Instant Pot Lemon Rice Pilaf Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you do the rice finger trick on Instant Pot? ›

How do you measure rice in an Instant Pot with your fingers? You can measure rice in an Instant Pot using your finger. Just add a little less water than usual (to about ¾ of the way up the knuckle on your finger), as less water evaporates during pressure cooking.

1:1 – While you generally use 1 cup rice to 1 ¼ cups water for stovetop rice, in the Instant Pot, that ratio drops down to 1:1, aka 1 cup of water for every one cup of rice.

You might notice that this ratio of water to rice is lower than what you'd use if you were cooking the rice on the stove. That's because much less water evaporates from the Instant Pot, so you don't need as much to cook fluffy, tender rice. Once you add the water, it's time to cook!

If your Instant Pot rice is mushy, that means you added too much water. It's not the end of the world; drain out any excess water and eat the rice as is.

Place your fingertip on top of the rice and add water until it reaches your first knuckle. Cover the pot with a lid and bring the water to a boil. Turn the heat to low and cook for 18–20 minutes, until all the water is absorbed. (It's OK to check.)

By washing white rice (where the bran has been milled), the excess starch is washed off, as well as the oxidized rice bran oil, which adds an unpleasant flavor to the cooked rice." Washing rice will also remove dust and debris and help the grains to be more separated, rather than sticky.

The Instant Pot's rice button is best used for white rice, as it is specifically calibrated to weigh white rice and water and cook the rice accordingly. This is ideal for weeknights when you truly want to set and forget your rice, but not great for cooking different varieties of rice on the fly.

One (1) cup raw rice yields 3 ½ cups cooked rice, or enough for 3 light eaters. To be sure you have enough rice, prepare 1 ½ cups raw rice for 3 or 4 people and 2 cups raw rice for 4 to 6 people. Time required to cook a pot of rice? Plan on 30 minutes from the moment you turn on the heat to when the rice is cooked.

If you cook rice longer so you can do quick pressure release, with the hope to have the rice cooked faster overall, it gets sticky and mushy. If you want fluffy rice , I encourage you to be patient and wait for natural pressure release.

Even a rice cooker can make the rice soggy and wet if you've added too much water or haven't washed the rice before cooking. To fix mushy rice from a rice cooker, pour out the excess water and turn the unit back on to a low-power setting. This will help the moisture evaporate.

Why does my rice come out Gluey? ›

Gluggy rice is simply rice that has been overcooked and absorbed too much water. If it sticks together in clumps, it usually indicates a lot of starch. You won't notice the starch coating each of the rice grains before you start cooking, but when it hits the water and heats up, it becomes extremely gluey.