Learn how to cook rice in a donabe, the traditional Japanese earthenware pot, with my step-by-step tutorial. The process is simple and easy. You’ll make unbelievably fluffy and tender Japanese short-grain white rice every time! Brown rice instructions included.
Years ago when I visited Japan, I had several occasions to eat rice cooked in a donabe (Japanese clay pot) at Japanese inns called ryokan and at rice specialty restaurants. It utterly blew my mind. The rice was unbelievably tender and fluffy—so tasty that I could not stop thinking about it!
At home, I’d been using my reliable rice cooker that made good, decent rice. And I had eaten rice made in a donabe countless times growing up. But this time, I was determined to start using a donabe that’s made just for cooking rice. My quest did not disappoint! Let me show you how I cook rice in a donabe in this tutorial and recipe.
Table of Contents
- What is Donabe?
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Can I Cook Brown Rice in a Donabe?
- The Right Rice-to-Water Ratio for Short-Grain White Rice
- Ingredients You’ll Need To Make White Rice in a Donabe
- How To Cook Short-Grain White Rice in a Donabe
- How Much Rice Do I Need to Cook?
- Cooking Tips for Donabe Rice
- My Two Favorite Donabe Rice Cookers
What is Donabe?
Donabe (土鍋) is a centuries-old Japanese cooking vessel made of special clay. It holds heat exceptionally well, which makes it ideal for dishes that require liquid and long cooking times. A highly versatile tool for everyday cooking, donabe come in different sizes and variations to suit the ingredients or servings you’re preparing.
Donabe is essentially the ultimate one-pot wonder. You may be familiar with these earthenware vessels used to make Shabu Shabu and other hot pot dishes. Donabe is excellent for making soups, stews, and braised dishes as well as steamed and roasted foods. It also cooks the most amazing rice you’ve ever had!
I believe that a Japanese clay pot has the best capability to cook rice. In today’s recipe, I’m using a donabe rice cooker, which is specifically designed just for this task.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Cook your rice perfectly in a donabe.
- Make the most delicious rice, simply put—so fluffy and tender!
- Retain heat and moisture. A donabe keeps your food so warm.
- Simple, rustic, and gorgeous tableware in which to serve your rice.
- Easy to use and maintain.
Making rice with a handmade donabe also brings a more profound and sacred experience of the tradition of cooking rice. A high-quality donabe is not cheap, but it’s the best rice cooker your money can buy. The donabe will be your lifelong companion in the kitchen.
Can I Cook Brown Rice in a Donabe?
Yes, you can. However, the soaking time, cooking time, and steaming (resting) time for Japanese short-grain brown rice are all much longer than for white rice. Also, the rice-to-water ratio is 1 to 1.6 (or 1.7) for Japanese short-grain brown rice, so you’ll have to add more water for brown rice compared to white rice.
For the purposes of this tutorial, I’ll explain the process for cooking white rice. Please see the recipe card below for the complete instructions for how to cook brown rice in a donabe.
The Right Rice-to-Water Ratio for Short-Grain White Rice
The Japanese golden ratio for white rice to water is 1 to 1.1 (or 1.2). This means to cook 1 part Japanese short-grain white rice in 1.1 or 1.2 parts room-temperature water.
In Japan, we measure uncooked rice using the plastic rice cooker cup that comes with the rice cooker. This rice cooker cup measures ¾ cup (180 ml) and we call that amount ichi go (一合).
Here’s how much water you need for each rice cooker cup of uncooked short-grain white rice following the 1-to-1.1 (or 1.2) ratio:
1 rice cooker cup (180 ml) = add 200 ml of water
2 rice cooker cups (360 ml) = 400 ml
3 rice cooker cups (540 ml) = 600 ml
4 rice cooker cups (720 ml) = 800 ml
5 rice cooker cups (900 ml) = 1000 ml
Calculation: 180 ml x 1.1 (or 1.2) = 198 ml (or 216 ml)
Ingredients You’ll Need To Make White Rice in a Donabe
- Japanese short-grain white rice
- Water (at room temperature)
How To Cook Short-Grain White Rice in a Donabe
- Measure the rice. Overfill your rice cooker cup (or US measuring cup) with uncooked rice, then level it off.
