A Tatung rice cooker/steamer is a necessity at every Taiwanese’s home (and almost every overseas Taiwanese’s home too. ) The one I have now is the second one I’ve owned and it was bought in Taipei at NT$600 several years ago.
Tatung is simple and versatile. The main body of the rice cooker is like a hot plate that you actually pour 1/4 to 1 cup of water into. The metal bowl where you put your rice and water into, goes directly into this small pool of water. When the rice cooker is on, it boils the water in the main body which keeps the temperature even and cooks the rice. You can put just about anything into the main body of the rice cooker to steam (raised from the small pool of water). You don’t need a special “rice pot”. Any metal container that fits into the rice cooker works. You can also use a porcelain or ceramic plate or bowl in the steamer.
I know there are cookbooks about making Rice Cooker Dishes but I don’t know if there’s a bilingual version.