“So easy to operate and makes great rice all the time! A lot of people has comments about the missing on/off switch and not hearing when it switch to the Keep-Warm function. I have no problem at all with it. Unless you totally forget you are cooking rice it’s very hard to burn your rice. I’m so delighted with this rice cooker as it also lightweight and compact”

Nova11

As easy and straightforward as it looks, cooking a delicious rice pot doesn’t come easily to many. The raw skill of cooking rice using the traditional pots is a reserve for a few individuals.

For one to be such an excellent rice specialist, they either have a background laden with rice loving people or have taken hours and hours of classes on how to cook delicious rice cuisines.

With revolutionary technology and selfless innovation, one doesn’t need extraordinary skills to come up with excellent rice delicacies.

Thanks to modern day rice cookers, anyone can turn into an expert in cooking delicious rice by simply following a few instructions and using the appropriate rice cooker in their kitchen.

Since they made their debut into the kitchen a few decades ago (see our blog), rice cookers have changed the game completely. Not only have they helped automate otherwise tedious processes involved in rice cooking, but they have also given novices with no sufficient knowledge in rice cooking a chance to enjoy delicious rice cuisines.

In this review, we want to introduce newbies to the world of rice cookers by reviewing a rice cooker that we found to be appropriate for beginners.

The Aroma ARC-363-1NGB Rice Cooker is a small, compact but highly efficient rice cooker which really perfectly personifies what Aroma Housewares as a brand represents – high quality!

So, why should one make the Aroma ARC-363-1NGB Rice Cooker their first rice cooker?
What do we like about the Aroma ARC-363-1NGB Rice Cooker?
What features make this cooker ideal for beginners?

To answer these and many more questions, we tested the Aroma ARC-363-1NGB Rice Cooker by cooking a number of rice cuisines in it and here is our review of this rice cooker;

Aroma ARC-363-1NGB Rice Cooker

The reason why we think that the Aroma ARC-363-1NGB Rice Cooker is the ideal rice cooker for beginners, is because of its capacity, its simplicity both in design and operation and its high efficiency in rice cooking.

Here is a review of the individual components and functionalities of the Aroma ARC-363-1NGB Rice Cooker;

Features

The Aroma ARC-363-1NGB Rice Cooker has all the basic features of a rice cooker; a removable nonstick cooking pot with an external steam tray, one-touch operation, an airtight lid and the external container with handles.

Here is an in-depth look at these features in the Aroma ARC-363-1NGB Rice Cooker;

Non-stick cooking pot
The Aroma ARC-363-1NGB Rice Cooker has a non-stick cooking pot which is the secret to its amazing ability as far as cooking delicious rice is concerned.

Although one can argue that stainless steel cooking pots such as in in the ARC -616SB cooker relatively cooks better rice, the non-stick pot in the Aroma ARC-363-1NGB Rice Cooker is not any worse when it comes to cooking delicious rice.

The removable nonstick cooking pot evenly distributes the heat from the electric coil below it to the entire meal ensuring that the rice cooks properly.

The even distribution of heat ensures that the rice is cooked in all parts and cases of charred rice on the sides and bottom of the cooking pot are unheard of in the Aroma ARC-363-1NGB Rice Cooker.

The pot is also easily removable which comes handy when you want to remove the rice to serve and when you intend to wash the pot. Disassembling the pot takes a few seconds and since it’s nonstick, you won’t have a hard time washing it and restoring its shine after a cook.

External steaming tray
Thanks to the perforated steaming tray above the main cooking pot in this cooker, you can easily kill two birds using a single stone.

The unique steam tray allows for perfectly steamed and cooked fish, poultry, veggies, meat and other meals while the rice slowly cooks down below.

The tray is uniquely designed to ensure that the flavor of the steamed foods is not lost and the taste is retained both in the rice and the stew cooking above. The steaming tray will save you a lot of time because you won’t need to cook the stew separately from the main rice.

Tempered glass lid
The tempered glass lid is very essential in the cooker because it helps prevent spillages and spluttering of the cooking rice or steaming stew.

The lid also ensures complete insulation of the cooker which means that the food won’t lose its temperature even after you have unplugged the cooker.

One-touch analog controls
Although more recent cookers such as the Aroma ARC-914SBD Rice Cooker and Aroma ARC-150SB Rice Cooker employ better digital controls, the Aroma ARC-363-1NGB Rice Cooker’s analog controls are fitting since it doesn’t too many functionalities.

The microcontroller of the cooker has a single button which you can easily press to start the cooker. The default mode is the keep warm mode and once you have plugged it in, you only need to push the button and the cooker will start cooking.

Once it cooks fluffy rice and everything is ready, the cooker automatically will switch back to keep warm mode.

This means that you can let the cooker to do the cooking while you keep doing other things around the house and not get worried about the rice burning or anything. The keep warm mode also ensures that you get to serve warm rice at all times.

Design of the Aroma ARC-363-1NGB Rice Cooker

The cooker’s design is pretty conventional. It does not have any fancy features but the design is effective enough. The cooker is designed to occupy minimum space while still providing sufficient room for 6 cups of cooked rice and 3 uncooked rice cups.

To increase the stability and sturdiness of the cooker, a lot of the weight is on the base. Stability is imperative in rice cookers as it helps reduce the chances of the cooker toppling over.

It is also important to note that the Aroma ARC-363-1NGB Rice Cooker has two handles on either side of the external container and these are important when it comes to handling the cooker.

Weight and capacity of the cooker

The Aroma ARC-363-1NGB Rice Cooker is a 6 cup rice cooker. This basically means that it can hold anything from 2 cups to 6 cups of cooked rice and about 3 cups of uncooked rice. This makes it ideal for a family of 2 or 3.

As for the weight, the empty cooker weighs about 3 pounds. This makes it one of the lightest rice cookers in the market.

With a lightweight, comes easy portability and convenience carrying it around the house and when going on outdoor expeditions. You don’t have to worry about the extra weight of this rice cooker.

Cooking abilities of the Aroma ARC-363-1NGB Rice Cooker

Despite having a pretty conservative design and functionalities, the Aroma ARC-363-1NGB Rice Cooker offers great meal versatility. What can’t you cook in this rice cooker?

From jambalayas, chicken soup, brown rice, white rice, oatmeal, rice cake, steamed veggies, fish to sushi rice, there is literally no rice pot or stew that you can’t cook in this rice cooker.

All those recipes that you have been dying to try (like these), can be actualized in this cooker.

Irrespective of the meal that you intend to cook in this meal, you are assured of the quality. The cooker is able to consistently cook fluffy rice and tasty stew with the natural taste and flavor.

All you need to do is to ensure that you follow the instructions on the recipe and you will be good to go.

Safety of the Aroma ARC-363-1NGB Rice Cooker

The Aroma ARC-363-1NGB Rice Cooker is certified. It has been put through rigorous safety standards tests and it passed all of them. This means that you shouldn’t be worried about your own safety or that of your family with this cooker.

Features such as the tampered glass lid, insulating external case and the cooker’s stability, all add to the cookers impressive safety

Pros and cons of the Aroma ARC-363-1NGB Rice Cooker

Verdict

We like the Aroma ARC-363-1NGB Rice Cooker very much. If you are looking for a small, good rice cooker to get started in the world of the rice cookers, it is simply a very good option.

If you are however looking for something bigger, then there are other Aroma options such as the ARC-150SB which we recently reviewed. Use our reviews to find the best possible rice cooker for you and your family.

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