Sous vide is the most appreciated art of slow cooking because it demands very little of your time and attention. It’s the premier cooking method for preserving valuable nutritional content, all the while improving food texture. Relatively hassle free, the line between done and ruined is measured more in a long walk around the block rather than a panicked dash to the kitchen.
Sous vide is not just about cooking that perfectly rare steak or chicken breast that’s moist to the bone. It works wonders on vegetables, fruits, herbal infusions, and a myriad of simple deserts. For busy people, you can cook choice foods for the week ahead, safely sealed and refrigerated, with the minimal fuss. Most of all, sous vide is fun and rewarding with what it brings to your table, while incidentally improving your taste and style.
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Table of Contents
The How and Why of Sous Vide – 真空調理
The word sous vide is noticeably of French origin and it simply means ‘under vacuum’. Different types of food are placed in a plastic or silicone bag, vacuum sealed by hand or machine, and then slow cooked over time. The science of vacuum cooking is well documented, and the sous vide story is also uniquely interesting.
Sous vide (pronounced ‘soo-vid’) is a combination of two cooking methods. Vacuum cooking [ 真空調理: shinku-chouri ] and slow or low temperature cooking [ 低温調理: tei-on-chouri].
The vacuum effect is key to distinguishing sous vide slow cooking from other types such as in a crock pot or a Dutch oven. The pressure of the vacuum maintains an overall better texture to the food, and lower temperatures preserve more nutrients.
A sous vide machine can maintain a comparatively lower temperature and the entire foodstuff is kept at exactly the same temperature. Essentially, you can avoid overcooking, but if you cook considerably over the recommended time, the texture of the food will degrade.
The Sous Vide Cooker in Japan – 真空調理器
Sous vide is a style of cooking, whereas the equipment you need is either called a precision cooker, or an immersion circulator.
These slender rods usually clip to the sides of a pot or plastic container. They simply heat the water and keep it circulating for anything from 30 minutes to 8 hours or more.
You can also get a sous vide water oven which is a contained appliance that sits on your counter and does much the same. Immersion circulators are pretty uncomplicated devices and as such most of them are generic rebranded products.
Recognizable international ‘trust brands’ are not always available in Japan, or are overpriced. The generic brands all have very different names, so if you’ve cooked sous vide back home, familiar names are hard to come by.
Global brands reviewed here are the Wancle Sous Vide, Inkbird Wifi Sous Vide, and Dash Sous Vide Oven.
Anova Sous Vide – The Legacy Immersion Circulator
Low temperature vacuum cooking, especially of meats, had long been a commercial operation or exclusive to Michelin Star restaurants.
It was Anova Culinary, at that time a small San Francisco start-up, that pioneered the immersion circulator now so popular in home cooking. Anova was later acquired by Electrolux in 2017 for $250 million, but still operates as an independent brand.
The Anova Nano is probably the best immersion circulator for starters and home cooks. Like similar leading products, it integrates via Bluetooth with a smart app where you can browse recipes, keep favorites, upload cook settings, and much more. Unfortunately, the Anova Precision Cooker is not easily available in Japan.
Other top brand Bluetooth and Wi-Fi enabled cookers are likewise difficult to get hold of. The acclaimed Breville Joule is sometimes available via parallel import, and the app is only in English.
Pointers to Choosing a Good Immersion Circulator
The most important thing to research is whether the circulator maintains an accurate overall temperature within 0.5 ℃ or less, which also implies good mechanics of water circulation.
Secondly, make sure the clip or clamp works well, is durable, and secure. Sous vide machines operate for lengthy periods so there is vibrational stress. People find clips work better than screw bolts. Only the Breville Joule, with its magnetic base, doesn’t need to clip.
Immersion cookers generally emit a continuous low humming sound, together with some swoosh of water. If the pitch of the sound is too high, it can be irritating. There’s no power control setting, so for the average 15 to 20 liter pot 1 000 watts will easily suffice.
Lastly, intuitive controls are always welcome. Most circulators have simple touch controls on the head. You basically just have to set the temperature and then the cooking time to shutdown.
For food safety reasons, there’s no delay start timer. Fancy Wi-Fi sous vide can remote start, but you need to put your meat in an ice bath.
Product Life of a Precision Cooker
Most affordable sous vide immersion circulators cost less than ¥10 000, unless they are parallel imports. Under regular use a few times a week, you can expect your device to last between two to three years. International top-of-the-range products like Anova, Breville Joule, and Sansaire may last longer. A machine with a two year warranty is the best choice to go with.
Mistakes People Make When Buying a Sous Vide Machine
Although the online sous vide community is very active and well established, more and more newbies are getting into low temperature cooking.
A Sous Vide Machine is Bigger Than You Expect
A lot of people don’t realize that the average sous vide cooker is a little more than medium-sized. After getting their precision cooker, some people find they don’t have a pot to fit. Generally, you need a pot at least 12 cm high in order to cook for at least 2 to 3 hours and not have to worry about water running low.
