It took me forever to pull the trigger and order the Musui Kamado because a) there were virtually no reviews on this and b) it was so frigging expensive. I searched on Youtube, Google, Amazon, and Instagram, which are my usual search engines for product reviews, and I could not find any useful/reliable information on this thing.
Although Vermicular has a US presence and online store, I suspect the words haven’t gone out and Vermicular is not running aggressive ad campaigns. Anyway, I’m so glad I bought this and the bottom line is it’s so worth the high price tag.
The immediate thought I had when I first saw the Musui Kamado was that its function and mechanism felt very similar to those of the Instant Pot. Both Musui Kamado and Instant Pot are considered multi-cookers with precise temperature settings. Like a multi-cooker, the Musui Kamado cooks various dishes with a push of a button, and you only need one pot to do the job, making it a staple kitchen appliance for busy families.
I ordered the Musui Kamado Cast Iron Precision Cooker straight from the Vermicular online store. Musui refers to a cast iron pot, and Kamado means a three-dimensional induction stove in Japanese.
The Musui Kamado can sear, do “waterless” cooking, steam-roast, braise, and precision cook, from sous-vide to perfect rice, using a single cast iron pot.
Currently, in the US market, the Musui Kamado is available in 1 size (3.9 qt) and 3 colors (Beige, Black, and Silver).
All colors are pretty, neutral colors that go well with any kitchen setting, and honestly, you can’t go wrong with any of the colors that are offered by Vermicular. My kitchen has oak cabinets, stainless steel/brushed nickel hardware, and black appliances, so I chose the Matte Black/Silver color. The induction has a sleek brushed nickel color with a black control panel, and the cast iron is in matte black.
The Musui Kamado arrived in 2 separate boxes, and each box was labeled “Musui” and “Kamado”. You can also purchase these separately, so I believe that’s why these were packaged in separate boxes. Who knows, I might get another Musui in a different color, so I can use it while the other’s being washed, haha.
Anyway, the Musui Kamado contains the following:
Musui
Kamado
Lid Stand
Rice Measuring Cup
Water Measuring Cup
Recipe Book
I thought this lid stand was ingenious. More cast iron companies should make something like this because safely putting down a hot and heavy cast iron lid is a challenge.
Vermicular’s lid stand securely holds the Musui’s lid and catches any dripping water from the lid. This lid comes in so handy when I’m serving food.
The overall look and design of the Musui is similar to that of most cast iron pots that are popular in the market like Lodge or Staub. And like all cast iron cookware, it is considerably heavier than most cookware.
One notable difference I’ve observed is that the lid has 2 side handles instead of a knob.
I’m not quite sure if this design has any practical function because I didn’t mind lifting a lid with a knob. The handles are also made of cast iron, so they do get hot as well.
Another feature that really earned a lot of points was its rice cooking mode. Many pressure cookers or multi-cookers can in fact make rice; however, the flavors are so frequently lacking. Coming from a Korean heritage, I’m a bit picky about rice. I got rid of an electric rice cooker because it just couldn’t compare with rice made using cast iron. Before buying the Musui Kamado, I had been using Staub’s cast iron pot to make rice. The flavor was spot on, but it was very time-consuming and required me to stand by the pot to reduce heat. So it was great news that this cast iron precision cooker can double as a rice cooker.
Rice was the very first dish I made using the Musui Kamado, and it far exceeded my expectations. I carefully washed rice and measured water using the measuring cup that was included, and with a simple touch of a button, it started cooking rice just like an electric rice cooker. The heavy cast iron lid functions as a pressure cooker and keeps moisture from escaping, resulting in perfectly cooked rice.
The rice cooking mode also controls the heat, so I don’t have to worry about the pot boiling over or burning the rice.
The only downside with it is that it doesn’t have a rice warming mode, unlike most rice cookers. It honestly was not a problem at all for me because I immediately portioned rice into single-serving containers and froze them. This method preserves the flavor of rice most efficiently and prevents the rice from drying out.
Now on to the Kamado.
This is essentially an induction cooking plate that is designed for the Musui pot. You can set the cooking mode, set the timer, and control temperatures using the control panel that is touch-enabled. It did take me some time to understand and get used to navigating the panel because it’s not as intuitive as other kitchen appliances. But once I got the hang of it, maneuvering and setting the panel became very straightforward and easy.
Purchase of the Musui Kamado bundle includes a recipe book filled with various recipes that you can make with your new Musui Kamado.
I’ve already made several dishes from the book like gumbo, curry, Chinese chicken salad, or Japanese steamed kabocha, and everything turned out SO GREAT. The binding of the recipe book is very elegant and high quality, unlike those cheap freebies you get when you buy a blender.
You can also bake bread and other baked desserts using the Musui, which I thought was super cool. The Musui Kamado can make pretty much all the dishes that other multi-cooker does whether that’s yogurt or cinnamon bread.
Here are some other dishes I’ve made with the Musui Kamado, and home-cooked meals have never been this delicious. You must try the waterless curry. It kicks any curry restaurant’s ass and is so flavorful, and everything tastes so tender. I did not add any water to this curry - this is just veggies and chicken.
Slow-cooking meat is where the Musui truly shines, though. I’ve made Galbi-jjim, which is a Korean version of beef stew. The key to making successful Galbi-jjim is tender chunks of beef that melt into your mouth, which can only be achieved by slow cooking them for a long time. The Musui Kamado has nailed the dish. Huge success!
Using the Medium heat setting, you can sear meat. I use it to grill chicken or cook steak, and the high temperature sears the meat without losing precious juice. And because I’m cooking inside a pot, I can keep the splattering at a minimum.
My verdict? It’s much more reliable, stylish, and functional than the Instant Pot and has become the most used appliance in my kitchen.
