Sometimes we are rushing to do something, and we’re thinking of ways on how we can do a task faster. Sometimes, when you are out of time preparing your dinner, but you still have to cook rice, you wonder how to cook it faster. What can you do? Cooking it on the stovetop requires attention, while cooking it in the rice cooker takes time. We have the answer to your problems! We will teach you how to cook rice in pressure cooker.
Cooking rice in a pressure cooker cooks the rice faster than usual. It uses the internal pressure of the pressure cooker to cook the rice. It produces good results – hot and fluffy rice. It’s a great trick especially when you need some rice quickly.
Types of Rice
Before we teach you how to cook rice in pressure cooker, we will share some of the different rice grains so you get to familiarize yourself with the differences between them. This will help you decide which one to buy and use for your purpose.
Long Grain Rice
Long grain rice is long and thin. This type of rice grain is known to have a firm and dry texture. It is perfect for side dishes and rice pilafs. One of the distinct characteristics of this rice is that it stays loose with each other after cooking; plus, it’s light. This type of rice is perfect for fried rice since it will not clump and stick together.
One of the most known long-grain rice is Basmati Rice which you might have encountered when you eat curry at an Indian restaurant. There’s also Jasmine Rice that is famous for being aromatic compared to other rice grains.
Medium Grain Rice
Medium grain rice is the middle ground. It is shorter than a long grain but not as short as short-grain rice. It has more moisture, is more tender, and chewier compared to long grain rice, and it sticks together a little bit. It is perfect for making risottos and paella.
Check out Arborio rice if you need to buy medium grain rice. It is perfect for cooking risotto since the rice will stick together and absorb all the moisture you will put into the rice.
Short Grain Rice
Short grain rice is the shortest type of rice. The result of using short-grain rice is soft, tender, and tight together. Most Asian recipes like sushi and rice cakes are made using short-grain rice. Short grain rice, like glutinous rice or sometimes called sticky rice, can be grounded into a fine powder and used as flour to create rice cakes.
Sushi rice and Calrose rice are some of the popular short-grain rice used in cooking. Sushi rice is specially made for making sushi. Other recipes you can make with short-grain rice are rice balls and other Asian rice dishes.
Other Types of Rice
Some types, like the wild rice and the forbidden black rice, is also a great substitute for the classic white rice. The forbidden black rice or forbidden rice has a nutty taste, and it is high in antioxidants. The same antioxidants are in blueberries; that’s why the color is also dark.
Wild rice is also high in antioxidants, but it has different properties from black rice. Wild rice is composed of seeds that come from a type of marsh grass. It acts, cooks, and looks like rice. The taste is a bit earthy compared to white rice.
Steps in Cooking Rice in Pressure Cooker
The steps on how to cook rice in pressure cooker are almost the same as the steps of cooking rice in rice cookers or cooking rice on a stovetop. The main difference is that you need to remove the pressure cooker from the fire after the first three whistles.
Rinsing the Rice
The first step we need to do every time we cook rice is to rinse the rice. Rinsing the rice is important to remove unnecessary pieces included within the rice bag, like stones and unmilled rice bran. Rinse using cold water since hot water may have an additional effect on the rice.
To rinse the rice, place your rice grains in a bowl or directly into the cooking pot of the pressure cooker. Fill the container with cold water just enough to submerge all rice grains. Stir the rice grains a bit to rub out some of the starch.
After that, dump the water into the sink. Use your hands to prevent the rice from falling into the sink too. Rinse the rice one more time. If the rinsing water is almost clear, you can now stop. Dump the last rinsing water so we can proceed in cooking our rice.
Cooking the Rice
If you rinsed the rice in a bowl, start by transferring the rice into the pressure cooker pot. Once the rice grains are in the pot, add the water needed for cooking. Remember how many cups of rice you are cooking. Use the same cup you used for the rice and add water twice the number of cups of rice you are cooking. If you are cooking two cups of rice, add four cups of water. Make sure that all rice grains are submerged in the water.
Once you’re done adding the water, lock the pressure cooker lid. Place it on a high heat flame. Wait for it to whistle three times. After the third whistle, turn off the flame. Let the pressure release naturally. Don’t lift the pressure covers on the lid. Around 10 minutes, all pressure should be gone, and your rice is ready. Serve it while hot. You can serve it with a slice of butter for tastier rice.
Conclusion
Rice is the staple food in Asian countries. It is very diverse and has lots of usage in the kitchen that’s why knowing how to cook rice is a great skill to have as a chef. Now that you know the steps on how to cook rice in pressure cooker, we hope you can use this in the future.
There are other ways of cooking rice, but this one is the fastest. Try doing this when you have guests, and you’re under time in preparations. It will make your meal preparation time faster and easier. Learn easy cooking tips.