Instead of rushing out to buy an expensive pot, you can just as easily run your sous vide in a large plastic container. These you can sometimes pick up at a 100 yen shop or your nearest home depot like Konan.
Coming Short on Cord Length
The average cord length of a sous vide machine will only be a standard 1 meter for a kitchen device. Make sure you have a place to put your pot near an outlet. You can use an extension cord, but better to make sure it’s grounded.
What to Cook With my Sous Vide
Many beginners feel miffed with the insubstantial recipe book that often comes with the device. All sous vide machines do the same thing and recipes are never customized to a particular device.
There are many expert resources online and it’s not really worth the time of a small manufacturer to compile a comprehensive booklet. Also, you can freely download the Anova App or use their online recipe resource which is one of the best you can find.
Accessories You May Need
Your sous vide cooker will generally not have reusable vacuum bags included, so you should think about ordering these when you buy your cooker.
Bags have to be vacuum sealed, but there are easy hand techniques for this, specially designed bags, or simple hand vacuum pumps. You don’t necessarily need a vacuum sealing machine.
It’s important to consider what kind of bag you would like to use. Sous vide bags are mostly BPA free, but you may want to consider the newer kinds of silicone bags for better food safety.
Other extras are things like clips to hold your bags against the sides of the pot so they don’t clump together or float up. Some people like to use sous vide weights that you put in the bag before you seal it. You can also purchase full accessory packs.
Most people will have a fry pan to sear especially steaks after cooking is done. Pro sous vide cooks like to use a heavy skillet pan for braising or even a kitchen blow torch.
See our Complete Sous Vide Accessory Guide
Sous Vide Precision Cooker: Best 3 in Japan 真空調理器
Our selection of the three best immersion circulators in Japan all come with Japanese manuals only, are well supported in Japan, and also designed for the local market. For the best parallel imported sous vide, see further down.
Best Sous Vide in Japan: Beemyi Low Temperature Cooker
- 1 000 W
- 6 -15 L capacity
- Max temp 90 ℃
- 2 year warranty
- IPX 7 certified
Why the Beemyi Low Temperature Cooker?
Beemyi is one of the top selling sous vide in Japan. It’s relatively compact, competitively priced, and stylish. It’s a clean white with a snazzy gold stripe, and an atypical square-shaped head. People also love the intuitive and easy-to-use controls.
It’s a Chinese product, but it has a two year warranty and a no questions asked replacement policy. Customer service is prompt via email or Line social media app. It’s also IPX7 certification which just means waterproof and electrically safe, even for evaporation and condensation.
There are no issues with maintaining a constantly even temperature and the noise is not disturbing, even to young children. Cost wise, user reports show that to bring the water up to temperature costs around 8.5 円, and to maintain the set temperature for 1 hour 4.5 円. An average steak may cook for 2 to 2.5 hrs. Costs can be considerably reduced by using a sealed container.
Some Key Features and User Tips
Instructions are only in Japanese, but the settings are easy and simple enough. To turn on, you need to hold the power button for 3 seconds.
Next, you press the settings button to enter the temperature, and the press start to confirm. Press the settings button two times and you can enter the cooking time, and confirm again with the start button. If you hold down the (+) or (-) button, you can fast scroll. Settings are incremental.
When the water reaches the correct temperature, an alarm will sound and the timer countdown will begin. The alarm will sound again at the end of cooking and the power will automatically switch off.
You can also set the device to keep the set temperature and not shutdown, but you need to be aware of evaporation. If water runs below the minimum water line on the device, it will also sound a continuous alarm and shut down.
Runner-Up Best Precision Cooker Cooker in Japan: Wancle M300
- Global product
- 1 100 W
- 6 -20 L capacity
- Max temp. 90 ℃
- IPX7 certified
- 2 year Japan warranty
Is Wancle a Worthwhile Sous Vide?
Wancle is a small manufacturer based in China. They have a limited range of contemporary looking kitchen appliances and seem focused on quality and customer support.
Wancle products are available internationally, but this machine is distributed with a Japanese language manual and has a two year warranty which is supported in Japan.
This Wancle M800A is their more recent model. It’s noted for its slender design and is the most compact sous vide reviewed here. It’s quiet, accurate within +/-0.1℃ (1°F), and runs on a high quality copper motor.
Ratings and reviews are overall very favorable, and they have responsive customer support. Despite its assurances and popular reviews abroad, this sous vide is not so popular in Japan.
Wancle Sous Vide Key Features
This new Wancle uses a sturdy clip with three edges, whereas the older model had a screw clamp. It’s workable in any pot that is higher than 12 cm which holds between 15 and 20 liters.
Minimum and maximum water levels are clearly marked on the device, and there is the usual low water alarm and automatic shutdown, also after cooking. On this device you can choose Celsius or Fahrenheit.