- Wash and rinse. Start with an initial quick rinse, then wash and rinse the rice three times. See the recipe card for my detailed step-by-step instructions.
- Drain the rice very well. Use a fine-mesh sieve and shake off any excess water. Place in the donabe.
- Add the measured water.
- Soak the white rice for 20–30 minutes. This is very important! Don’t skip soaking.
- Set the donabe on a gas stove top. Make sure to dry the bottom of your donabe with a towel, first. Place the lid on top.
- Cook the white rice over medium-high heat for 13–15 minutes. Turn off the heat.
- Steam the cooked white rice for 20 minutes with the lid on (don’t open the lid).
- Fluff the rice. Insert a rice paddle vertically into the cooked rice and turn over a scoop from the bottom. Then, use a slicing motion to fluff it. Repeat, then enjoy!
How Much Rice Do I Need to Cook?
See how much rice to cook for how many servings you need:
- 1 rice cooker cup (180 ml, ¾ cup, 150 g) of uncooked short-grain white rice
- 2¼ cups or 330 g of cooked rice
- 2 rice bowls
- 3 onigiri rice balls
- 1 donburi bowl
- 2¼ cups or 330 g of cooked rice
- 2 rice cooker cups (360 ml, 1½ cups, 300 g) of uncooked rice
- 4⅓ cups, 660 g of cooked rice
- 4 rice bowls
- 6 onigiri rice balls
- 2.5 donburi bowls
- 4⅓ cups, 660 g of cooked rice
- 3 rice cooker cups (540 ml, 2¼ cups, 450 g) of uncooked rice
- 6⅔ cups or 990 g of cooked rice
- 6 rice bowls
- 9 onigiri rice balls
- 4 donburi bowls
- 6⅔ cups or 990 g of cooked rice
- 4 rice cooker cups (720 ml, 3 cups, 600 g) of uncooked rice
- 8¾ cups or 1320 g of cooked rice
- 8 rice bowls
- 12 onigiri rice balls
- 5 donburi bowls
- 8¾ cups or 1320 g of cooked rice
- 5 rice cooker cups (900 ml, 3¾ cups, 750 g) of uncooked rice
- 11 cups or 1650 g of cooked rice
- 10 rice bowls
- 15 onigiri rice balls
- 6 donburi bowls
- 11 cups or 1650 g of cooked rice
Helpful Notes to Remember:
- A typical rice bowl serving is 1 cup (150 g) of cooked rice.
- A typical donburi bowl serving is 1⅔ cups (250 g) of cooked rice.
- A typical onigiri (rice ball) weighs 3.9 oz (110 g) each.
- One cup of cooked brown rice weighs 5.3 oz (150 g).
Cooking Tips for Donabe Rice
- Always rinse and wash the rice. We always quickly rinse and wash the rice a few times. This is important to help remove impurities and the natural occurrence of arsenic on the rice.
- Short-grain rice always requires soaking (20–30 minutes), unlike other kinds of rice. The rice grains are rounder and fatter, so they need a head start to absorb moisture to the core of the kernel.
- Dry the bottom of the donabe with a towel. Otherwise, the donabe will crack.
- Never use high heat. Use medium-high (or medium heat for the commercial-grade stove).
- Let the cooked rice steam for 20 minutes when it’s done cooking. Steaming is essential! It’s the final step in cooking Japanese rice. Without it, your rice will not cook fully. Resist the urge to peek under the lid during this time. If you open the lid, you’ll release the precious steam crucial for this resting period.
- When you use new crop rice (新米), reduce the water slightly.
- When you get a different brand of rice, test cooking the rice and adjust the amount of water, if needed.
- The more rice you have in the pot, the more delicious your cooked rice will be. That’s because the most evenly cooked rice is in the center of the pot. The rice near the bottom and top simply cooks too fast. More rice in the pot means you’ll increase the central proportion of steamed rice for a more delicious outcome. That’s why I recommend cooking at least 2–3 rice cooker cups of uncooked rice at a time, even if you need less. You can always freeze the extra rice with good results.
My Two Favorite Donabe Rice Cookers
- Kamado-san – Handcrafted by skilled artisans, Kamado-san donabe is made from special clay sourced from the Iga region of Japan.
- The double lid works like a pressure cooker, so it delivers heat evenly and retains the temperature extremely well.
