WELCOME!
I was a skeptic about the Instant Pot a while back, writing a post to compare it to a stovetop pressure cookers, like the Fagor Duo. Which should you buy? It all depends! I’m still on the fence about it but now I own an Instant Pot. I have been using it along with the Fagor Duo for about six months.
It all started when Hunter Lewis, the editor in chief of Cooking Light, asked me to review the Instant Pot for my column in the magazine. They bought me one from Amazon and after it arrived, I set it aside in my kitchen for a few days, not wanting it to take up space on my counter. Then I opened it and took it for a test drive. It was quite an experience at my house, detailed in my October 2017 article at Cooking Light.
Gearing up for the test drive, I bought cookbooks with titles like Instant Pot Obsession. I reached out to Instant Pot friends like Michelle Tam of Nom Nom Paleo, Coco Morante, who’s just released The Essential Instant Pot Cookbook, and Cheryl Sterman Rule, author of a yogurt cookbook and someone I trusted for pressure cooker yogurt instructions. I was a newbie and wanted to learn. Michelle clued me in that the Instant Pot people call it the “I.P.”. Got the lingo.
The IP instructions book is strangely written and has an unusual Asian bent to it. Chinese engineers in Canada built the IP, which is why there’s a recipe for fermented rice in the IP cookbook that also came in the box. I appreciate the Asian nod and modern multicooker promise to take care of your many kitchen needs. For people with small spaces, like dorm rooms and tiny houses, the IP may be a godsend.
In my case, I don’t own an electric rice cooker because I adore the fragrance of rice cooking on the stove and I don’t have counter space for a rice cooker. But the IP had a “Rice” function and that got me very curious.
The first time out, my jasmine rice with a 1:1 ratio of water (as instructed by the IP cookbook) was oddly wet around the rim and underneath. It cooked unevenly. I turned it into chao (jook, congee) by adding broth and water, then cooking it on high pressure for about 8 minutes. The IP is weird because after you hit “Rice”, the thing kinda thinks about how much material is in the pot. The timer will say “12” and then soon (less than 2 minutes later) may change to “10” or some number. It’s smart technology working.
How could Asians promise a rice cooker that didn’t deliver? I ventured onto chat rooms, Facebook pages, and websites to discover that IP users obsess about little tweaks — culinary hacks, to make the machine work for them.
I’m not great with electric cooking appliances and one time, I moved the IP while it was working on a batch of rice via the “Rice” function. The pot’s pressure release valve sputtered for a few seconds and I had to clumsily turn the knob-like valve back without getting hot steam in my hand.
The upshot to my mistake was this: the rice got moved around in the pot and the uneven cooking was mitigated. As a bonus, I also got a whiff of the rice cooking. That made total sense because when I cook a pot of rice on the stove, I stir the grains around to facilitate even cooking. I do that at the front end when the grains haven’t yet released too much starch to stick together. If you listen closely to the IP, it makes more noise at the front end as it’s building pressure but that wouldn’t move the grains around because pressure cookers never boil.
Below a batch from today. I’d released the pressure about five times trying to get the steam shot above and the rice grains were still fine. I tell you this because there’s a certain level of flexibility in the machine.
So I took it upon myself to move the grains: I began releasing the pressure on purpose — once or twice, counting to 5 or 10 each time. Ah-hah! The IP made better rice, grains that there on the on the chewy-tender side instead of tender-mushy side. Issue number one was dealt with.
The second issue had to do with the ratio of rice to water. The IP instruction book recommends a 1:1 ratio of raw rice to water, but then it hedges and says you should figure it out yourself. Well, after many failed batches that were turned into creamy rice soup, I figured that with supermarket jasmine rice like Mahatma (it’s gotten much better than years ealier!) — I should use 1 part raw rice to 1 cup less 1 tablespoon water. (In a regular pot, I use 1 cup raw rice to 1 ¼ cup water.)
I wash the rice and drain it before adding to the pot for the actual cooking. That way, I know I have fresh tasting grains and the right amount of water.
For quick-cooking brown jasmine rice, I settled on straight 1:1 ratio of raw rice to water; I use a ratio 1 cup raw rice to 1 1/3 cups water when making that kind of rice in a regular pot. More on brown jasmine rice here.
Another issue was the resting period. I let the pot completely depressurize naturally. If I’m nearby, I’ll turn the pot off to kill the power. Once the IP has depressurized, the rice can sit there for a while (I’ve gone out for a 1 1/2 hour-long walk after doing my pressure release deal and the rice was fine).
I like to fluff the rice to rotate the grains while the pot is still warm, then let it rest to finish cooking. Just like in a regular pot, the grains develop better texture and flavor after a 10-minute post-fluffing rest in the IP. Then I re-fluff before serving.
In summary, this is what I do to make great rice in the Instant Pot: (1) use about 25 percent less water than what I usually use in a regular pot; (2) release pressure once or twice during cooking; (3) let the IP fully depressurize naturally; and (4) fluff, rest and re-fluff before serving.
The time saving isn’t huge in the IP versus a regular pot on the stove. The difference is with the IP, I can push a few buttons, release the pressure valve once or twice, then walk away.
Sometimes “set-it-and-forget-it” is nice. The current Amazon price is great on the Instant Pot so if you want to a pressure cooker or multicooker, get an IP. The one I have is the IP Duo60. It’s basic and works fine for my needs.
