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- Compact size ideal for couples and small kitchens
- Mostly consistent cooking results
- Lots of useful functions
- Still quite expensive
- Less suited to large families
There’s no denying you can make good rice in a pan, but if you cook a lot of rice and don’t fancy keeping watch over it, a rice cooker is an obvious choice that might even be life changing. The Panda mini rice cooker is a great entry level option for those considering one. It’s affordable, compact and cooks more than just rice – I’m talking to you, cake and dim sum lovers.
Whether you’re making long grain, short grain, brown rice or anything in between, this compact cooker delivers gorgeously fluffy results using its Fuzzy Logic microprocessor, which uses a multitude of sensors to determine how long to cook for. It blew me away with its excellent consistency, varied range of features and compact footprint, which is ideal for my two-person household.
Whether you want to make a one pot dinner, dim sum or just steam some basmati for your Friday night curry, the Panda Mini rice cooker delivers.
What do you get for the money?
At £99, the Panda rice cooker isn’t exactly a budget buy but it is one of the cheapest available with a Fuzzy Logic microprocessor. This little chip automatically adjusts the cooking time and temperature by using sensors to measure weight, water volume and internal temperatures, as well as the selected cooking mode. Yum Asia has a really great breakdown of exactly how this works on its website too, if you’re interested in the nitty gritty of it.
In the box you get the Panda rice cooker with 0.6l ceramic bowl, which measures 22.5 x 30 x 21cm (WDH) and weighs just 2.36kg, alongside a plastic measuring cup, two spoons and a steaming basket. All of the accessories are dishwasher-safe but I’d always recommend washing the bowl by hand to preserve the nonstick coating. There’s an in-depth instruction booklet and cooking guide included too, which is useful if it’s your first time using a rice cooker.
The Panda has eight preset cooking functions for short grain, long grain and brown rice, as well as slow cook, porridge, steaming and cake. For those in a hurry, there’s also a quick cook function, which speeds up the cooking process. You can adjust the time and temperature manually on some of the settings, such as slow cook, but the rice functions are all automatic.
What’s good about it?
The Panda is relatively fast as rice cookers go. Most rice cooking functions take between 15-30 minutes depending on the setting used and the volume of rice being cooked. The digital screen also has a countdown timer, which activates when there is 12 minutes cooking time remaining and will audibly beep when your rice is done, before automatically switching to the keep warm function. This isn’t exactly an innovative feature – most rice cookers and multi cookers do it – but what I like about the Panda is that it doesn’t immediately dry out your rice while in this mode.
It’s also very impressive in terms of consistency. The booklet that comes with the rice cooker has some rice cooking guidelines to follow and assuming you do follow them, you can expect great results every time. I mostly tested the Panda with Thai Hom Mali rice, which cooks particularly well in a rice cooker but I did repeat tests using single servings of brown rice and basmati. At the end of cooking, it’s super easy to clean, too. The nonstick bowl wipes clean in an instant – no stodgy rice stuck to the bottom for eternity – while the rest can be wiped clean in seconds.
I think my biggest reason for recommending the Panda Mini rice cooker, though, is its versatility. Despite being very compact, it has tons of great features. You can steam rice and dim sum at the same time, chuck in your grains and vegetables together for a healthy one-pot dish, make your own yoghurt, porridge and more – and you can do all this without standing over a stove.
What could be better?
There’s not much to dislike about the Panda rice cooker but if you don’t cook a lot of rice or can’t see yourself making the most of its steaming functions, then spending £99 on a dedicated appliance isn’t going to be the right choice for you. I do think it’s worth keeping an open mind though, as a rice cooker really can do so much more than just rice and this one is pleasingly compact.
One other minor issue I noted, which isn’t exclusive to the Panda but still worth mentioning, is that basmati rice can be hard to get right. While it is possible to get that lovely loose consistency you’d expect, it does take a bit of practice. So if that happens to be your go-to rice, it’s worth bearing in mind.
Should you buy the Panda Mini rice cooker?
If you find yourself cooking rice, dumplings or porridge several times a week or want to do one-pot steamed meal prep, I cannot recommend the Panda Mini rice cooker enough. The results are consistent and it can cook a wide variety of rice, grains and more.
I’d argue it is the perfect rice cooker for solo and dual households. It’s easy to use and clean, and its small footprint makes it a worthwhile purchase, even for small kitchens.