- It has a special glaze that helps the heat penetrate into the core of each rice grain.
- Your rice keeps warm for a long time, even after you turn off the heat.
- Hario Gohangama – I use it very frequently and absolutely love this donabe for four reasons:
- The heat-proof glass lid allows you to see the rice as it cooks.
- The donabe body is Japanese-made Bankoware (similar to my favorite blue donabe below). It’s very sturdy and won’t chip easily compared to Kamado-san. Even though it requires hand-washing, it’s very easy to clean.
- Water lines inside the donabe show you how much water to add to 2 or 3 rice cooker cups of rice. I don’t have to measure the water anymore!
- The whistle on the lid’s knob lets you know when the rice is almost done. When it starts to whistle, wait one minute then turn off the heat. Perfect rice every time!
Where to Buy a Donabe Rice Cooker
- Kamado-san: Amazon and Toiro Kitchen
- Hario Gohangama: Hario website, Food52, MTC Kitchen
You can also see my page on How To Choose the Best Donabe for your overall cooking needs.
Season Your Donabe Before First Use
Before you use a new donabe, you must season it first. The process is simple. See my tutorial How to Season Your Donabe for instructions. In that post, I also share some incredibly useful tips on how to care for your donabe so your precious earthenware pot can last you for a lifetime.
Other Methods of Cooking Japanese Short-Grain Rice
- How To Cook Rice in a Rice Cooker
- How To Cook Rice in a Pot over Stovetop
- How To Cook Rice in an Instant Pot
More Recipes Using Donabe
- Sesame Miso Hot Pot
- Mizutaki (Chicken Hot Pot)
- Bamboo Rice
- Shabu Shabu
- Sansai Gohan (Rice with Mountain Vegetables)
Wish to learn more about Japanese cooking? Sign up for our free newsletter to receive cooking tips & recipe updates! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram.
How To Cook Rice in a Donabe
Ingredients
★ WHITE RICE ★
For 2 Rice Bowls (2¼ cups, 330 g cooked rice)
- ¾ cup uncooked Japanese short-grain white rice (1 rice cooker cup, 180 ml)
- ⅞ cup water (200 ml)
For 4 Rice Bowls (4⅓ cups, 660 g)
- 1½ cups uncooked Japanese short-grain white rice (2 rice cooker cups, 360 ml)
- 1⅔ cups water (400 ml)
For 6 Rice Bowls (6⅔ cups, 990 g)
- 2¼ cups uncooked Japanese short-grain white rice (3 rice cooker cups, 540 ml)
- 2½ cups water (600 ml)
For 8 Rice Bowls (8¾ cups, 1320 g)
- 3 cups uncooked Japanese short-grain white rice (4 rice cooker cups, 720 ml)
- 3⅓ cups water (800 ml)
For 10 Rice Bowls (11 cups, 1650 g)
- 3¾ cups uncooked Japanese short-grain white rice (5 rice cooker cups, 900 ml)
- 4⅛ cups water (1000 ml)
★ BROWN RICE ★
For 2 Rice Bowls (2¼ cups, 330 g cooked rice)
- ¾ cup uncooked Japanese short-grain brown rice (1 rice cooker cup, 180 ml)
- 1¼ cups water (300 ml)
For 4 Rice Bowls (4⅓ cups, 660 g)
- 1½ cups uncooked Japanese short-grain brown rice (2 rice cooker cups, 360 ml)
- 2½ cups water (600 ml)
For 6 Rice Bowls (6⅔ cups, 990 g)
- 2¼ cups uncooked Japanese short-grain brown rice (3 rice cooker cups, 540 ml)
- 3¾ cups water (900 ml)
For 8 Rice Bowls (8¾ cups, 1320 g)
- 3 cups uncooked Japanese short-grain brown rice (4 rice cooker cups, 720 ml)
- 5 cups water (1200 ml)
For 10 Rice Bowls (11 cups, 1650 g)
- 3¾ cups uncooked Japanese short-grain brown rice (5 rice cooker cups, 900 ml)
- 6¼ cups water (1500 ml)
Instructions
- Before You Start: Please note that this recipe requires a soaking time of 20–30 minutes for white rice and 6–12 hours for brown rice. The rice-to-water ratio is 1 to 1.1 (or 1.2) for Japanese short-grain white rice and 1 to 1.6 (or 1.7) for Japanese short-grain brown rice.Please note that ¾ cup (150 g, 1 rice cooker cup) of uncooked Japanese short-grain rice yields 2¼ cups (330 g) of cooked rice. This is enough for 2 Japanese rice bowls (typically 150 g each) or 3 onigiri rice balls (typically 110 g each). 1 cup of cooked rice weighs about 5.3 oz (150 g).