All that said, I would not have figured out how to make rice the way I like it had I not known how to cook a perfect pot of rice on the stove. Before leaping into appliance cooking, it’s good to master the basic so you have benchmarks and are nimble enough to figure out to manipulate the machines to meet your personal needs.
Do you have IP hacks or stories? I’ll be posting more in the future (because it’s fun to push all those buttons and hear the beeps) but please share yours!
Finally! Someone I absolutely trust (there are a lot of untrustworthy “authorities” out there in Instant Pot Land) details how to cook rice in an Instant Pot! I’m making pork adobo tomorrow night and will definitely be using your method for the rice. I would have never in a million years have come up with your multiple releases procedure.
I’ve had my Instant Pot for about a year and a half now. It intrigued me because I’ve had some real problems with slow cooker inserts cracking over the years. I reasoned that I wouldn’t have problems with a stainless steel insert and loved the idea that it has a sauté function so that I don’t have to brown meat in another pan. Ironically, I virtually never use the slow cooker function because I’m too impatient.
I’ve been making yogurt for decades. One glance at the manual on how to use the yogurt function and I said no way and just use manual mode to inoculate the milk. I let it ferment in my dehydrator.
I mainly use pressure cooker mode to cook beans and grains. And Marcella Hazan’s ragù bolognese (I just follow her recipe in sauté mode up to the point of doing the 4 hour simmer where I switch to pressure cooker mode for half an hour).
There’s controversy over whether or not to pre-soak beans. I’m definitely in the pro-pre-soak and brine camp. I don’t like the uneven texture of beans that haven’t been pre-soaked. Thanks to Gina at skinnytaste.com, I found out that you can “pre-soak” beans in the Instant Pot and it takes less than 20 minutes.
http://www.skinnytaste.com/instant-pot-rock-creek-ranch-black-beans/
I can pre-soak and then cook a pot of black beans in a little over half an hour.
As you noted there are things that the Instant Pot can do that take just as much time as a conventional method would, but usually it’s hands off with the IP. Like making risotto. Making hard-boiled eggs in the IP has the advantage of the shells being extremely easy to peel even if the eggs are very fresh.
I have used a rice cooker for years because I am an easily distracted cook who walks away and burns every pot!! A little tweaking and rice cooker rice is fluffy and just the right texture. Never burns, and there is the great rice cooking smell. Have to admit I was curious about the “IP” but probably won’t do it.
The IPs go for really cheap on Black Friday sales on Amazon, if you can wait!
We kept our rice cooker because we figured that almost anything we make in the IP (soup, stew, curry, braised stuff) would be eaten with rice anyway and we didn’t want to wash out the pot and wait an extra 15 min to make rice. Also didn’t want to have to buy and store a second inner pot to still have to wait.
Friends recommended buying a second silicone sealing ring because if you make a sweet rice dessert, you don’t want it to have a hint of the curry you made last night! :/
The IP makes awesome yogurt and steams eggs super well. I like it more than I thought I would. It has its ups and downs but for a multicooker that costs less than $100, it’s a good appliance for folks — but not everyone. 😉
You’re right! It’s a fab deal after Thanksgiving! Smart shopper.
That gasket/silicone sealer ring does pick up food aromas! Thanks for the tip.
Randy — you’re the pro user!!!
Slow cookers rely on a thick insert that holds heat well. The IP’s metal insert is for pressure cooking, not for slow cooking.
Thanks for all the tips and insights. I’m kinda hooked on making yogurt in the IP. More on that soon.
Have you tried soaking the rice in the water before cooking? So if you add the 1:1 ratio of water to rice into the pot and let it soak for about 30 minutes and then press the Rice button, does it turn out better without a few releases of the pressure? You can use the timer function for this.
I do this with jasmine, sushi and sticky rice and it works really well, without any intervention before the cooking stops. I do turn off the IP and then let it release pressure on it’s own. I also find that cooking at least 2 US cups of rice works better than less than 2 cups.
Might find this interesting!
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/roads/2017/09/ota_tofu_the_secret_history_of_america_s_oldest_tofu_shop.html
oh I love, love making yogurt in this thing!! In fact we go through 1/2 a gallon of viet yogurt a week so I’m making yogurt weekly in the IP! I also love it for making bone broths, brown rice and, beans for che. I even use it for slow cooling stuff overnight so that we can have noodle soups in the morning. Best $$ spent in a long time on a kitchen item I use almost all the time.
I typically soak sticky rice before steaming, or raw rice if I’m going to grind it up.
I’ve heard of people soaking jasmine and sushi rice before cooking to ensure the grains develop well. The IP promises convenience so I figure why not push its buttons?
I think there’s a presoak function built into the multigrain function. You may want to try that so you don’t have to monitor the 30-minute presoak.
Thanks for the tip!
Thanks Nathan! I hadn’t seen that. So interesting!
The yogurt function is the best! How do you make your Viet yogurt in the IP? I have some going now and just added some condensed milk to my regular batch.
Thanks for this informative post. I got an Instant Pot over a year ago but I barely used it. Maybe it’s because fall is here, I started using it again. I am still new to using it. I haven’t tried rice in it yet. In your method, step 2 is to “release pressure once or twice during cooking” Once you release the pressure, do you open and stir the rice? Or do you just put it back on seal? Thank you.
No need to open the IP to stir. Just return the pressure release valve to the seal position and let the IP continue!