I never thought I'd spend 200,000 won on a rice cooker.
For three years, I'd been using a 50,000 won basic one and it was fine. "Rice is rice," right? Then one day I had dinner at a friend's place, and the rice was... different. Each grain was plump, glossy, and chewy. Same brand of rice. Completely different result.
"What rice cooker do you use?" — Cuckoo IH pressure rice cooker. I looked up the model right there and ordered it on Coupang when I got home.
It took me days to choose
I almost bought the same one as my friend, but once I started researching, the rice cooker world turned out to be surprisingly complex. There are four tiers: basic heating plate, IH (induction heating), dual pressure IH, and twin pressure.
The short version: IH is where the taste noticeably improves. Heating plate cookers only heat from the bottom. IH wraps the entire inner pot with induction heat, cooking rice evenly. That's why the texture is different.
My criteria:
- IH or above (that's the whole point)
- 6-cup (I live alone but cook big batches to freeze)
- Detachable lid (non-removable lids feel unhygienic)
- Simple design (no red or gold please)
The Cuckoo CRP-DHP0610FD checked every box at a reasonable price.
The first batch
Set up the rice, pressed the white rice button, and 30 minutes later... I was genuinely surprised. The grains were standing up, plump and glossy. Scooping with the paddle, I could feel the stickiness.
Honestly, I knew it was a good purchase from the very first meal.
Two months of daily use
Multi-grain rice comes out perfect. I mix 70% white rice with oats and brown rice. My old cooker left the grains a bit hard. With IH pressure, everything cooks through soft and even.
Quick mode is incredibly fast. Under 20 minutes for white rice. Come home, press quick mode, take a shower, rice is ready.
Keep-warm lasts about a day. After two days, the rice yellows and starts smelling. I portion and freeze immediately after cooking. Two minutes in the microwave and it tastes freshly made.
Detachable lid is great for cleaning. The inner lid and gasket pop out for washing. My old cooker had rice water stuck in crevices I couldn't reach.
One mistake I made
I used the wrong water line. There are separate markings for white rice and multi-grain — I missed the multi-grain line and the rice came out too dry. Read the manual, folks.
Bottom line
A rice cooker that changed my mind from "rice is rice" in a single meal. If you eat rice daily in Korea, 200,000 won isn't expensive — it's an investment in every meal you eat.
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