Zojirushi NS-TSQ Review: Cake, Steam and Eight Menus at the Lowest Price in the Range

Last updated: 27 October 2026

The Zojirushi NS-TSQ is the Zojirushi that does more than rice at the lowest price in the range: eight menus from porridge to brown rice, a steaming basket, and a Cake menu that bakes a sponge or a cheesecake in the inner pot. It is the entry point to the brand, made in a Zojirushi-owned factory in China.

This review works through what the cooker does, how long each menu takes, how the steam and cake functions really work, and who should buy the 5.5-cup NS-TSQ10 or the 10-cup NS-TSQ18. Every figure below comes from the Zojirushi operating manual supplied with the Australian model.

1. Who the NS-TSQ is for

The TSQ is a micom cooker — Zojirushi's term for microcomputer control, where the cooker senses temperature through the cycle and adjusts heating and timing on its own — heating from a plate under the pot. Within the Zojirushi range it is the one to buy on price, and the one to buy if you want a cake menu; the NL-GAQ above it adds steaming while rice cooks and Japanese manufacture, and the NS-ZAQ is the Japan-made option for white rice only.

It is the cooker for a household that wants a Zojirushi, wants the extras, and does not need it to be made in Japan. The manual carries sponge and cheesecake recipes for the Cake menu, and the basket steams vegetables, dumplings and fish on its own cycle.

2. Functions and cooking times

Eight menus. Times are Zojirushi's estimates; a full pot runs toward the top of each range. Zojirushi publishes ranges for the white, quick and brown menus; the others vary with quantity.

Two things to read from the table. First, the TSQ is as quick as any micom Zojirushi on white rice, and its Quick menu is among the faster in the range. Second, the Cake menu is a real bake — 45 minutes by default on the TSQ10, 65 on the TSQ18, adjustable — sized for 120 g of flour on the small cooker and 180 g on the large. For how the TSQ compares with every other model we stock, see the full cooking time table.

3. Steaming and cake

Steam. The basket sits on the inner pot over 540 ml of water on the TSQ10, or 720 ml on the TSQ18, and the Steam menu runs 1 to 60 minutes, default 40. Food must sit no higher than 3.5 cm in the basket. What it is not: it does not steam while rice cooks. The basket replaces the rice; steaming is a separate cycle. If "rice and a steamed side together" is the reason you are buying, the NL-GAQ is the Zojirushi that does it.

Cake. The manual's sponge and cheesecake recipes are sized to the pot — 120 g of flour on the TSQ10, 180 g on the TSQ18 — and the bake runs 45 or 65 minutes by default. Follow the manual's quantities the first time rather than scaling a recipe from elsewhere; a rice cooker bakes from the base, and an over-full pot does not cook through.

The measuring cup is 180 ml, not a metric cup, and one level cup cooks about two restaurant-sized bowls. Water lines inside the pot are numbered for the cup and for each menu; fill to the line for the menu you chose, on a flat surface, and adjust to taste.

4. Keep Warm, Reheat and the timers

The cooker switches to Keep Warm automatically when rice finishes. There are two modes: Regular, and Extended, which holds the rice at a slightly lower temperature to reduce drying and yellowing; after 8 hours Extended returns to Regular on its own. Extended is not available on the Mixed, Porridge, Sweet and Brown menus, and those menus are best served soon. A Reheat function brings kept-warm white rice back to serving temperature in about 7 to 9 minutes. Our own habit, and the manual's advice: keep warm as briefly as you can, fluff the rice when it finishes, and refrigerate what you will not eat.

Two preset timers, Timer 1 and Timer 2, each store a finish time — 6:00 and 18:00 from the factory. The manual says not to set the timer 13 hours or more ahead, because the rice sits soaking. The timer is not available on the Quick, Mixed, Sweet, Cake and Steam menus. A lithium battery keeps the clock when the cooker is unplugged.

5. Drawbacks — who should not buy it

• The basket does not steam with rice. It is a separate cycle; the NL-GAQ steams over rice as it cooks.
• Made in China, in a Zojirushi-owned factory. If Japanese manufacture matters to you, the NS-ZAQ is the Japan-made Zojirushi nearest in price.
• Brown rice is slow at 85 to 110 minutes, as on every non-pressure cooker.
• Nothing is dishwasher safe — inner pot, inner lid, basket, spatula and cup are hand wash.
• No texture settings. One white menu; the water line is the adjustment. The NS-ZAQ and NW-QAQ have softer and harder settings.

6. 5.5 cups or 10 cups?

Decide by the smallest amount you cook, not the largest. The TSQ10 cooks from 1 cup; the TSQ18 needs 2 cups before it cooks properly. For one or two people, or a family that cooks 2 to 3 cups a night, the TSQ10 is the right size. Choose the TSQ18 if you regularly cook 5 cups or more.

Allow for the lid opening above the cooker and for steam at the vent.

7. Cleaning and parts

After every use: wash the inner pot, the inner lid set and the basket by hand with a soft sponge, and wipe the inside of the outer lid and the steam vent. Nothing goes in the dishwasher. The nonstick coating wears with use like any coating — the manual says this is harmless — and the pot is a replaceable part: B362 for the TSQ10, B363 for the TSQ18. The inner lid set (C104 / C105) and the steaming basket are also replaceable.

8. Frequently asked questions

9. Verdict

Buy the NS-TSQ as the lowest-priced way into a Zojirushi, with the extras: a steaming basket, a cake menu and eight rice menus. For a household that wants one appliance for rice, a steamed side on a second cycle and the occasional sponge, it covers all three.

Skip it if you want rice and a steamed dish to finish together, where the NL-GAQ is the right cooker; if Japanese manufacture matters, where the NS-ZAQ is the Japan-made Zojirushi nearest in price; or if you want texture settings, where the NW-QAQ has three. Between the two sizes, the TSQ10 suits most households; the TSQ18 is for families cooking 5 cups or more.

Zojirushi NS-TSQ10 — 5.5 cups · Zojirushi NS-TSQ18 — 10 cups

We're here to help

If you would like to discuss whether the NS-TSQ suits you, contact us any time, or visit us in Chatswood, Sydney to see it beside the other models.

COPYRIGHT WARNING: Content theft of any kind is immediately reported to Google, which results in ranking penalties. Original texts can be verified in internet archives. My Cookware Australia® holds the copyrights for all the content on this site, including articles, product descriptions, and user guides.