AROMA ARC-393NG Review: the tiny rice cooker that keeps things simple (sometimes a bit too simple)

I’ve been using this small AROMA 3-cup rice cooker (ARC-393NG) for a few weeks now, mostly for weeknight dinners for two people. I bought it because I was tired of babysitting rice on the stove and didn’t want one of those huge 10-cup cookers taking up half the counter. This one is small, light, and costs less than a night of takeout, so I figured if it was bad, no big loss.

In practice, it’s exactly what it looks like: a very basic rice cooker with one switch. No fancy settings, no digital screen, no brown rice mode, nothing. You put rice and water in, press the lever down, and it cooks. When it’s done, it flips to warm. That’s the theory anyway. In real life, you do have to learn how your unit behaves, especially with water ratios and how long you leave it on warm.

What surprised me is how often I actually use it. I’ve used it for white rice, jasmine rice, some oatmeal, and a lazy soup. The rice quality is pretty solid once you figure out the right rinse and water level. It’s not restaurant-level gear, but for a basic cooker, the results are decent. The bigger win for me is that it frees up a burner and I don’t have to think about it much.

It’s not perfect, though. The automatic warm mode can dry or slightly burn the bottom if you leave it too long, and it can bubble over if you don’t rinse your rice well. But for a small kitchen, a couple, or someone in a dorm, it’s a pretty practical little appliance that actually earns its spot on the shelf, as long as you accept its limits.

For the price range this sits in, I’d say the value is pretty good. You’re not paying for fancy electronics or lots of settings; you’re paying for a small, basic cooker that does white rice and a few simple dishes without much fuss. Considering how often I’ve used it already, it has more than justified the cost for me.

Where it really makes sense is if you’re cooking for one or two people and don’t have a ton of space. A bigger, more advanced rice cooker would be overkill and more expensive. This one is cheap enough that you don’t feel like you’re making a big commitment, and it still produces rice that’s way more consistent than cooking in a random pot on the stove, especially if you’re not great at timing or watching the heat.

There are downsides that come with the low price: no timer, no presets, no brown-rice-specific mode, and the warm function isn’t perfect. You do need to learn its quirks, like rinsing well, slightly adjusting water ratios, and not leaving it on warm for an hour. If those things annoy you, spending more on a mid-range or Japanese cooker might be worth it.

But if you just want something that cooks decent rice and oatmeal, is easy to clean, and doesn’t hog counter space, the value is hard to argue with. It’s not fancy, but it gets the job done at a low cost, which is really what I was looking for with this purchase.

Design-wise, it’s as simple as it gets. White body, small round shape, glass lid so you can see what’s going on, and a single lever in the front. It’s very compact: roughly 9.5" deep, 8.25" wide, and under 8" tall. It’s light too, around 2.5 pounds, so you can easily move it in and out of a cabinet with one hand. On a crowded counter, that small footprint is actually a big plus.

The glass lid is handy because you can see when things start to boil and bubble up. There’s a steam vent, but if you overfill with water or don’t rinse your rice, it can still spit a bit of starchy water. I had that happen the first time with jasmine rice when I got lazy and barely rinsed it. Nothing dramatic, just a bit of foamy water around the rim, but enough to make me rinse more carefully next time.

The control panel is basically non-existent: one indicator light and one lever. You don’t get any kind of countdown or timer, so you have to get a feel for how long your usual batch takes. After a couple of runs, you can almost set a mental timer. The simplicity is kind of nice, but if you’re used to digital cookers with presets, this feels a bit old-school.

The cord is fixed and not super long, so you’ll probably end up keeping it near an outlet. No cord storage, no fancy handle system. It’s the kind of design that screams "keep costs low" but in a way that’s mostly practical. My only real complaint on design is that the warm light and cook light are easy to ignore; it’s not always obvious at a glance which mode it’s in, so you need to pay a bit of attention, especially if you’re worried about burning the bottom.

The inner pot is aluminum with a non-stick coating, and the lid is glass with a plastic handle. The body itself feels like regular lightweight metal with a painted finish. Nothing feels premium, but nothing feels super flimsy either. For the price, the build is pretty solid. You can tell it’s not built like a high-end Japanese rice cooker, but it doesn’t feel like a toy.

The non-stick coating is the main thing to watch. It works well: rice doesn’t stick much if you rinse properly and get the water right. I’ve been using only the included plastic paddle or a silicone spoon, and I’d strongly avoid metal utensils. You scratch this coating once and you’re going to hate yourself every time rice starts gluing to the bottom. So far, after multiple uses and dishwasher runs (top rack), the coating still looks fine and rice slides out easily.

They advertise the coating as BPA-free, which is standard now but still good to see. Heat distribution seems even enough for what it does. I haven’t had random hot spots where half the rice is burnt and the other half is raw. When it does brown on the bottom, it’s usually my fault for leaving it too long on warm or not adding quite enough water.

For cleaning, the fact that the pot and lid are removable and dishwasher safe is nice. I usually just soak the pot in warm water for a couple minutes and wipe it with a soft sponge. Any stuck bits (usually from when I let it go too long on warm) come off pretty easily. As long as you respect the coating and don’t abuse it with metal scrubbers, I think it should last a good while, but this isn’t a lifetime piece of cookware either.

Let’s be honest: this doesn’t feel like a tank. It’s light, the metal is thin, and the plastic bits are basic. But "light" doesn’t automatically mean fragile. I’ve moved it around a lot, bumped it into the faucet once or twice, and nothing has cracked or bent. The lid handle is still tight, and the lever still clicks firmly between cook and warm.

