This Instant Pot Takikomi Gohan is a traditional Japanese mixed rice with chicken and vegetables that is pressure cooked in a savory dashi broth. This time-saving recipe makes for a delicious and quick weeknight meal!
Looking for more ways to cook various rice dishes in your instant pot? Today we will use the trusty pressure cooker to make Instant Pot Takikomi Gohan, a versatile Japanese rice dish with a colorful mix of ingredients. Everything is cooked in one pot, and nutrition-wise, it is a wholesome, comfort food to enjoy on a hectic weeknight.
This rice recipe is specifically created for those of you who practically cook everything with the instant pot. If you don’t own an instant pot, you can prepare takikomi gohan following my rice cooker method.
What is Takikomi Gohan?
Takikomi Gohan (炊き込みご飯) is a Japanese rice dish cooked with dashi and soy sauce along with mushrooms, vegetables, meat, or fish.
Takikomi Gohan often includes seasonal ingredients such as matsutake mushrooms in Matsutake Gohan or chestnuts in Kuri Gohan. We also put different ingredients to make all kinds of variations. On the blog, we have:
- Gobo and Miso Takikomi Gohan
- Sweet Onion Takikomi Gohan
- Ginger Rice
- Sansai Gohan (Rice with Mountain Vegetables)
- Classic Takikomi Gohan (stovetop)
There is a similar dish called Maze Gohan (混ぜ御飯), in which flavorful ingredients are mixed into cooked rice.
4 Important Tips for Making Instant Pot Takikomi Gohan
1. Cut the ingredients into similar sizes.
Ingredients should be cut into similar sizes for two reasons. One, you don’t want to eat chunky big ingredients when you’re eating soft tender rice. And two, all the ingredients are cooked at the same time; therefore, tougher ingredients should be cut into slightly smaller than tender ingredients.
2. Add the seasonings right before cooking rice.
Takikomi gohan is always cooked with soy sauce and salt. These ingredients prevent the rice from absorbing water, so make sure to soak the rice for 20-30 minutes before cooking. Japanese short-grain rice is ALWAYS soaked prior to cooking because it is plumper and thicker and it takes time to become tender.
3. Do not mix rice and ingredients.
When you add the ingredients to the rice, you may want to mix it all up. Actually, it’s best not to. In order for the rice to cook evenly, the rice should not be mixed up with the ingredients, and stay below the ingredients. That way, rice gets access to water easily without interference from the meat and vegetables.
4. Fluff the rice after 10-minute natural release
Set the timer for 10 minutes when the Instant Pot beeps to let you know it’s done cooking. Then release the remaining pressure by opening the valve. You do not want to keep too much moisture in the cooker, so open up the pot and release the moisture and fluff up the rice.
Takikomi Gohan Ingredients & Substitute
Don’t feel restricted to using the same ingredients when it comes to Takikomi Gohan. As I mentioned earlier, Takikomi Gohan has many variations and you can definitely make yours with whatever you like. Here are the ingredients I used today, with tips on substitution.
- Dried shiitake mushrooms: Shiitake mushrooms, especially dried ones, have amazing aromas and flavors. Plus, you can get the delicious “shiitake dashi” out of the soaking water, which you can use to cook the rice! You can find dried shiitake mushrooms at any Japanese or Asian grocery store and online at Amazon. Alternatively, you can use fresh shiitake mushrooms (but can’t get dashi out of fresh ones) or other mushrooms.
- Gobo (burdock root): Japanese/Asian grocery stores and Whole Foods carry gobo, but it may be costly or come in bulk (I have many gobo recipes). If you can’t find it, you can skip and add other root vegetables, such as turnips.
- Aburaage (deep-fried tofu pouch): The tofu pouch adds extra flavors & texture to the mixed rice, so I almost always like to add this ingredient. It’s the same tofu skin used for Inari Sushi, but it’s not seasoned (basically the tofu skin before seasoned). You will find it in a freezer or tofu section at Japanese grocery stores and sometimes Asian grocery stores carry similar deep-fried tofu that is a small cube shape. You can cut it up for use.
- Mitsuba (Japanese parsley): This Japanese herb makes the dish extra tasty, yet it is extremely hard to find if you don’t have a well-stocked Japanese grocery store. Use chives or green onion/scallion instead to add some green color.