Best Low Temperature Cooker for Third Place: Iris Oyama LTC-01
- 1 000 W
- 15 L capacity
- Max temp. 95 ℃
- IPX7 certified
- 1 year Japan warranty
Pros and Cons of the Oyama Sous Vide
If you feel more comfortable with a ‘trust brand’ product and a Japanese manufacturer, Iris Oyama is the popular choice.
This sous vide is considerably bigger, bulkier, and heavier than our top two selections. It performs equally well, but many people find storing it away a hassle.
Because of its size, it needs a pot that is at least 20 cm wide and big enough to hold at least 15 liters. The only key functional difference with this Iris Oyama is that the temperature can run as high as 95 °C, and not the usual 90 °C. This is practically meaningless as it’s a temperature rarely ever used in sous vide cooking.
There have been issues with this product arriving with scratches on the LCD screen. This is either due to bad handling, unscrupulous reselling of second hand devices, or customers not realizing they ordered a second hand product. The Japanese PDF manual is freely available online.
Comparison Chart: Best 3 Sous Vide in Japan
#1 Beemyi | #2 Wancle | #3 Iris |
1 000 W | 1 1000 W | 1 000 W |
15L | 15-20L | 15L |
Base: 5.5 cm | 6.5 cm | 9 cm |
Height: 30.5 cm | 34 cm | 40 cm |
Weight: 1.2 kg | 980 g | 1.4 kg |
Pot (H): 12 cm | 12 cm | 15 cm |
Cord: 1 m | Cord: 1 m | Cord: 1 m |
Max. 90 ℃ | 90 ℃ | 95 ℃ |
Warranty: 2 yrs | 2 years | 1 year |
Japan Support | Japan Support | Japan Support |
IPX7 | IPX7 | IPX7 |
Other Sous Vide Machines Worth Buying in Japan
Our other recommendations are the best parallel import sous vide brands that are currently available in Japan. They generally won’t be covered by any manufacturer warranty and they run at 100 V / 60 Hz. Also, check the ranking and score of the seller, or the manufacturer’s shop page before purchasing.
InkBird WiFi
InkBird makes a number of smart plugs, electrical monitoring devices, and temperature controllers. Their Wi-Fi sous vide is quite popular and well reviewed. You can operate it manually or remote start, control, and monitor your cooker through the application allowing multiple users.
The device connects through Wi-Fi: 2.4Ghz 802.11n, is 1 000 W, and has an upper temperature range of 99 ℃. Its size, weight, and other features, including safety features, are pretty standard. The control and manual are in English and it’s sold via their Amazon store. InkBird is the Chinese company Shenzhen Inkbird Technology Co. Ltd.
Breville Joule
If you’re looking for the ultimate high tech experience in sous vide cooking, the Breville Joule is sometimes available through parallel import. It only operates through the app and connects through Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
It’s the smallest and most efficient sous vide cooker. It comfortably slips into a drawer, and it’s easy to take away on vacation too. As a leading product, there are many supporting accessories.
The Amazon seller currently distributing this sous vide has a good score rating and is based in Hokkaido. The price is also reasonable.
Dash Water Oven
Dash is a small home appliance manufacturer and their sous vide oven is one of the best small ovens you can get. It’s a little larger than a regular sized cake box (WHD: 36x28x24 cm). The oven holds 8 liters and its good enough for four bags.
It’s quiet energy efficient running on 700 W using a magnetic circulator and there’s little heat or evaporation loss with an oven. It comes with a rack holding four bags, but you can also place your own flat legged rack on the bottom if you need to fit in more bags.
The Amazon seller of this sous vide has a good score rating and is based out of China. An different seller also distributes the Dash Immersion Circulator (price link), but it’s over priced and our reviewed models are much better performers.
A Few Tips on Cooking Sous Vide
1. Always cook meat at the minimum safest time and temperature recommended. The temperature will determine the level of doneness. However, the longer you cook over the recommended time, the more the texture of the food will soften or break down.
2. People often want to cook cheaper meats sous vide style in order to ‘beef them up’. For better results, you should try cooking these meats for longer than the recommended time.
3. Don’t forget you can add your salt, pepper, fresh herbs, other spices, butter or oil into the bag before sealing. Especially for steak and other meats, try experimenting with different types of salt, even smoked salt, and different grain coarseness.
4. Be adventurous, experiment, and do more. Low temperature cooking is not just about meat. It’s a great way to cook vegetables while preserving most nutritional content. Roots like potatoes and carrots do really well, and sous vide eggs are really smooth and delectable. You can also try your hand at soufflés, herbal infusions, purees, and even risottos.
5. Because your food is already vacuum sealed, it’s easy to cook ahead on weekends and have some ready-made-foods sitting in your refrigerator. To do this, you should drop the bags into an ice bath after cooking to reduce the temperature as fast as possible. Some people like to do this with steaks before searing.
More Choices in Slow Cooking 低温調理 :
- See our selection of Dutch Oven Pots or Cocotte
- See our selection of the Best Sous Vide Bags and Accessories