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!
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time40 minutesmins
Soaking Time6 hourshrs
Total Time6 hourshrs50 minutesmins
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Japanese
Keyword: rice
Servings: 4
Calories: 290kcal
Author: Namiko Chen
Ingredients
For 4 Rice Bowls (4⅓ cups, 660 g)
1½cupsuncooked Japanese short-grain brown rice(2 rice cooker cups, 360 ml)
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).
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.
Rinse the brown rice a few times.
Rub the brown rice between your hands and rinse with water several times. In Japanese, this is 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 (in Japanese, 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.
Equipment
Instant Pot (a pressure cooker)
Notes
Rice to Water Ratio and Cooking Time: Depending on the type of stovetop, type/age of rice, and season of the year, rice-water ratio, cooking time, and heat level vary. Please adjust according to your preference.