There are several different kinds of rice. The shorter the rice, the more starch in the rice and the stickier the rice will be when cooked. Rice steamers are the preferred way to cook rice, even in Japan, and any rice steamer will do the trick when cooking rice. The more expensive brands of steamers will have preset timers and controls for different types of rice.

Wash the rice. This is, of course, not mandatory. By washing the rice, you are removing the starches from the rice and any other impurities that may be attached to them. To wash the rice, simply pour the rice into a bowl with water. Wait a few moments for the water to turn a milky color, then pour out the water. Repeat this several times until the water in the rice remains clear.

Soak the rice. Pour 1 ½ cups of water per 1 cup of rice into a bowl. Let sit until the rice puffs up. This usually takes about 10 minutes. If you washed the rice, then less water is needed; use about 1 ¼ cup of water instead.

Plug in the rice steamer. It only takes a moment for the steamer to be ready.

Cook the rice. Place the soaked rice into the rice steamer and close the lid. Press the "Cook" button. The steamer's timer will ring when it is finished.

Steam the rice. Do not touch the steamer when the timer rings. Let the rice sit for another 15 minutes in the steamer after the timer has gone off. The rice is being steamed.

Remove the rice from the steamer and serve.