Follow my tips to make perfectly cooked Instant Pot Brown Rice. With a pressure cooker, you can make perfectly cooked short-grain brown rice every time!
Brown rice may not be your favorite type of rice, but once you learn the technique of cooking Instant Pot Brown Rice, you will want to make it every day! It’s also healthier than white rice, so let’s discover how delicious brown rice can be.
Cooking Short-Grain Brown Rice in the Instant Pot
Before we start, take note that this method is for cooking Japanese short-grain brown rice. If you are using medium- and long-grain rice, you will need to look for a different recipe.
Short-grain rice has a rounder body as compared to medium or long-grain rice which is slimmer and elongated. It releases starch when cooked, so the rice is moist and has a sticky texture. Brown (whole-grain) rice is a whole grain with a good source of complex carbohydrates and fiber while white rice is stripped of the fiber.
In this recipe, I’ll show you how to cook brown rice for Japanese-style meals. The brown rice will be cooked in only water and salt. Unlike some western-style brown rice recipes online, there’s no broth or seasonings required.
Normally it takes a long time to make brown rice on the stovetop or in the rice cooker, but this recipe uses an Instant Pot (pressure cooker) to speed up the process. Not only it saves time, but it also yields chewy and perfectly cooked brown rice.
How to Make Brown Rice in the Instant Pot
Follow my tips to make perfectly cooked Instant Pot Brown Rice. With a pressure cooker, you can make perfectly cooked short-grain brown rice every time.
3 Tips for Making Instant Pot Brown Rice
If rice is a big part of your diet, then learning how to cook proper brown rice would be an essential kitchen skill. Let me show you 3 important tips to make delicious brown rice.
1. Soak Rice
The most basic, but very important tip is to soak rice. Whether you use short grain white rice or brown rice, short-grain variety requires soaking. As the rice kernels are fatter, it takes more time for the moisture to get through to the core of the grains. So we must give a headstart by soaking the rice in water. Here is the time range for both white and brown rice:
- White rice: 20 to 30 minutes.
- Brown rice: 6 to 12 hours.
If you are cooking the brown rice for dinner, start preparing in the morning. If you want to cook it for breakfast, soak the rice before going to sleep.
2. Add Salt
Brown rice has a natural bitter tone. Salt helps to remove the bitterness from the rice and facilitates the absorption of water. A small amount of salt can also bring out the sweetness from the brown rice.
3. Use Pressure Cooker
As the brown rice has several thin layers of bran coating the grain, there are a few benefits when you cook brown rice in a pressure cooker:
- The heat will penetrate into the core of the brown rice.
- The cooking temperature is above 100ºC, which results in sweetness in flavor and mochi-mochi (perfectly chewy) texture.
- Cooks evenly, the rice texture will be the same throughout.
“Kani Ana” – Perfectly Cooked Instant Pot Brown Rice
Kani Ana (かに穴) or crab holes is the sign that your brown rice is cooked perfectly.
When cooking the rice, the steam bubbles push through the rice from the bottom of the pot, they create small holes in the rice. These indentations represent holes where crabs go in and out on the beaches. So we call them crab holes or kani ana. The picture below shows you the perfectly cooked brown rice dotted with several holes on the surface.
Make Ahead and Freeze Brown Rice
Since brown rice takes some time to cook, you can make ahead and freeze it for later use (learn how to freezer rice). When I am short on time, I just need to defrost the rice in the microwave and it’s ready to enjoy just like freshly made brown rice out of the cooker.
Japanese Ingredient Substitution: If you want to look for substitutes for Japanese condiments and ingredients, click here.
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How to Cook Brown Rice (Instant Pot Brown Rice)
Video
Ingredients
2 Rice Cooker Cups
- 2 rice cooker cups brown rice (180 ml x 2 = 360 ml; 160 g x 2 = 320 g)
- ½ tsp kosher/sea salt (I use Diamond Crystal; use half for table salt) (optional, but salt will help reducing bitterness of brown rice)
- 400 ml water
3 Rice Cooker Cups
- 3 rice cooker cups brown rice (180 ml x 3 = 540 ml; 160 g x 3 = 480 ml)
- ¾ tsp kosher/sea salt (I use Diamond Crystal; use half for table salt) (optional, but salt will help reducing bitterness of brown rice)
- 600 ml water
Instructions
- Use a rice cooker cup to measure rice. Scoop 2 rice cooker cups of short-grain brown rice and put in a large bowl.
- Rinse the brown rice a few times.
- Rub the brown rice between hands and rinse with the water several times (It’s called “momi arai” もみ洗い).
- 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.
- Drain and shake off the water completely.
- Add the drained brown rice in the Instant Pot or other pressure cooker.
- Add salt.
- Add the water and evenly distribute the rice in the pot.
- Close the lid of the Instant Pot, press 'Manual' and set 20 minutes on high pressure.
- 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.
- Open the lid. It’s a success when you see small holes on the rice surface (we call them “Kani Ana” – crab holes).
- 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.
Notes
Equipment
- Pressure cooker
Best method for cooking Brown Rice I’ve tried. This is now my go to method for brown japanese rice.
Hi Curtis, We are happy to hear Nami’s recipe was the best method for cooking brown rice! Yay!
Thank you very much for your kind feedback!
Which brands do you use for Japanese short grain brown rice? I live in the Northwest. Thank you!
Hi Misaki, Nami enjoys this brand. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002WFZC6I?ref=exp_justonecookbook_dp_vv_d
We hope this helps!
Namiko-san
Thank you for the video on how to cook brown rice…. it looks so “oishi”. I don’t have an instant pot but i will try and soak the rice like you suggest… We eat only brown rice. Thank you again – reiko yoshizu
Hi Reiko-san!