The real durability test with these cheap cookers is the non-stick pot and the heating plate. So far, after multiple uses and washes, the coating still looks intact—no peeling, no obvious scratches. I’ve been careful: only soft sponges, no steel wool, and no metal spoons. If you’re rough with your cookware, you’ll probably shorten its life. Treated reasonably, I think it’ll last a few years for light to moderate use.

The heating performance hasn’t changed since day one. Cook times are the same, and the auto-warm still kicks in as expected. No weird burning smells or inconsistent heating. The outside paint hasn’t chipped, and the glass lid hasn’t fogged permanently or cracked. The rubber feet on the bottom still grip the counter fine, so it doesn’t slide around when you scoop rice.

That said, I wouldn’t expect this to last a decade like some higher-end Japanese rice cookers. It feels like a "good enough" appliance that will serve you well if you’re not abusing it. For the price, the durability is acceptable. If it died after a few solid years of use, I’d shrug and say it did its job. If you want something built to last forever, you’ll need to spend a lot more.

Performance-wise, this thing is straightforward. With 300 watts, it’s not super powerful, but because the pot is small, it still cooks reasonably fast. For 1 cup (rice-cooker cup) of white rice, I’m getting roughly 20–25 minutes from pressing the lever to the click into warm. Larger batches take a bit longer, but nothing crazy. It’s not "instant," but it lines up well with cooking the rest of a simple meal.

The main performance quirk is the auto switch from cook to warm. On my unit, it does flip to warm on its own once the water has mostly cooked off, but if I walk away for too long afterward, the bottom can start to brown. I’ve seen other users say their sensor doesn’t always behave the way they expect. In practice, what I do now is: when I hear the click to warm, I give it 5–10 minutes to steam, then I unplug it and fluff the rice. That routine has given me the most consistent results.

In terms of noise and heat, it’s very quiet, just a gentle simmering sound. The outside gets warm but not scorching. The glass lid does fog up as you’d expect, and sometimes you see a bit of bubbling around the rim, but nothing alarming if your water level is reasonable. The steam vent lets out a steady stream, so don’t park it directly under wooden cabinets if you’re paranoid about moisture over time.

Over a few weeks of regular use (several times a week), it has behaved the same every time: no random shutoffs, no weird electrical issues. For a cheap appliance, that consistency is reassuring. Just understand that it’s designed to do one thing in a simple way, and you still have to pay a bit of attention with timing and warm mode if you want perfect results every time.

Out of the box, you get the cooker, a non-stick inner pot, a glass lid with a vent hole, a plastic measuring cup, and a rice paddle. No steamer tray, no extra bells and whistles. The capacity is 3 cups uncooked rice, which turns into about 6 cups cooked. In real life, for two people, I usually cook 1 to 1.5 rice-cooker cups and that’s enough for dinner plus a bit of leftovers.

Function-wise, it’s dead simple: one switch with two positions, "Cook" and "Warm." You plug it in, add rice and water, press the lever down, and that’s it. There are measuring lines inside the pot to help you hit the right water level. The manual gives some basic guidance, but you’ll probably tweak it a bit depending on the type of rice and how soft you like it. I ended up needing slightly more water than their standard ratio for fluffy rice.

It’s not just for rice. I tried oatmeal (steel-cut and rolled), and it handled both fine with enough water and a quick stir halfway through. I also threw in some broth, veggies, and leftover chicken to make a quick soup, and it simmered everything evenly. You can tell it’s not a smart multicooker like an Instant Pot, but for simple one-pot stuff, it does the job.

Overall, the "feature set" is very basic, which can be either a plus or a minus depending on what you want. If you like having multiple modes, timers, and exact control, this will feel too limited. If you just want something that cooks rice and maybe oatmeal without thinking about it, the simplicity is actually pretty nice. Just don’t expect miracles from a 300-watt, sub-$30 unit.

In terms of doing its main job—cooking rice—it’s pretty solid once you dial in your routine. For standard white or jasmine rice, rinsed thoroughly and using slightly more water than 1:1, I’ve been getting fluffy, evenly cooked rice. No rock-hard centers, no giant mushy mess. I usually do 1 rice-cooker cup of rice to a bit over 1.5 cups of water, and that gives me the texture I like.

One thing that matters a lot with this cooker is rinsing the rice properly. The Amazon reviewer who says "Rinse Babe Rinse" is right. If you just give it a quick splash, the starch foam will bubble up and can spill a bit through the vent. When I rinse in a bowl 3–4 times until the water is much clearer, the bubbling is way more controlled and I don’t get overflow. It also helps the rice not clump as much.

On warm mode, you need to be careful. If you leave the rice sitting in there for a long time, the bottom will start to dry and can brown or lightly burn. I’ve had decent luck leaving it on warm for 15–20 minutes, but beyond that, the bottom layer starts to get crispy. Some people like that, but if you don’t, you’re better off unplugging the cooker or fluffing the rice and taking it out into another container once it’s done.

For other uses—like oatmeal, simple soups, or heating up grains—it performs fine, but you need to stir occasionally for thicker stuff so it doesn’t stick. It’s not a magic multicooker, but for basic starchy things and light soups, it’s effective. If your expectations are realistic, it gets the job done without much drama, just with a bit of trial and error at the beginning.