- Dashi: The fundamental Japanese stock is what makes the rice dish “authentic” Japanese. Chicken broth or vegetable broth will not make Takikomi Gohan. You can use any dashi you like – Awase Dashi (Kombu + Katsuobushi), Kombu Dashi, and Shiitake Dashi. You can pick 3 ways to make dashi (dashi powder, dashi packet, or from scratch).
The Wonder of Instant Pot Japanese Mixed Rice
Besides being convenient, you’ll learn that takikomi gohan makes a great template for trying new flavor combinations. I hope you can lean on the recipe anytime when you need to make a fulfilling meal for the family.
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Instant Pot Takikomi Gohan
Video
Ingredients
- 1½ cups uncooked Japanese short-grain white rice (2 rice cooker cups, 360 ml)
- 2 dried shiitake mushrooms
- ¼ cup water (to rehydrate the shiitake)
- 1 chicken thigh (4–5 oz, 113–142 g)
- ½ Tbsp sake (for marinating the chicken)
- 1.8 oz gobo (burdock root) (about ⅓ cup sliced)
- 1.8 oz carrot (about ⅓ cup sliced)
- 1 piece aburaage (deep-fried tofu pouch) (about ⅓ cup sliced)
- 3 sprigs mitsuba (Japanese parsley) (for garnish; or use green onion)
For the Seasonings
- 1½ cups dashi (Japanese soup stock) (use standard Awase Dashi, dashi packet or powder, or Vegan Dashi)
- 1½ Tbsp soy sauce (use gluten-free soy sauce for GF)
- 1 Tbsp mirin
- ½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients. Make the dashi if you haven‘t already and let it cool to room temperature (you can place the pot with dashi in a bowl of iced water).
To Wash and Soak the Rice
- In a large bowl, measure and add 1½ cups uncooked Japanese short-grain white rice. Rinse the rice under cold water, gently rubbing the rice with your fingertips in a circular motion for 10–15 seconds. Add more water, then pour off the starchy water. Rinse and repeat until the water becomes clear. Then, add water to cover the rice and soak for 20–30 minutes. Meanwhile, start preparing the ingredients.
- Here‘s how the rice looks before and after soaking for 20 minutes. Drain the water completely. Set aside for 10 minutes. If you don’t have time to wait, then shake off the excess water the best you can.
To Prepare the Ingredients
- In a small bowl, add 2 dried shiitake mushrooms and ¼ cup water. Put a heavy object on top so the mushrooms stay submerged in the water. Let them soak until they‘re tender. In the meantime, prep the other ingredients.
- Cut 1 chicken thigh into slanted, smaller bite-sized pieces. I use the sogigiri Japanese cutting technique to create more surface area so the meat will cook faster. Sprinkle the pieces with ½ Tbsp sake to remove any unwanted smell from the chicken.
- With the back of a knife, scrape off the skin of 1.8 oz gobo (burdock root). Do not peel the skin with a vegetable peeler, which will remove the earthy and delicious flavor just below the skin. Cut the gobo in half lengthwise.
- Thinly slice each half diagonally. Soak the gobo in water to prevent it from turning brown and remove any astringent taste.
- Cut 1.8 oz carrot in half lengthwise and thinly slice it diagonally.
- Pour hot water over 1 piece aburaage (deep-fried tofu pouch) to get rid of the excess oil. Some people skip this step as the factory oil is cleaner these days. I do it anyway. Cut the aburaage in half lengthwise.
- Cut the tofu pouch into thin slices and squeeze out the water.
- You will need about ⅓ cup each of sliced carrot, sliced gobo, and sliced aburaage.
- By now, the shiitake mushrooms should be hydrated and tender. Squeeze out the excess liquid into the bowl and reserve this shiitake dashi to use later. Next, remove the stem from each shiitake mushroom.
- Thinly slice the mushroom caps. If it’s a big mushroom, cut the thin slices in half crosswise.
- In a 2-cup measuring cup, add 2 Tbsp shiitake dashi (the reserved liquid from hydrating the shiitake mushrooms). If you are worried about the small particles left in the liquid, you can strain the liquid using a tea strainer. To the same measuring cup, add 1½ Tbsp soy sauce, 1 Tbsp mirin, and ½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt.
- Lastly, add enough of the 1½ cups dashi (Japanese soup stock) to the measuring cup so that the seasoning liquid measures 360 ml total.
