How to Cook Brown Rice in an Instant Pot
Follow my tips to cook brown rice in an Instant Pot. With a pressure cooker, you can make perfectly cooked short-grain brown rice every time!
- Prep time
- 10 min
- Cook time
- 40 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1½ cups uncooked Japanese short-grain brown rice
- 1⅔ cups water ((400 ml))
- ½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt ((reduces the bitterness of brown rice; optional))
- 2¼ cups uncooked Japanese short-grain brown rice
- 2½ cups water ((600 ml))
- ¾ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt ((reduces the bitterness of brown rice; optional))
- 3 cups uncooked Japanese short-grain brown rice
- 3⅓ cups water ((800 ml))
- 1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt ((reduces the bitterness of brown rice; optional))
- 3¾ cups uncooked Japanese short-grain brown rice
- 4⅛ cups water ((1000 ml))
- 1¼ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt ((reduces the bitterness of brown rice; optional))
Instructions
- 1
DO NOT use scaling (x 2 or x 3) for this recipe.
- 2
Before You Start: Please note that Japanese short-grain brown rice requires a soaking time of 6 hours to overnight. If you‘re cooking Japanese short-grain white rice, see my post on how to make white rice in an Instant Pot.Also note that 1½ cups (300 g, 2 rice cooker cups) of uncooked Japanese short-grain rice yield 4⅓ cups (660 g) of cooked rice. This is enough for 4 Japanese rice bowls (typically 150 g each) or 6 onigiri rice balls (typically 110 g each). 1 cup of cooked rice weighs about 5.3 oz (150 g).
- 3
Gather all the ingredients. To measure the rice, overfill a US cup measure (a ¾-cup measure works well) or a rice cooker cup with uncooked short-grain brown rice and level it off. Put the rice in a large bowl. Repeat until you have the measured amount of rice needed. Here, I measured 2 rice cooker cups of short-grain brown rice.
- 4
Rinse the brown rice a few times.
- 5
Rub the brown rice between your hands and rinse with water several times. In Japanese, this is called momi arai (もみ洗い).
- 6
Add water to cover the rice and let it soak for 6 to 12 hours (at least 6 hours). Soak extra time during winter months.
- 7
Drain and shake off the water completely.
- 8
Add the drained brown rice in the Instant Pot or other pressure cooker.
- 9
Add salt.
- 10
Add the water and evenly distribute the rice in the pot.
- 11
Close the lid of the Instant Pot, press 'Manual' and set 20 minutes on high pressure.
- 12
Allow the Instant Pot to release pressure naturally for 10 minutes. Then "Quick Release” the pressure. Cover the steam vent with a kitchen towel and twist the valve to cover your fingers.
- 13
Open the lid. It’s a success when you see small holes on the rice surface (in Japanese, we call them kani ana—crab holes).
- 14
Fluff the rice using a rice paddle/scooper. Serve the brown rice immediately or transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to a week or the freezer for 1 month.