It took me forever to pull the trigger and order the Musui Kamado because a) there were virtually no reviews on this and b) it was so frigging expensive. I searched on Youtube, Google, Amazon, and Instagram, which are my usual search engines for product reviews, and I could not find any useful/reliable information on this thing.
Although Vermicular has a US presence and online store, I suspect the words haven’t gone out and Vermicular is not running aggressive ad campaigns. Anyway, I’m so glad I bought this and the bottom line is it’s so worth the high price tag.
The immediate thought I had when I first saw the Musui Kamado was that its function and mechanism felt very similar to those of the Instant Pot. Both Musui Kamado and Instant Pot are considered multi-cookers with precise temperature settings. Like a multi-cooker, the Musui Kamado cooks various dishes with a push of a button, and you only need one pot to do the job, making it a staple kitchen appliance for busy families.
I ordered the Musui Kamado Cast Iron Precision Cooker straight from the Vermicular online store. Musui refers to a cast iron pot, and Kamado means a three-dimensional induction stove in Japanese.
The Musui Kamado can sear, do “waterless” cooking, steam-roast, braise, and precision cook, from sous-vide to perfect rice, using a single cast iron pot.
Currently, in the US market, the Musui Kamado is available in 1 size (3.9 qt) and 3 colors (Beige, Black, and Silver).
All colors are pretty, neutral colors that go well with any kitchen setting, and honestly, you can’t go wrong with any of the colors that are offered by Vermicular. My kitchen has oak cabinets, stainless steel/brushed nickel hardware, and black appliances, so I chose the Matte Black/Silver color. The induction has a sleek brushed nickel color with a black control panel, and the cast iron is in matte black.
The Musui Kamado arrived in 2 separate boxes, and each box was labeled “Musui” and “Kamado”. You can also purchase these separately, so I believe that’s why these were packaged in separate boxes. Who knows, I might get another Musui in a different color, so I can use it while the other’s being washed, haha.
Anyway, the Musui Kamado contains the following:
Musui
Kamado
Lid Stand
Rice Measuring Cup
Water Measuring Cup
Recipe Book
I thought this lid stand was ingenious. More cast iron companies should make something like this because safely putting down a hot and heavy cast iron lid is a challenge.
Vermicular’s lid stand securely holds the Musui’s lid and catches any dripping water from the lid. This lid comes in so handy when I’m serving food.
The overall look and design of the Musui is similar to that of most cast iron pots that are popular in the market like Lodge or Staub. And like all cast iron cookware, it is considerably heavier than most cookware.
One notable difference I’ve observed is that the lid has 2 side handles instead of a knob.
I’m not quite sure if this design has any practical function because I didn’t mind lifting a lid with a knob. The handles are also made of cast iron, so they do get hot as well.
Another feature that really earned a lot of points was its rice cooking mode. Many pressure cookers or multi-cookers can in fact make rice; however, the flavors are so frequently lacking. Coming from a Korean heritage, I’m a bit picky about rice. I got rid of an electric rice cooker because it just couldn’t compare with rice made using cast iron. Before buying the Musui Kamado, I had been using Staub’s cast iron pot to make rice. The flavor was spot on, but it was very time-consuming and required me to stand by the pot to reduce heat. So it was great news that this cast iron precision cooker can double as a rice cooker.
Rice was the very first dish I made using the Musui Kamado, and it far exceeded my expectations. I carefully washed rice and measured water using the measuring cup that was included, and with a simple touch of a button, it started cooking rice just like an electric rice cooker. The heavy cast iron lid functions as a pressure cooker and keeps moisture from escaping, resulting in perfectly cooked rice.
The rice cooking mode also controls the heat, so I don’t have to worry about the pot boiling over or burning the rice.
The only downside with it is that it doesn’t have a rice warming mode, unlike most rice cookers. It honestly was not a problem at all for me because I immediately portioned rice into single-serving containers and froze them. This method preserves the flavor of rice most efficiently and prevents the rice from drying out.
Now on to the Kamado.
This is essentially an induction cooking plate that is designed for the Musui pot. You can set the cooking mode, set the timer, and control temperatures using the control panel that is touch-enabled. It did take me some time to understand and get used to navigating the panel because it’s not as intuitive as other kitchen appliances. But once I got the hang of it, maneuvering and setting the panel became very straightforward and easy.
Purchase of the Musui Kamado bundle includes a recipe book filled with various recipes that you can make with your new Musui Kamado.
I’ve already made several dishes from the book like gumbo, curry, Chinese chicken salad, or Japanese steamed kabocha, and everything turned out SO GREAT. The binding of the recipe book is very elegant and high quality, unlike those cheap freebies you get when you buy a blender.
You can also bake bread and other baked desserts using the Musui, which I thought was super cool. The Musui Kamado can make pretty much all the dishes that other multi-cooker does whether that’s yogurt or cinnamon bread.
Here are some other dishes I’ve made with the Musui Kamado, and home-cooked meals have never been this delicious. You must try the waterless curry. It kicks any curry restaurant’s ass and is so flavorful, and everything tastes so tender. I did not add any water to this curry - this is just veggies and chicken.
Slow-cooking meat is where the Musui truly shines, though. I’ve made Galbi-jjim, which is a Korean version of beef stew. The key to making successful Galbi-jjim is tender chunks of beef that melt into your mouth, which can only be achieved by slow cooking them for a long time. The Musui Kamado has nailed the dish. Huge success!
Using the Medium heat setting, you can sear meat. I use it to grill chicken or cook steak, and the high temperature sears the meat without losing precious juice. And because I’m cooking inside a pot, I can keep the splattering at a minimum.
My verdict? It’s much more reliable, stylish, and functional than the Instant Pot and has become the most used appliance in my kitchen.