Set It & Forget It
Why I Ditched My Rice Cooker for the Instant Pot
Plus, how to make perfect Instant Pot rice (with charts).
Welcome to Set It & Forget It, a series about all the ways we rely on our slow cookers, Instant Pots, and ovens during the colder months. Whether it’s a long braise on the stove or a quick burst in the pressure cooker, one thing’s for sure: Comfort food means comfort cooking.
For many Koreans and Korean-Americans, rice (a word which also happens to mean “meal” and “food” in Korean) is not just a means by which to sustain life—it's life itself. Which is why being tasked with the job of cooking it is a huge badge of honor in a Korean household. In my house, growing up, before I could even start making the rice, my mother had to first educate me on how it was grown (in water-logged rice patties), how to wash it (until the water runs clear), and why we soak it overnight and whisper sweet nothings into its ear (to reduce starch and to bring out any unwanted impurities).
Making perfect rice is an art, in short—but there's some science to it as well.
Fast forward to a couple decades later, I stopped cooking rice on an open fire like I did when I was 8 years old. Instead, I made fluffy white rice for my own family from a fancy $300 rice cooker that my mom gave me as a birthday gift one year. (Owning this $300 rice cooker is a Korean rite of passage.) Unfortunately, when my two children were diagnosed with a slew of allergies and sensitivities, it meant that all grains, legumes, soy, dairy, and processed foods were off the table. Except rice.
Ironically, that’s when my trusty, 20-year-old, $300 rice cooker broke. I took it as a sign from the gods. I also took the rice cooker breaking as a sign that I should change to a Teflon-free rice cooker. Which is when I came across the Instant Pot: an electric pressure cooker with six other functions, including a pre-programmed "Rice" button. I was relieved to find a cooker that not only cooked rice perfectly, but also had a stainless-steel pot (note: zero Teflon).
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Even after all these years (much to my mother’s dismay), I've ditched rice cookers completely and have never replaced them. I’ve since cooked many varieties of rice and a bazillion recipes in my Instant Pot. Now I have three on my kitchen counter and have gifted countless others to every friend and family member I know. In fact, I use my Instant Pot so often that I’ve published two Instant Pot cookbooks since that fateful day when my rice cooker broke.
The bottom line is: The Instant Pot cooks white rice beautifully. And if you won’t take my word for it, then see for yourself:
Soaking & Washing
My mom taught me always to soak rice overnight and then wash it until the water runs clear. Her mother did it, and so did many others before her. They probably didn't realize the scientific reasons for doing it, but my mom, at least, thought soaked rice cooked faster and resulted in a better and softer grain. Even now, the FDA recommends washing rice thoroughly, soaking it, and discarding the water before adding fresh water to cook. That's why I suggest soaking the rice for at least 30 minutes, if not longer, and washing it thoroughly before cooking.
You'll find the water level for my method to be different than others since this method is for soaked rice, which absorbs water, so you don't need as much compared to un-soaked rice.
Cooking 2 to 10 cups of rice
You can place the rice and water directly in the inner pot to cook two to ten cups. Press the “RICE” button for cooking white medium-grain rice. Timing for ten cups of rice is the same as two cups of rice since the “RICE” button automatically adjusts the time according to how much you’re cooking. The “RICE” button is set at LOW pressure to minimize the foam from cooking starchy rice. Always use Natural Pressure Release (NPR) or depressurize manually 10 minutes after timing ends. Turn the lid to open and quickly move the lid away from the pot so the condensed water on the inside the lid does not drip into the pot. Fluff the rice with a fork or the rice paddle, and serve immediately.
Refrigerate any leftover rice and reheat on “STEAM” when needed. Cold rice has resistant starch and reheating it reduces the carbs.
Pot-in-Pot Method (PIP)
For this method, you'll need at least one cup of water for the Instant Pot to come to pressure. So, in theory, you should be able to make one cup of white rice with one cup of water since 1:1 rice to water ratio is what the Instant Pot company themselves recommend. But water gets absorbed by the rice, and there's a chance that there will be less than one cup of water left in the pot for it to come to pressure. This is why I always use the Pot-in-Pot (PIP) method if I have to cook just one cup of rice.
To do so, place the rice in an oven-safe container with the proper amount of water (see below). Place the container on top of the trivet with one cup of water in the inner pot and cook according to the times recommended in my charts. This PIP method never fails to cook a small quantity of rice. Lastly, the thicker the container, the longer it'll take, so use a stainless-steel vessel if you can for a faster cook time.
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Written by: Karen Lee
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43 Comments
-cook two cups of rice in one go. Save the extra for leftovers or fried rice or whatever.
- use the tiniest bit of oil- i know, it feels wrong to put something greasy into my clean white rice- but like a quarter to half-teaspoon of canola or coconut oil plopped on top of my rice and water, or a shot of cooking spray, really keeps my rice from sticking to the bottom. The slight flavor of coconut works well with Thai curries.
(FYI, the "4 minute" instructions are on page 17 of the booklet.
Yes. You need at least 2 cups of liquid for 8 Qt. That means, you have to cook more than 2 cups of rice in the 8Qt since you only need 7/8 cup of water per 1 cup of rice. So the best way to cook small quantity of rice in the 8Qt is to use the Pot in Pot (PIP) method. Place 2 cups of water in the inner pot, place the trivet inside. Put 2 cups of washed and soaked rice in an oven proof container with 1 3/4 cups of water. Put the container on top of the trivet and press "RICE." You can cook more than 2 cups of rice directly in the inner pot. But smaller amount than 2 cups needs to be cooked in the PIP method as described. Hope that helps. Thanks for the question!
P.S. As far as timing is concerned for 8QT, you don't have to change anything. Timing is the same for 3 or 6 or 8QT for ANY recipes. Just use at least 2 cups of liquid for 8Qt.
The speaking probably also saves fuel since the soaked grains will cook faster.
Back in the day, there were no agencies like, USDA, to monitor food safety but women knew to wash the rice thoroughly to rid of debris, dirt, and even small pebbles (YES! I had to take out many of these little extras from rice when I learned to make rice in Korea.) And they used to soak the rice to speed up the cooking times and to make softer rice but also because soaked rice water was used in so many other recipes. In the recent years though, USDA recommends washing and soaking rice to get rid of inorganic arsenic so we still wash and soak before cooking it. Hope that helps.
I feel like soaked rice cooks more evenly. Though a poetry professor once told me that soaking the rice makes it more nutritious / your body absorbs the nutrients easier (or some such). Not sure how true that is.
probably knew that somehow without any scientific evidence to back them up. That's why the older women before me always soaked their grains and legumes before cooking. And that's how I cook now too.
My story is not "hyped" to "rile' up people. I'm just sharing my own experience why I didn't buy another rice cooker when my old one died and bought the stainless steel Instant Pot. And I use it daily so it's on the counter and not in the back of the closet. But, everyone's experience is different. ;)
To be honest, stove top cooked rice is great. The smell of steaming rice wafting through the air always makes me hungry. (you can't smell food cooking in the Instant Pot.) And the slightly scorched rice on the bottom (Instant Pot does not make rice stick to the bottom, let alone scorch it) is a true sign of a well executed Korean meal. But it requires you watching over the stove to make sure it doesn't overflow or burn, which I have done too many times in my life for me to admit. For a busy cook, Instant Pot is a good option.
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