- How to Measure: Overfill a US cup measure (a ¾-cup measure works well for this) or a rice cooker cup with uncooked short-grain rice and level it off. Put the rice in a large bowl. Repeat until you have the measured amount of rice needed. In this recipe, I‘m making 2 rice cooker cups of rice using my 2 rice cup size Kamado-san. You can also use a 3 rice cup size Kamado-san.
To Wash the Rice
- Gather the rice, the measured water, and a donabe.
- Quick Rinse: Add just enough tap water to the bowl to submerge all the rice. Then, discard the water immediately. Repeat one more time. Tip: Rice absorbs water very quickly when you start rinsing, so this step helps remove impurities from the rice and prevent it from absorbing the first few rounds of milky water.
- Wash: Next, use your fingers to gently agitate the wet rice grains in a circular motion for 10–15 seconds. Using very little water allows the grains to rub against each other. It also reduces the absorption of impurities from the milky water.
- Rinse: Add tap water and immediately discard the cloudy water. Repeat one more time.
- Repeat Wash and Rinse (steps 3 and 4) two more times.
- Drain: When the water is almost clear, drain the rice very well. Tip: Use a fine-mesh sieve to drain and shake off any excess water.
To Soak the Rice
- Transfer the well-drained rice to the donabe and add the measured amount of water (see below to find the water measurement for your amount of rice). Gently shake the pot and use your fingers to level the rice so that it‘s evenly distributed and submerged in the water.
- Place the lid (or both lids of the Kamado-san) on the pot and soak the rice in the donabe for 20–30 minutes. If you‘re cooking brown rice, it requires 12 hours of soaking time. You can also add a pinch of salt to help reduce the bitterness of brown rice (optional).
To Cook the Rice
- Set the donabe on a gas stovetop and turn the heat to medium high (or medium for a professional range). Cook* for 14 minutes for 4 servings (or find the cooking time below for your amount of rice). Alternately, simply watch for the steam to start puffing from the lid's hole, wait 2 minutes (for white rice), then turn off the heat.
* White rice cooking times:
- For 1 rice cooker cup: Cook for 11–12 minutes (on medium heat); 2 cups: 12–14 minutes (medium-high heat); 3 cups: 13–15 minutes (medium-high heat); 4 cups: 14–16 minutes (medium-high heat); 5 cups: 15–17 minutes (medium-high heat).
* Brown rice cooking times:
- For 1 rice cooker cup: Cook for 22 minutes (on medium heat; turn off the heat 10 minutes after the steam starts puffing); 2 cups: 28–30 minutes (medium heat; turn off the heat 13–15 minutes after the steam starts puffing); 3 cups: 35–38 minutes (medium heat; turn off the heat 15–18 minutes after the steam starts puffing); 4 cups: 41–43 minutes (medium heat; turn off the heat 17–19 minutes after the steam starts puffing). 5 cups: 45–48 minutes (medium heat; turn off the heat 20–22 minutes after the steam starts puffing).
To Steam the Rice
- Remove from the stove and let the donabe stand with the lid on (both lids for the Kamado-san) for 20 minutes for white rice and 40 minutes for brown rice. Tip: This resting period is crucial for the rice to steam properly. Resist the urge to peek under the lid and release the steam during this time.
To Serve
- Fluff the rice with a rice paddle, and it‘s ready to serve.
To Store
- Transfer the cooked rice to airtight containers and close the lid to keep the moisture in. Let the rice cool completely before storing the containers in the freezer (read my tutorial post).
Hello, I was wondering if a donabe would be okay using an electric stop? Also what about a charcoal grill?
Hello, Aysha. Thank you for reading Nami’s post.
