An Instant Pot or other brand of pressure cooker makes it fast and easy to produce fluffy, separate grains of rice with minimal attention. It reduces the cook time by almost half compared to a conventional covered pot, and it produces evenly cooked results more reliably, since once the vessel has come up to pressure, it becomes a sealed environment that prevents evaporation so a variable like a loose-fitting lid can’t throw things off.
Why Rice Needs Less Water in a Pressure Cooker
In tests, we’ve found that all varieties of rice hydrate properly with a 1:1 ratio of rice to water; additional water is added to account for evaporation. In a conventional covered pot, where water evaporates during the entire cooking time, we add an extra ½ cup water. Butin a pressure cooker, you only need to addan extra ¼ cup water— to account for the little bit of evaporation that happens as the pot is coming up to pressure before it turns into a sealed environment.
How to Cook Rice in a Pressure Cooker
1. RINSE RICE
Place 1 cup long-grain white, jasmine, or basmati rice in fine-mesh strainer and rinse under cold running water until water runs clear.
2. COOK RICE
Transfer rice to stovetop or electric pressure cooker and add 1¼ cups water and ½ teaspoon salt, if desired. For each additional cup rice, add only 1 cup water (and additional ½ teaspoon salt). (Use 2¼ cups water for 2 cups rice, 3¼ cups water for 3 cups rice, and so on.)
3. RELEASE PRESSURE
Cook rice at high pressure for 3 minutes, then remove pressure cooker from heat or turn it off and let pressure release naturally for 10 minutes. Open pressure cooker, fluff rice with fork, and serve.
