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Establishing a simple way to cook delicious rice when traveling while sleeping in the car is actually a major key to improving the quality of your trip. ELECOM's 1-cup IH rice cooker, "LiFERE Small IH Rice Cooker," which seems to make it easy and delicious, can be used with a 500W portable power source, so I actually tried it out.
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What is ELECOM's "LiFERE Small Infrared Rice Cooker"?
The main body and accessories of the "LiFERE Small IH Rice Cooker". Not only is it a lid and inner pot, but it also comes with a colander for low-carb mode, a measuring cup and a scoop.
Induction cooker for small amounts of up to 1 cup sold by computer peripheral manufacturers
I was wondering why, but the "LiFERE Small IH Rice Cooker" (model number HAC-RCIH01) is a small IH rice cooker specializing in cooking up to 1 cup, sold by ELECOM, a major computer peripheral manufacturer headquartered in Osaka. The actual price is around 12,800 yen.
It looks like a kettle with a handle and measures approximately 169mm wide, 127mm deep, and 228mm high, making it so compact that you wouldn't expect from a rice cooker. It weighs only about 1.3kg (including the inner pot and power cord). In addition to the blue shown in the photo, there are three colors available: white and black.
This product is specialized for cooking small amounts of rice up to 1 cup, and is thinner and deeper than the inner pot of a typical rice cooker, so the water level can be kept high even when cooking small amounts of rice, making it less likely to cause uneven heating. Furthermore, the inner pot uses a unique "composite clad thick pot" consisting of four layers, combining aluminum and stainless steel, with the inside of the pot being coated with fluororesin and the outside being heat-resistant, making it easy to clean and highly durable.
Rice cooking time is about 50 minutes for regular rice cooking, about 35 minutes for quick cooking, and about 50 minutes for low-carb mode, which cuts up to 20% carbohydrate per 100g of rice. Furthermore, after cooking, the rice is automatically resilient, allowing it to remain warm for 12 hours.
The LiFERE Small Induction Cooker is designed for single people and for second rice cookers, and is particular about cooking small amounts, but as a fan of sleeping in a car, traveling in a camper van, I can't help but be curious about the LiFERE Small Induction Cooker, which is a portable power source of over 500W is also supported.
The point is that as long as you carry a large-capacity portable power source of 500W or more, you can cook delicious rice anywhere with the "LiFERE Small Induction Cooker." I believe that if you cook rice deliciously and easily when sleeping in a car or traveling in a camper van, most of the food problems will be solved.I was very concerned about this "LiFERE Small Infrared Rice Cooker" and actually tried cooking rice in a camper van.
Recommended points
- Perhaps because it's an induction cooker, the rice cooked up is quite tasty.
- You can use it anywhere if you have a portable power source of 500W or more.
- If you cook quickly, you can cook rice in a fairly short time, about 35 minutes.
- Equipped with a 12-hour rice heat retention function
- The inner pot is removed, making it easy to clean after use
Points that interest me
- The actual price is 11,000 yen, which is a slightly expensive rice cooker for sleeping in the car.
- I'd be happy if there's a higher version of pressure induction
Main Specifications and ratings
| item | LiFERE Small IH Rice Cooker (Model Number HAC-RCIH01) |
|---|---|
| power supply | AC100V |
| Rated power consumption | 400W |
| Product dimensions | Width 169mm x Depth 127mm x Height 228mm (No lid or kettle: Width 169mm x Depth 127mm x Height 195mm) |
| mass | Approximately 1.3kg (including inner pot and power cord) |
| color | Blue/White/Black |
| accessories | Inner pot, colander pot, measuring cup, spoon |
| Safety Device | Yes (temperature abnormality detection) |
| Features | Rice cooking, low carbs, quick cooking, heat retention |
| Rice cooking capacity | Rice cooking: 0.09-0.18L (1/2-1 cup), quick cooking: 0.09-0.18L (1/2-1 cup), low carbs: 0.09-0.135L (1/2-3/4 cup) |
| Cooking time | Rice cooking: about 50 minutes, low-carb: about 50 minutes, quick cooking: about 35 minutes *Guideline. Actual time may vary depending on the ambient temperature, etc. |
| Heating method | Induction type |
| Thermal function | Yes (max 12 hours) |
| Inner pot | Aluminum/Stainless Steel, Fluorine Resin Coating |
| Outdoor Gearzine Rating | |
| design | ★★★★☆ |
| Delicious | ★★★★☆ |
| Ease of use | ★★★★☆ |
| Easy to wash | ★★★★☆ |
| Cost Performance | ★★★☆☆ |
Detailed review
Very simple cooking procedure, just like cooking at home
I placed it in the cooking space of my camper van with a portable power source. It's easy to see that the "LiFERE Small Infrared Rice Cooker" is small.