It depends on the type of Donabe. Here’s more information about the different varieties. We hope this helps!
https://www.justonecookbook.com/how-to-choose-the-best-donabe/
Thank you very much! This guide helped a lot. Thank you!
I am glad to hear this! Thank you, Aysha! 🤗🫶🏻
I wonder if anyone else has noticed chips on the rim of the upper lid of the Ginpo Kikka donabe (see photo). I was going to return it but then thought it might be normal for the production process. Thanks.
Hi, Pete! Thank you for sharing the image with us.
The area is normally smooth, so you should contact the seller. We hope this helps!
Using a donabe seems like a great way to cook rice. I have an induction cook top so I am wondering if there is a recommendation to cook rice in the oven using a donabe. Thank you!
Hello, Elaine! We’ve never cooked rice in the oven, but we’ve heard that baking at 425F for 20 minutes, then leaving the Donabe covered for another 10 minutes after taking it out from the oven works. (for 2 rice cooker cups of rice)
Please let us know how it goes if you decide to give it a try!
I don’t have a Kamado-san, but is there’s a trick to use a one-lid donabe to cook rice (and not stick)?
Thank you!
Hi Emi! Thank you so much for taking the time to read Nami’s post!
You may cook the rice with only one lid Donabe, but we recommend seasoning it first so the rice doesn’t stick to the pot. Also, lower heat is recommended.
Here’s a post on how to season Donabe. We hope this was helpful!
https://www.justonecookbook.com/how-to-season-your-donabe/
I need help. I have a donabe that works with an electric stove because I don’t have much choice, I rent, so could you maybe do a guide for those working with that? I feel you have to allow for how slow the electric stove is and stuff.
I’m really struggling.
Also what other rices do the Japanese work with? Is jasmine rice included or mainly short grain?
Also can you have a donabe that is too big? If I want to cook a one cup of rice in a five cup donabe… is that going to mess with the effectiveness of it?
Hello Bec! Thank you for taking the time to read Nami’s post and try out her recipes.
Nami currently uses a gas stove in her kitchen and doesn’t have an electric stove. The electric stove cooking time can vary based on the brand, so it may need to adjust the cooking time for each brand.
To ensure the best results when cooking white rice, we suggest waiting for steam to start puffing from the lid’s hole, then waiting an additional 2 minutes before turning off the heat and following the recipe for steaming the rice. Have you tried that?
As for rice type, Japanese rice refers to short-grain cultivars of Japonica rice, and you can learn more about them from this post:
https://www.justonecookbook.com/types-of-japanese-rice/
We hope this helps!🙂
Hi Bec! You mentioned cooking one cup of rice in your 5-cup donabe. I do not recommend it, especially on your electric stove when the heat is kind of unpredictable…
When you cook rice in a rice cooker, rice is cooked unevenly at the top, middle, and bottom of the pot. The most delicious part is the center part, and the worst part is the top. When rice is cooked, considerable amount of steam is produced and the top area of the rice gets cooked too fast as water boils quickly.
The more you cook the rice, the more the central portion will be, so overall rice gets more delicious. For example, if you use a 5-cup rice cooker with just 1-cup rice, the center part is almost non-existent. So it’s best to cook 2-3 cups of rice even though you need just 1 cup of rice. Then, freeze the rice!
https://www.justonecookbook.com/how-to-freeze-rice/
I got the kamodo san rice cooker and I love it. Perfect rice every time. Yesterday I tried cooking two eggs in it, placing them on the inner lid. Perfect hard boiled eggs with no grey ring round the yolk.
Hi
I tried cooking. Taste good.
The bottom portion is burnt, the fire is low.
How can i prevent this?
Hi Elise! Thank you for reading Nami’s post and trying her recipe!
You can reduce the cooking time about 2 minutes, and remove from the stove.
We hope this helps!🙂
I use a donabe to cook rice all the time and you have to keep the temperature low because they retain heat for a long time. With mine, almost as soon as I see that the lid is sputtering (because it’s boiling inside), I turn mine off and let it sit for 15 minutes. It keeps cooking because of retained heat. I never get burnt rice or crusty rice on the bottom and all is cooked correctly.
Hi there!
I have attempted to cook rice using a Korean donabe. It turned out pretty good but I have a question.
When cooking the rice are we timing the 15 minutes from when we place the donabe on the cooker with the water cold?