- To a large bowl, add the chicken, shiitake mushrooms, carrot, gobo, and aburaage. Then, add the 360 ml seasoning liquid from the previous step. Mix well.
To Cook the Rice
- Transfer the well-drained rice to the rice pot. Make sure the rice is evenly distributed and flat.
- Add the ingredients and seasoning liquid on top of the rice. DO NOT MIX the rice and the ingredients. Try to evenly distribute the ingredients on top and flatten them without mixing with the rice.
- Close the lid and click Manual. Set to High pressure for 2 minutes.
- Make sure the steam release handle points at Sealing and not Venting. The float valve goes up when pressurized (it takes roughly 10 minutes to pressurize).
- When it’s finished cooking, the Instant Pot will beep and switch automatically to the Keep Warm mode. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes; I recommend setting a timer. DO NOT EXCEED 10 MINUTES of natural release. After 10 minutes, proceed with a quick release by turning the steam release handle to the Venting position until the float valve drops down. Hold a kitchen towel over the steam release valve to protect your hand and face during quick release. Only a little bit of steam will be left after 10 minutes of natural release.
- Open the lid and immediately fluff the rice with a rice scooper to avoid burning the rice on the bottom. Instead of “mixing” the rice, try to “cut” it at a 45-degree angle using a slicing motion as you turn over each scoop of rice to fluff.
To Serve
- Cut 3 sprigs mitsuba (Japanese parsley) into small pieces. If you don’t have mitsuba, you can use green onion.
- Serve the Takikomi Gohan in individual bowls and garnish with the chopped mitsuba.
To Store
- The best way to store Japanese rice is to freeze it, even if you plan to use it the following day. To learn how, please read my post on how to store cooked rice.
We like parsnips when we can’t find burdock.
Hi Susan! Thank you for sharing your idea! This sounds great! 🙂
Hi there! i have made this before and it was so perfect but this time I got a burn notice! I don’t know what I did wrong.
Am thinking that I added more chicken but I don’t think so…am also thinking maybe there was not enough liquid with the rice?
Help!
Well to save it…I transferred it all to another bowl cos I have extra then I placed the rice mixture into a smaller bowl and decided to steam it. So its cooked now but I need to understand what I did wrong so I don’t repeat the same mistake.
This is Liane from the Philippines. Am such a fan of your blog!
Hello Liane! We appreciate your support for Nami’s blog and for trying out her recipes.😊
We would like to provide you with a list of things to keep in mind:
1. Ensure that the steam release handle is pointing towards “sealing” and not “venting”.
2. Clean the cooker base’s heating element and the pot’s bottom.
3. Verify that the silicone sealing ring is well-fitted and that it is clean and intact.
4. If you modify the recipe to serve fewer people, make sure to have at least 1 cup of liquid when making the Takikomi Gohan.
We hope this advice is helpful on your next try!
Didn’t work for me. The rice got stuck to the bottom and the InstantPot didn’t come to pressure. How do I fix this?
Hi Jess, Thank you for trying Nami’s recipe.
We recommend inspecting your pressure cooker’s sealing rings for damage and ensuring that the steam release handle is set to “sealing” rather than “venting.”
We hope this was helpful!
I made this recipe tonight. I didn’t have any gobo so added extra mushroom, carrots and tofu. It turned out really good. Delicious. Will definitely make again.
Hi Diane! Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe and sharing your experience with us.
We are so glad to hear that you enjoyed Takikomi Gohan.
Happy Cooking! 😊
Can we use Tempeh instead of chicken for a vegetarian version?
Hi Granthana, Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post!
We have never used Tempeh for this recipe and are not sure how the outcome will be.
Please let us know how it goes if you try it!
Made a double batch using carrot, daikon, Japanese sweet potato, and various mushrooms.
Even with the 2 minute cooking time, all items were cooked thoroughly.
The rice came out very sticky. More than i was expecting. I washed it thoroughly and let it dry as instructed. Is it supposed to be a sticky dish ? It was delicious, don’t get me wrong.
I enjoyed it with some furikake. Will definitely make again. Thanks as always Nami.
Hi Brett! Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe and sharing your cooking experience with us!
We are glad to hear you enjoyed the Takikomi Gohan!
This dish usually is not too sticky, but it will be if you add different vegetables like sweet potatoes. We recommend trying this dish without starchy vegetables next time.😉Thank you for your feedback. We hope this helps!