The "LiFERE Small Infrared Rice Cooker" actually came to our house. Recently, I have decided to choose a color that I usually don't choose for small appliances, so I chose the most noticeable blue. The size seems to be a slightly elongated T-fal kettle.
Operations such as cooking rice are concentrated on the handle, but the fact that this handle dramatically improves portability. The basic components are the outer kettle, inner kettle, lid, and power cord, but also comes with a stove and measuring cup.
Press the "Select" button several times to light up, and then wait for a while to start cooking. There are no special tasks or operations, and it's really easy.
Measuring cups are a typical 1-cup measuring cup, so it doesn't seem to be a problem with measuring cups for rice that you usually use at home. Now you can measure the rice, put it in the inner pot, wash the rice if necessary, fill with water according to the line of the inner pot, cover it with lid, and press the "Select" button to light the lamp for the selected course in the order of "Rice Cooking", "Low Carbs", "Fast Cooking", and "Heat Retention". If you stop pressing the "Select" button in the place you want to select, you will start cooking rice on the selected course in 5 seconds.
Before you start cooking, you need to plug the power cord firmly into the power source, and the lid of the LiFERE Small Induction Cooker must be rotated firmly to lock. There are some points to note, but if you don't wash rice, you simply put rice and water in the inner pot and choose "cooking" or "quickly cooking", so cooking can start with a simpler operation than a home rice cooker.
One time "cooking" consumes 23% of the power of a portable power source of approximately 1,000Wh
After fully charged to 100%, I cooked rice using the LiFERE Small Infrared Rice Cooker, and the remaining battery level was 77%. If you can cook rice four times on a single charge, it's above your expectations.
I introduced the LiFERE Small Infrared Cooker with the intention of using it for sleeping in the car or traveling in a camper van, so the most important thing is that it can be used with a portable power source of over 500W. When sleeping in the car or going out in a camper van, I use the "EBL Portable Power Supply 1000W 999Wh." The rated power supply is 1,000W and has an electrical capacity of 999Wh, which meets the regulations for the "LiFERE Small IH Rice Cooker" which is a portable power supply of 500W or more, and is also equipped with two sine wave alternating current (AC) power sources.
With this "EBL Portable Power Supply 1000W 999Wh" charged to 100%, one cup of rice was cooked using the usual 50-minute rice cooking course. After choosing the rice cooking course, the electricity level of the portable power source drops by about 3% in a few minutes, so I think it will consume a lot of electricity. I was worried. However, about 25 minutes after the start of cooking, the remaining electricity level was 83%, and then the remaining electricity level fell to 77% when the rice was cooked about 50 minutes later. If you think about it from a simple calculation, it is probably that a single rice cooker requires approximately 230Wh of electricity to cook rice at a time.
Depending on the battery capacity of each portable power supply, it is a good idea to keep in mind that a portable power supply of 500W can consume about half of the electrical capacity in one rice cooker. If it's 1,000W class, it's about 1/4, so you don't need to worry too much.
The cooked rice is quite tasty, but I don't recommend keeping it warm.
I stirred the cooked rice with the included spoon. The aroma of freshly cooked rice spreads inside the camper van.
