East Asian culture or family, I'm often at a loss for how to use it and it mostly sits unused.
That said, the foods offered by Yun Hai are fucking outstanding.
> And isn't "use your rice cooker to bake a cake" one of those food hack ideas I see endlessly brought up?
It's not really a rice cooker to be honest -- I think most people who own this would be more likely to use a Tiger or Zojirushi to cook rice, but I could be wrong. It's really more made for cooking steamed dishes. It would only generally be used to cook "cakes" that are specifically designed to be cooked by steaming, which are fairly common recipes in Dim Sum but I don't think you'd want to try to cook western style cakes in it.
I understand that the glowing reccomendation is unusual and out of place. But we're in a world where it's increasingly difficult to find decent retailers and even more difficult to find decent authentic reviews. If there's something that I know is amazing quality, I'm going to tell people because I'd like them to tell me about great retailers and brands that they love.
In short, your criticism is useful feedback -- it's nice to know how my comment is received. But in all honestly I knew it sounded like a shill and I didn't really care because I truly believe in what I'm recommending and I think a lot of people here will love them. A more useful comment would tell me how I could change what I wrote to feel to feel more appropriate for HN while still communicating the important information about the brand.
That said, I am going to edit it to say that I have the Tatung steamer and I've not been impressed by it because I don't actually know how to use it and I don't often cook the type of foods that are most appropriate for it. I also upvoted the counterpoints from 'boomboomsubban
0: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
------------------------
Be kind. Don't be snarky. Converse curiously; don't cross-examine. Edit out swipes.
When disagreeing, please reply to the argument instead of calling names. "That is idiotic; 1 + 1 is 2, not 3" can be shortened to "1 + 1 is 2, not 3."
Please don't fulminate. Please don't sneer, including at the rest of the community.
Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith.
Eschew flamebait. Avoid generic tangents. Omit internet tropes.
Please don't post shallow dismissals, especially of other people's work. A good critical comment teaches us something.
Also, the direct link to the store to buy it is behind at least two seperate ublock origin ad filters. Even if the entire thing wasn't paid for by Yun Hai, they're definitely paying for that link.
>It's not really a rice cooker to be honest
It's sold as a "Tatung Electric Rice Cooker and Steamer." The also advertised cookbook contains a recipe for a black sugar cake that looks like a fairly standard Western cake.
What's a comparably simple alternative that also uses water in the outer bowl for uniform heating?
That said, a steamer pot? Or many other rice cookers.
double boiler: heat -> steel -> water -> steel -> food
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bain-marie
(Off topic a little, but old appliances seem to last longer for being simpler. I have a washer/drier combo that's 29 years old; all they've needed were new belts around 10 years ago. My fridge is also 29 years old and works fine - does nothing but keep food cold, doesn't even have an ice dispenser.)
Thanks, could you share the model number?
iFixit has repair guides for a few rice cookers, including Tatung, https://www.ifixit.com/Device/Rice_Cooker
https://countryroadsmagazine.com/cuisine/Louisiana-foodways/...
Another historical tidbit, https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/rice-cooker-history
> In 1945, while war-torn Japan faced years of rebuilding, an engineer named Masaru Ibuka opened a radio workshop ...Ibuka wrote down the words that would become iconic to the company that in 1958 would become known as Sony: “Purpose of incorporation: Creating an ideal workplace, free, dynamic, joyous.” ... Ibuka’s engineers lived in post-war Japan. Their payment for fixing radios often partly consisted of uncooked rice. This led to the fledgling company’s very first invention. Instead of a sleek radio, it was an electric rice cooker.
I agree with the other posters that this isn't really a great rice cooker, exactly - a fancy Zojirushi makes significantly better rice, every time, and sings while doing it.
However, this thing excels at steaming, or reheating, or making soup, and so it remains a fixture on our countertop.
Hope this helps explain why these things have a bit of a cult following.