Thank you very much for your kind feedback!
Yes! Please try soaking the rice before you cook. It makes a big difference in the result and will be “motto Oishi!” 😉
I love your suggestions regarding Japanese cooking.
Hi Suz!
Thank you very much for your kind feedback!
I have questions about the ratios listed for this recipe. I soaked 2 180cc cups of brown rice, drained it, then added 400 cl of water. It came just BELOW the mark for cooking 2 cups of rice.
Are you saying that brown rice requires the SAME amount of water as white rice?
I was taught that brown rice requires more water. I have even seen 1:2 ratios listed: 2 cups of water for 1 cup of (uncooked) rice!
In case it matters, I am using Korean short grain brown rice in a standard Chinese-made rice cooker; it works perfectly for white rice.
I respectfully request your expert judgment!
Hi David,
Are you comparing it with the rice cooker bowl (the mark for cooking 2 cups of rice)?
Normally, the rice cooker marks add the water amount for the soaking, so if you are using this recipe and using the pressure cooker, the water amount will be different. Because the rice already soaks up enough water.
As Nami mentions in this post, the soaking time will be as follow:
White rice: 20 to 30 minutes.
Brown rice: 6 to 12 hours.
We hope this helps!🙂
P.S. You can check brown rice water amount for a rice cooker here: https://www.justonecookbook.com/how-to-make-rice/. The recipe on this post is for a pressure cooker method, which does not release moisture while cooking.
Nami,
Could you give the weights for the rice quantities (preferably in grams)? We’ve moved and along the way I lost our metric measuring cups. I still have our scale, so 360ml and 540ml of raw rice would be easier to measure by weight.
Thank you!
Hi Thomas! Sure, for brown rice, one rice cooker cup (180 ml) = 160 g. Hope that helps! I’ll add that to my recipe. 🙂
Hi,
Do you soak the rice in room temperature or the fridge?
Thank you!
Hi Sharon! I always soak the rice in the instant pot (or in my rice cooker). If you live in a hot environment, the refrigerator is recommended so it doesn’t go bad. 🙂
How many real cups? And what do I do for long grain rice — soaking, ratio, time?
Roughly 1.5 cups. I’ve only used Japanese short-grain rice so I do not know about cooking long-grain rice. I’m sorry I wish I could tell.
For the stovetop, how long should I cook the rice on low heat after boiling?
Hi Tamala! 25-30 minutes. Hope you enjoy!
HI Nami!
Just wondering if Haiga sprouted brown rice the same as Hatsuga Genmai Rice? And is it cooked that same way?
Hi Pamela! So here’s the difference.
Haiga Sprouted Rice (胚芽米) – Germinated half-milled rice (without bran)
Hatsuga Genmai (発芽玄米 or sometimes written as 発芽米) – Germinated brown rice soaked in water
This chart explains well – https://xn--38jucsf2390azlj.com/wp-content/themes/genmaigohan/images/20180727_05_hatsuga-genami-toha.jpg
Do you see Haiga Sprouted Rice (胚芽米) is stripped off bran (nuka in Japanese)? Not completely white rice yet, but it’s different from “brown rice” that has bran.
Haiga Sprouted Rice can be cooked similar to white rice (less time to soak and cook). However, Hatsuga Brown Rice is brown rice, so Japanese usually soak 6-12 hours so the rice is nice and tender in the core.
Hope this helps?
Konbanwa, Nami-san!
I have been struggling to perfect short grain brown rice for years. I tried your method today and it worked perfectly!! I ended up with sticky, fluffy brown rice that I can easily shape into onigiri!! This is a major game-changer for me. Thank you so so much for posting!
Kayla
Konnichiwa Kayla-san! Yay, I’m so happy to hear that your brown rice came out well! Thank you so much for your kind feedback. You’ve made my day! 🙂
When I went to Japan few years ago, I eat at a Japanese restaurant at the underpass. They served rice which color is black or purple mix with other grain (which I dont know the name), and it tastes really good. Do you mind share about the rice and grain that Japanese cook daily and the tips of cooking with rice cooker?
Lately I switched white rice into brown rice. So I am happy to see your post about brown rice. And now I try the germinated brown rice, but still dont get the correct water ratio . Do you know how to cook the germinated brown rice?
I have been enjoying reading your website these years, and yours is my go to website everytime I have question in mind about cooking or looking for japanese recipe. Your recipe is always perfect. Thank you for sharing!
Hi Ariana! The rice you had is called Zakkokumai 雑穀米. Depending on the restaurants or brand of pre-mix rice packages, you may hear 五穀米 – Gokokumai (five kinds), 十六穀米 Jurokkokumai (16 kinds) etc.
Here are different kinds of Zakkokumai: http://www.bestamenity.co.jp/culture/kind/
16 kinds: http://www.jurokkoku.com/concept/feature/ (see purple looking?)
I’m not sure if you can find all these grains but in Japan we do have packages that have already premixed. I added your request to my list.
Can you get germinated brown rice (Hatsuga Genmai 発芽玄米) or you are making your own from brown rice? You could buy Hatsuga Genmai where you are? I haven’t covered this topic yet as I assumed it’s hard to find…
Thank you for reading my blog!!
Konnichiwa, Nami,
For normal brown rice (not short grain), how many hours need to soak in the water?
Thanks for your sharing
Hi Isaac! From what I learned searching the internet, it seems like you don’t need to soak at all… Japanese recipes ALWAYS ask for soaking brown rice. I didn’t see for long grain etc. 🙂