Aroma ARC-838TC 8-Cup Digital Rice Cooker & Food Steamer

by Aroma

Product Features

• Perfectly prepares 4 to 16 cups of cooked rice (2 to 8 cups uncooked)
• Programmable, easy-to-use digital control panel
• Steams vegetables and meat even while simultaneously cooking rice
• 15-hour delay timer for flexible meal planning
• Makes delicious soups and stews

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 12 x 12 x 11 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B000HKFE8G
• Item model number: ARC-838TC
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (244 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #64 in Kitchen & Dining (See Top 100 in Kitchen & Dining)
  • #2 in Kitchen & Dining > Small Appliances > Rice Cookers

Product Description

Prepare entire meals, large or small, in one easy step. This digital rice cooker flawlessly prepares up to 16 cooked cups of any type of rice and will simultaneously steam meat and vegetables. It has a cool-touch exterior and an easy-to-use, programmable control panel that includes functions such as automatic warming and delay timer. The removable inner cooking pot is nonstick for easy serving and cleanup. Includes measuring cup, steam tray and serving spatula.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

427 of 432 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Well Designed Cooker!, April 4, 2008

By 

Peter Dykhuis (Grandville, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Aroma ARC-838TC 8-Cup Digital Rice Cooker & Food Steamer (Kitchen)

This is the fourth rice cooker I have owned and it is by far and away the best. The rice cooks right every time. The manual does give a guide of how much water to add for different types of rice but I have found that even when I screw up and do not use the right amount of water the rice has turned out pretty good.

I enjoy the fact that the device has a sealed top which really seems to help the rice be more consistent and also makes me feel better having this unit used with three small children in the house running around. The rice receptacle inside is a delightful non-stick surface that is more then easy to clean. The steam feature for other items works wonderful as well. I have left rice in the device for over two hours after cooking and it is still moist, tasty and not burnt. The one touch button cooking is a breeze and for me it takes about 30 minutes or so in most instances for the quantity I cook.

The only thing I learned I had to do is not place the device under anything when cooking. There is a starchy steam that is released during cooking that can coat wood and other surfaces. On wood this starch coating can be a pain to remove.

This is a great device to cook an entire meal or side in quick mindless ease. I can't think of a feature I would change on this unit. A great device that actually has increased the amount of rice and vegetables I and my family consume. Unless you need larger quantities of rice then this device is capable of I really can't see why anyone would need anything else. This is a great product at a great price. Wonderful!

255 of 257 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars UPDATED REVIEW: A versatile and easy to use rice cooker. (lengthy), August 22, 2007

By 

pixels and bits - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Aroma ARC-838TC 8-Cup Digital Rice Cooker & Food Steamer (Kitchen)

This review has been updated over time. The original portion follows:

August 2007:

I'm amazed at just how well this basic rice cooker does its job! It's easy to clean, can keep cooked rice hot for hours and is extremely easy to use. I shopped around and considered the higher priced models but decided to start with something inexpensive to see if a rice cooker was really an appliance I needed in my kitchen. This one does a great job for a very reasonable price and I'm so glad I didn't pay more. We're using it to cook Basmati rice (bought in bulk) and with this cooker it turns out perfect every time. It really does wonders to help stretch our food budget.

Added December 2009:

Still going strong after years of use and many batches of perfect rice later. I just bought another one and donated the old one to my grown step-daughter's post graduation era kitchen. One of our favorite "new" things to do is make Vigo's Yellow Rice mix. In fact, it's super easy to make ANY pre-packaged (and flavored) rice mix. Here's what you do: Open the rice package and pour it into a measuring cup. Note the measurement, then pour it into the cooker. Then measure the same amount of warm water PLUS one half cup and add to the cooker. (If there are 2 cups of contents from your package you need 2.5 cups of warm water.) Stir well to dissolve & distribute the spices/flavorings and then press start. It's that easy. By the way, you can also do the same method to cook pre-packaged beans & rice, such as the Read Beans and Rice that Vigo makes. It's really good!

Added October 2010:

From time to time I look at the more expensive models and while I'm sure they do things that would impress me, this cooker meets my needs admirably. Just last night it saved dinner. I'd been planning to serve leftovers but noticed that someone had already been at them, leaving little to split among our family members. I added 2 bags of Vigo Red Beans and Rice to the cooker along with 4 cups of water. Then I added a frozen package of cocktail wieners that I had in the freezer (not thawed). The result was a hit with the whole family, though admittedly it wasn't exactly one of our healthier meals. I was impressed that I could add frozen ingredients to the cooker and have such great results using only the most basic of rice cooker abilities. Yes, this cooker was a great buy for our family.

Added June 2011:

We are a year and a half into our second cooker and it still operates like it did brand new. We use it frequently and because we take care to clean and store it properly we can expect to get quite a lot more use out of it. One of the best parts about this cooker is that it is SIMPLE. The more complicated a thing is, the more likely it is that something will break. With few moving parts and a basic programming interface, this cooker is just about as simple as they come and is a pretty good kitchen investment. If you want to get a long life out of this machine, it will be important to make sure that you don't use metal utensils inside the pot as scratches develop over time that will ruin the finish.

110 of 113 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect Rice!, September 11, 2007

By 

landofnarnia - See all my reviews

This review is from: Aroma ARC-838TC 8-Cup Digital Rice Cooker & Food Steamer (Kitchen)

It cooks my rice perfect every time. It's important to always use there measurment guides. There cup size measures differently from traditional measures. (measuring cup is included). For those who complain about the rice sticking to the bottom of pan (reviews from Target website), the directions do state to add an extra cup of water - depending on the type of rice being cooked. Also, little things like if you rinse your rice also make a big difference, because it reduces starches and nutrients. Not to mention that if you are cooking your typical white rice (long-grain) always get rice that has been imported from Thialand, never rinse it. The rice is of better quality, cooks better and tastes great. You can buy Jasmine brand at Walmart $4 for a 5 lb bag, or find a specialty store. The Aroma rice cooker is just wonderful, I started out with a black n' decker brand and was very disappointed with it. It would cook veggies great, but the rice always held to much water. It was on of those clear open steamers. It was my first try at a rice/food steamer. In a way I am glad I waited a while to get another steamer, because you couldn't pick one up with a timer without spending a ton more money. I cook rice almost everyday, and by the time I get home from work my rice has already switched over to the warm setting. All I have to do is cook up my chicken on the grill or stirfry it and my family is ready to eat. Truely a great steamer from a good price. You won't be disappointed.