Also what recommendations do you have for a single human in regards to donabe size?
Hi Bec! I’m not sure how much rice you’re cooking but cooking time starts after you turn on the heat. Otherwise, I would usually give instructions like… “Once boiling, cook xx minutes.”
The single pot (1 serving) diameter is 6.5 inches (16.5cm) and can hold 2 cups (500 ml). Hope this helps!
Hario makes a tiny donabe for single people, it looks just like the one pictured above that Nami san likes but it is smaller.
My rice cooker stopped working today but I had already soaked the rice. So I transferred it to my donabe and cooked it there for the first time following your instructions – it was great – will do it again – so easy.
Hi Fiona! We are glad to hear Donabe worked great for you!
Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe and sharing your experience with us.
Happy Cooking!
I have this same rice komado-san that I purchased from Toiro Kitchen. Can I use it make your mizutaki, or do I need to purchase a pot that if fully glazed around the rim for cooking foods other than rice?
Hi Cate! Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post!
Kamado-san pot is designed to cook rice, and the rim is narrow compared with other Donabe. For cooking Mizutaki, the wider rim’s Donabe will be easier to cook and reach from everyone’s seat if you cook on the table. But if it’s okay with you, it will be fine.
We hope this helps!
Oh great. It’s just me now most of the time. The kids are grown and out of the house. But I still make large portions of food to have meals over a few days. In fact I just made JOC curry yesterday! The second time in 3 weeks. I make the gluten free version. It’s one of my favorite comfort foods.
Hi Cate! Awesome! We are so happy to hear you enjoyed homemade curry!🥰
Hello Nami,
I am so grateful for your website I used so many times already!
A question about size: the donabe you link to on Amazon has a maximum size of 5-go, yet on your donabe seasoning page, you recommend a 9-go.
Which size should I go for? I usually cook for around 4 to 6 people and sometimes I cook for a lot more people (up to 50 ^_^’). I like to have just one ustensil if I can and already own am Iwatani portable gas stove (and my kitchen stove is electric cooktop (but not IH). I also would like to cook sushi rice, mixed rice and hotpots alike if that is at all possible in a single donabe.
I feel overwhelmed by all the choices and options, plus I live in Switzerland so any choice will be crazy expensive to import from here, so trial and error is a scary route to go…
Could you give me your best recommendation for a “one-size fits all” solution? I’m guessing a quite large donabe would be the best way to go, but would cooking just one rice cup in a 9-go (for example) yield poor results? Sometimes I just want to make a short portion of onigiri, not a whole meal, but can a donabe be too big sometimes?
(Also, can you cook sukiyaki in a donabe?)
Please note that living in Switzerland makes everything so expensive anyway I can even order from Japan from friends I have there (my guess is: more choice from Japan 🙂 ). Ordering from the US is the craziest as far as price is concerned.
Hi Joel! Thank you for your kind words.
Amazon shop selections of donabe were limited when I was curating the items, but since they seem to increase more products, I have updated the product list.
For 4-6 people, you will need the donabe size that’s 9 go (９号) or bigger. Most of my donabe is this size. I think you should focus on the size that you will be using a lot, and I don’t think cooking something in the donabe for 50 people is not an ideal situation.
My suggestion is to go with the size that you would use most (maybe 9-go?) and when you want to make rice in a donabe, please make 2 cups at least. 1 cup of rice doesn’t come out as well as 2 cups of rice. So please make ahead and freeze (see my post: https://www.justonecookbook.com/how-to-freeze-rice/).
You can make sukiyaki in a donabe, but I recommend using a flat bottom one.
I love this Ginpo brand and I have two donabes from them: classic 9 go and kikka 9 go.
https://ginpo.co.jp/products/
Hope this helps!
Hello dear Namiko!
Thank you so much for your precious reply 🙂
I’m not sure about the details of the models from Ginpo. Your article says double lids kamado-san donabe are very good for cooking rice and mixed rice and hot-pots alike. But the article details on Ginpo’s website are all in Japanese and no photos show the double lids, so I’m not sure I’m buying the correct one… Or are donabe always double-lidded?
I will go for a 9-go or the size above as you recommended. It has to be double-lidded (kamado-san) for versatility, right?
