Oster 6-Cup Rice Cooker with Steam Tray - Black (CKSTRCMS65) | Perfect for Cooking Rice, Steaming Vegetables & Healthy Meals | Ideal for Small Kitchens, Dorms & Apartments

I've always made my sticky rice in a pot; but now that I'm working full time and going to school full time, I really wanted a way to help streamline my meal planning. It takes just as long to cook rice on the stovetop as it does in a rice cooker but the convenience of being able to step away from the kitchen to work on other things is just wonderful. Additionally, the non-stick surface makes clean-up a cinch.3-cups worth of rice is per the enclosed measuring cup (not a standard 8oz cup). The cup looks 'dinky' but if you're making white sticky rice, keep in mind that it does expand quite a bit when cooking. One of these little cups makes enough to enjoy two generous servings.I used the steamer basket the first time I used this rice cooker and it worked amazingly well. I laid out a small piece of parchment paper to cover up the holes (didn't want what I was steaming to drip down into my rice); placed a frozen piece of tilapia on top seasoned with salt, black pepper, half a teaspoon of sesame seed oil and half a teaspoon of soy sauce before starting my rice. Once the rice cooker switched over to warm, I tossed a handful of baby spinach on top and covered while I sautéed some wild mushrooms (olive oil, salt, pepper and splash of lemon juice at the end) on the stove top. Dinner was white rice, PERFECTLY cooked tilapia, wilted spinach, a side of mushrooms - perhaps the easiest/quickest meal I've ever prepared with minimal effort. (FYI - the single tilapia filet took up most of the basket; I don't think you could prepare two at once -- still, a nice solution if you're cooking just for yourself)I wish the steamer basket were a little deeper or taller -- the main reason why I wanted this model was to make "gyeran jjim" (steamed eggs) with my rice; but it can only accommodate a tiny condiment sized bowl. I may still give it a try with just one egg, but I worry it'll overflow while cooking. I definitely see myself cooking more fish, vegetables and even dumplings in the basket :) I do like that the rice on the bottom browns a bit (nurungji!) -- I like to snack on scorched rice and sometimes I make tea with it.Overall, I really enjoy this rice cooker and would definitely recommend it to friends/family. Would make a perfect gift for a college student leaving on campus :)**********Frozen Tilapia Filet cooked all the way through when steamed starting at the same time as the rice.**Frozen Salmon Filet was still very raw looking when starting at the same time as the rice (next time I'll defrost first). I didn't remove the lid once it switched over to "warm" mode for about 20 minutes and it DID finish cooking the salmon all the way through.Rice, so simple for most people to cook, but I regularly managed to screw it up. Half the times it turned out fine, the other times it would come out crunchy or too sticky or too wet or even burned. Of course, most of the times that it came out messed up were the times we had guests. After one spectacular failure, an in-law suggested I look into getting a rice cooker. I said that spending $100's for an appliance that only cooked rice was insane. A week later, she sent me my first rice cooker via Amazon. Some off brand, it was four times the size of this Oster and had no switches, it plugged in to turn on. The included receipt showed the price was less than $30. Every batch of rice I made in it over the next 5 - 6 years turned out perfect. One day it just didn't work when plugged in and I went online to get another. I couldn't find whatever brand it was, but I found this Oster for less than $20 and have used it every since. Smaller, it makes plenty of rice and it's easier to store. The added ability to steam vegetables wasn't an option that I thought I'd use, but I've come to rely on it over time. It has an actual switch to choose cook or warm. If started on cook, it automatically switches to warm when rice is done. I've found the secret to this cooker is to do nothing for 20 minutes after it switches from COOK to WARM. Then, I unplug it and leave it covered for up to 15 minutes. If it goes longer than that until serving time, I stir it and put the lid back on loosely. For variations, I use the same process and substitute stock for water and / or add diced vegetables. Cumin, chili powder, cilantro, bell pepper, tomato, onion and beef broth combine to cook an awesome rice that goes great with Mexican fare. When Quinoa became a regular addition to our diet, I found this rice cooker cooks it exactly right when the proportions are changed to 1.5 cups liquid to 1 cup Quinoa (versus 1:1 liquid to rice). I've now bought three more of these for gifts to family and a friend we've had over that commented on their own rice cooking inadequacies. If you're searching for an inexpensive rice cooker that performs consistently when the easy directions are followed, I highly recommend this one.I did not expect to get as useful a product as this cooker turned out to be for the low price that it cost. I decided to fix one of my favorites which is vegetarian red beans and rice. Using the measuring cup provided with the rice cooker I put three of the cups of whole grain brown rice into the cooker. The instructions are to add water to the "3" mark which is located on the inside of the cooker. I placed on the cover, plugged it in and flipped the switch to the cook position. I then proceeded to prepare the red beans portion of my meal. When I saw the switch light on the cooker change to the warm position I gave the rice a taste. It was not done enough for my satisfaction so I added water and flipped the switch back to the cook position. The next time it switched to the warm position the rice was perfect. Brown rice, as is well known, takes longer to cook than plain white rice.After my meal was over I had leftovers so after letting the rice cool down I just lifted the rice container out of the unit and with the cover still on I placed it in the refrigerator. Next time I want the rest of the rice I need only to slip it back into the cooker and turn the switch to warm. How convenient is that? After years of cooking rice and storing the leftover rice the less convenient way using the stove I can now do it the simple way for a mere pittance. Cleaning the rice cooker is an easy task to boot.If you cook rice on the stove then do yourself a favor and for a fairly low cost you can buy this far more convenient method of preparation. I have not even used the steamer feature yet but the rice preparation feature alone is worth the cost.Es un poco pequeña pero sumamente servicial, una taza de arroz lavado y dos tazas de agua y en media hora queda tu arroz esponjoso y delicioso.This is good if you are cooking for 2 people. We used to have one that was probably the next size larger than than this and it was great for our family of 4 for steaming vegetables and cooking rice. Thought this looked the same, but its smaller and would have to steam vegetables in 2 batches. Use an Instant Pot instead.I like everything about the rice cooker. Very easy to clean. Love how it cooks the rice nice and fluffy, Only thing is on the bottom of the bowl the rice gets stuck to the bottom.Makes great rice, I haven't steamed veggies yet but I can tell by the mechanical dynamic that it will not be difficult and turn out great!Good size for 1-2 people. Cooks quickly and easy to clean.