I normally cooked rice, and cooked it for about 50 minutes, lightly stirring the rice, steaming it slightly, and then sampled it. I cooked one cup, so I took out about half half of it and ate it while considering it, but since it was freshly cooked, it was quite tasty. The fluffy and chewy feel that is typical of cooking with the pressure induction heat you normally use at home is weak, but even though it was cooked as is without any absorption time, it is finished to the level of delicious food that is delicious without any problems.
At this level, it is the best way to cook rice that can be cooked just by turning on the switch when you're outside your home. It's a great finish. If you have enough miso soup, such as white rice, natto, seaweed, or furikake, it can be a perfect meal.
Freshly cooked rice in the "LiFERE Small Induction Cooker" is quite tasty. It will lose its flavor when kept warm, so it can be said to be a rice cooker where you can enjoy freshly cooked small amounts.
I left half of the rice because I wanted to see the effect of keeping it warm, so I purposely kept the rice that I had left 0.5 cups for about an hour before eating it. It was probably because the amount left was only 0.5 go, but it kept warm for only an hour, but compared to freshly cooked it, it seemed to have dried out and the taste seemed to be decreasing.
This is a rice cooker for small amounts so you can enjoy the amount you can eat freshly cooked, so it's best to avoid expecting too much heat and eat it all once it's cooked. Incidentally, the remaining electricity was reduced by 17% from 77% to 60% after keeping the heat for an hour, so it is not recommended to keep the heat in place, even in terms of saving on the power of portable power sources.
The battery capacity has been reduced by 17% in one hour of keeping the heat. It consumes a lot of electricity from a portable power source, so keeping it warm is not recommended from this point of view.
I also tried "quickly cooking" which cooks in about 35 minutes, but for me, who generally likes hard rice, the deliciousness of "quickly cooking" was enough. If you prefer softer ones, it is a good idea to absorb a little.
In either case, we recommend that you eat freshly cooked with the LiFERE Small Induction Cooker.
Summary: "LiFERE Small IH Rice Cooker" is easy to clean up and can also be used for cooking rice.
I'm hoping that a higher version of pressure induction will be released
If you have freshly cooked rice and sprinkled rice, this is enough for breakfast on a solo filming trip. It's delicious and cost-effective.
Getting a simple way to cook delicious rice when sleeping in a car or traveling in a camper van will greatly improve your travel quality. As long as you have delicious freshly cooked rice, rice plus instant miso soup will be enough for breakfast, and dinner can also be enjoyed with freshly cooked rice and half-price sashimi and side dishes at the local supermarket.
For this reason, I have thought about bringing a home rice cooker to a camper several times, but basically, home rice cookers are prohibited from being used with portable power sources, and they consume a lot of electricity, so they are not suitable for portable power sources. Therefore, I believe that many people, including myself, use DC rice cookers such as JPN's Takeru-kun, a standard type of rice cooking in the car, but they have the weakness of being able to cook rice only when the car is stopped and the engine is running (idling).
The "LiFERE Small Infrared Rice Cooker" is priced at 11,000 yen, about twice the price of Takeru-kun, which is a bit expensive, but if you use a portable power source of 500W or more that meets the requirements, you can cook rice anywhere, and it can also be used to "quickly cook" in 35 minutes. In addition, the inner pot and lid detach from the outer pot, making it easy to wash in places with water sources such as auto camping sites, and even in conditions such as road stations where there is no water source, it is easy to remove the inner pot and lid and wipe it off with wet tissues for dishes, making it easy to make after-treatment, which can even be a new standard for sleeping in the car.
The rice cooked is more than enough, but considering the improved cost performance, including frequency of use, the price may increase, so I can expect a higher-end pressure induction model, which is at a level where it would be nice to replace your home pressure induction rice cooker with the "LiFERE Small IH Rice Cooker" series.
The LiFERE Small Induction Cooker is a recommended rice cooker, not only for those who already own a portable power source of 500W or more, but also for beginners on car trips who are likely to buy a portable power source in either case. Why not consider this as a rice cooker for sleeping in your car?
Details and purchase of "LiFERE Small IH Rice Cooker"
For more information about the product, please visit the official ELECOM website
Saito Titoce