Could I bother you one more time and ask you to link me to the product page of your best recommandation (or recommandations if you have more than one model on your mind and are willing to elaborate a little to guide me) for the donabe that will allow me to cook sushi rice and mixed rice and hot-pots in one ustensile (sukiyaki is not necessary)?
Thank you in advance for your help!
Hi Joel!
A double-lid rice cooker donabe is the signature of Kamadosan. Not all donabe has that second lid. We can make rice with single-lid just fine. The problem (for me) to use Kamadosan is that it’s great for cooking rice, but the rim for the inner lid is making the pot opening smaller… which makes it slightly harder to cook ingredients for a hot pot. So I do have kamadosan but only use it for cooking rice (after all it’s rice cooker donabe) and use another one for hot pot for convenience.
Either you can use google chrome to translate that page to English or maybe you can check this site.
https://mtckitchen.com/search.php?search_query=donabe§ion=content
If I was you, I would get a single lid regular donabe that has a wide opening for cooking other dishes.
Here are 3 items I use all the time at my house, cooking for 4 people.
https://www.miyacompany.com/e934-e934
https://www.miyacompany.com/j3502a-j3502a
https://global.hario.com/product/cook/cookingpot/GDN.html
Thank you so much!
Does any of them have a double-lid, then? I want to follow your advice and get a single and a double lid.
Sorry about all the messages, I must sound a little slow. English is not my first language.
If I follow you correctly, none of the donabe you provided links for are kamado-san.
I think I will go with a kikka, they make it sound like an easier item to use – if you have reasons to find the classic Hana-mishima better, I’m glad to hear them 🙂
Any final recommandation (link) for your best kamado-san, buying in Japan?
I am ever grateful for your help and am really looking forward to using them!
Warmest regards and thank you in advance,
Joel
Hi Joel!
No problem at all. I’m happy to help.
I don’t know where you will end up shopping, so I used available links (written in English) that explain the product I recommend.
Official site for Kamadosan: https://store.igamono.jp/?mode=f7 (you need to click the shopping cart image)
Amazon Japan also sells it: https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E9%95%B7%E8%B0%B7%E8%A3%BD%E9%99%B6-Nagatani-Seitou-CT-01-%E3%81%8B%E3%81%BE%E3%81%A9%E3%81%95%E3%82%93%E4%B8%89%E5%90%88%E7%82%8A/dp/B000WMK73Q
The difference between Hana Mishima and Kikka is the coating inside the donabe. Kikka has this special coating that you don’t have to season the donabe prior to use. Also because of this coating, I think it’s easier to cook Sukiyaki (if you don’t plan to buy a cast iron sukiyaki pot). Unlike shabu shabu, beef is cooked on the pot directly first before adding broth. I think Kikka’s material makes it less stick to the pot. Also, the bottom of the pot is flatter than Hana Mishima. Other than that, it’s pretty much the same. More traditional look vs modern look. Kikka has IH versions too if you want to bring the pot to someone’s house that has IH (and I remember it’s microwave/oven safe; forgot Hana Mishima offers the same feature).
Hope this helps!
Hi, can you cook less rice.. say 1 cup of rice in a 2 cup danobe without any problem?
Hi, charlotte! Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post!
If you follow the right amount of rice and water ratio, it would not be a problem. But 2 cups of rice will come out better.
We hope this helps!
I cooked rice with your method, my husband and I simply love it!
Hi Elena! We are so happy to hear you enjoyed the Donabe method!
Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe and for your kind feedback.🙂
Can this be prepared on an induction stove? New apartment , no gas stove… ugh!
Hi Amy, Most Donabe are not suitable for electric stove (including glass top) or induction cooktop unless otherwise noted.
If you have a portable gas stovetop, it will work great over the dining table too. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B013U7AUA4?ref=exp_justonecookbook_dp_vv_d
We hope this helps!
Naomi, thank you for sharing your knowledge and recipes. When my rice cooker finally died I decided to try my donabe to make rice. My donabe only has one lid. Can I still use your method to make rice or do I need to change the water and rice ratio?
Hi Pamela! Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe!
Yes! You can use your single lid Donabe to cook rice. The water and rice ratio should be the same, but please do not fill more than 70% of your Donabe with them to avoid overflow. We hope this helps!