If you love making Jasmine rice and you have an Instant Pot, then this method of cooking rice may be up your alley because it’s super quick. While you can cook jasmine rice in various ways: rice cooker, microwave, or on the stovetop directly, you can also use your Instant Pot as a rice cooker if you need to save space in your kitchen or want a super fast way of cooking rice.
Types of jasmine rice to use
Jasmine rice is a type of long grain rice and it comes in white and brown varieties. Unlike other variations of rice like short grain or medium grain rice, jasmine rice is plump and only slightly sticky due to the low levels of amylopectin. This starch determines the stickiness between the rice grains after cooking.
The difference between white and brown jasmine rice is the same as other varieties, meaning the latter still has the bran intact and will have an even less sticky consistency after cooking and may have nuttier notes of flavor and aroma.
It’s typically grown in areas like South East Asia like Thailand. Specifically, jasmine rice made from Thailand that is labeled “hom mali” is the highest grade of jasmine rice and has the strongest aroma. It’s no coincidence that some of the best dishes to pair with jasmine rice come from Thailand, like Thai Panang curry, Thai basil fried rice, and pad Thai.
Do you need to wash or rinse jasmine rice?
It is definitely recommended to rinse rice (any rice at that matter) before cooking because it helps remove dirt and debris in the rice and also remove excess starch on the grains. Make sure to note that if your jasmine rice is made with enriched nutrients like iron, niacin, or folic acid, washing too much of your rice will wash away these nutrients.
Jasmine rice to water ratio
What’s easy about this recipe is that the ratio is super simple to remember since it’s a 1:1 ratio. I like to use a kitchen scale for anything that happens in the kitchen to reduce error, but you can also use dry and liquid measuring cups.
Here are the ratios to cook jasmine rice in an Instant Pot:
- 1 dry measuring cup of jasmine rice (or 240 grams): 8 fluid ounces of filtered water (or 205 grams)
- 2 dry measuring cups of jasmine rice (or 480 grams): 16 fluid ounces of filtered water (or 410 grams)
What’s great about this recipe is that if you need more than 2 servings, you can multiply the ratio and it will still work.
How long to cook jasmine rice in an Instant Pot
The actual cook time on the Instant Pot for jasmine rice is actually really short because it only takes 4 minutes to cook (with 15 minutes of natural release). The rest of the time it’s heating up and then depressurizing. Even when you add the extra time, it still cooks rice about 10 minutes faster than a traditional rice cooker.
How to use the rice button on the Instant Pot
The Instant Pot is a type of pressure cooker that comes with a built-in rice button setting, however, I like to use the manual setting to control the amount of cook time. The Instant Pot rice setting automatically cooks the rice for about 10-12 minutes and then you let the pressure release. However, for this recipe I only cook the rice for about 4 minutes, so using the rice setting for jasmine rice would really overcook it.
Does jasmine rice take longer to cook?
In the Instant Pot (and in my experience), jasmine rice actually cooks much faster than short-grain rice. Where short-grain rice takes about 10 minutes of active cooking time (plus about 15 minutes of natural release), jasmine rice only takes 4 minutes of active cooking time (with 15 minutes of natural release).
Does jasmine rice cook the same as other rice?
Depending on the type and variety of rice you are cooking, each variety will cook differently from jasmine rice. White short grain rice will cook longer in the Instant Pot than jasmine rice, but in the microwave they cook in the same timeframe (but different water/rice ratios). You can cook any rice in different methods and still get plump and tasty rice: jasmine rice on the stovetop and rice cooker, white rice in a rice cooker, short grain rice in an Instant Pot, white rice in the microwave, brown rice in the microwave, and brown rice in an Instant Pot.
Perfect Instant Pot Jasmine Rice
Ingredients
- water for rinsing
- 240 g (8 fl oz) filtered water
- 205 g (1 c) jasmine rice
Equipment Used
- dry & liquid measuring cups (or scale)
- Strainer
- fork or rice paddle
Instructions
- Measure out your rice and add it into a strainer. Under running water, clean your rice until the water runs clear. Use your hands to move around the rice so each grain gets clean.
- Transfer rice to the Instant Pot.
- Add the filtered water. Use your hands to level out the grains on the top.
- Place the lid on and turn to lock it. Use manual cook settings: set high pressure for 4 minutes with the manual release. Leave the “keep warm” setting off. When it's done cooking, the pressure cooker will beep, then start a timer for 10 minutes to let some pressure release naturally.
- Once the timer is up, press the pressure release valve to fully depressurize. Open the lid and use a rice paddle to fluff up the rice. Serve immediately.
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