Simple Asian Rice – Instant Pot Recipe
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Asian Rice Instant Pot recipe makes a saucy flavorful rice that’s moist and tender and cooks in only 15 minutes. This delicious simple rice makes a quick and easy side to any meal.
This recipe was updated on 10/15/22 by reducing the amount of liquid in the recipe after further testing. I thank my readers for giving me their feedback and allowing me to make my recipes better when needed.
This simple Asian Rice Recipe cooks up tender and so flavorful.
Using Brown Rice assures the recipe is saucy and delicious but never mushy.
Our Instant Pot makes this simple Asian Brown Rice recipe perfectly cooked in only 15 minutes.
We’ve always loved rice, especially with the Asian dishes we make at home.
Before we had our instant pot, we would have to start our rice to make sure it was cooked in time to serve it with our meal, at least 45 minutes.
The first time we made rice in the instant pot was for our instant pot Chicken and Rice recipe.
We haven’t made it any other way since, regardless of the variety of rice that we use.
What kind of rice is Asian Rice?
It depends on where the dish comes from such as in Thailand you may get Jasmine rice or Basmati in India.
The most common variety is Koshihikari rice (or Koshi rice) in Japan, a white, polished short grain. It’s stickier than other varieties of rice.
My rule is to make what you like, and most of the time it’s brown rice for us. The rest of the time we use a wild rice blend. They’re delicious, versatile, and easy to access for us.
Best of all, they all cook up beautifully in the instant pot.
Simple Asian Rice Ingredients
- Rice – We used brown rice but use what you like.
- Onion – Yellow onion is what we used. You can use a white or sweet onion too.
- Fresh Ginger – We keep ginger in the freezer and grate it as we need it.
- Fresh Garlic
- Vegetable Broth – You can use beef or chicken stock or broth too. We use low sodium broth.
- Soy Sauce – Low sodium is what we prefer.
- Crushed Red Pepper – Provides a nice little heat without changing the flavor of the dish.
- Green onion – Fresh scallions add a delicious texture as well as an eye-pleasing garnish.
Tip: Whenever we use soy sauce we go for the low-sodium variety. The sodium level in this recipe is more than double when you use broth and soy sauce that aren’t low in sodium.
Note: We now use a 1:1 ratio of liquid to rice when making rice in our Instant Pot. The equipment and the variety of rice that we use can make a difference, and we want you to be successful with any of our recipes so value your comments. Together we are better!
How to make Asian Rice
- Combine all of the ingredients in the instant pot.
- Secure the lid and set the vent to seal.
- Press the manual button and set the pressure at high for 15 minutes.
- Once the time has expired, allow the pot to naturally release for 10 minutes and then push the vent open. Use a wooden spoon to prevent steam burns.
- Stir and serve.
What to serve Asian Brown Rice with
My answer would be anything. However, here are some of our favorite recipes!
ITEMS YOU MAY NEED
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You don’t need much to make this Asian Rice Recipe. Just an Instant Pot. It took me a while to use mine but once I did, I use it a lot. It’s great on busy days or those days when we forget to take something out of the freezer.
The instant pot also frees up our stove and oven when space is a premium.
We love Asian food. You can find all of our Asian recipes here.
Once you try our Asian Rice Recipe, I don’t think you’ll cook it any other way! What is your favorite rice recipe?
Simple Asian Rice – Instant Pot Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown rice
- 1/2 cup onion
- 1 tsp ginger fresh grated
- 1 tsp garlic minced
- 1 cups vegetable broth 14.5 oz can, low sodium
- 1/4 cup soy sauce low-sodium
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients to the instant pot.
- Secure the lid and set the vent to seal. Use the manual (or pressure) function set to high and set the time for 15 minutes.
- Once the time is met, let the instant pot manually release for 10 minutes. Release any additional pressure by moving the vent to venting. I use a wooden spoon to prevent steam burns.
- Stir and serve.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
This recipe was calculated using the exact brands and measurements I used to make this recipe. If you are following a strict diet please note changing anything will cause the nutritional info to change. My calculations are intended as a guide only.
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I must have done something wrong
Mine burnt
It sounds like you ran out of liquid, Linda?
I made this exactly as directed, using brown rice. When I opened the pot after the natural release time, the mixture was soupy and the rice was not done. I started to saute it for a few minutes, but decided instead to pressure cook it another 5 minutes and do another 5 minute natural release. That did the trick. The rice was done. However, this was way too salty. I put 3/4 of it in a fine mesh strainer and rinsed it (not completely, but for about 10 seconds) and added it back to the pot with the 1/4 that wasn’t rinsed. I would cut the soy sauce in half next time. Also, my tried and true recipe for brown rice is: 1:1 ratio of rice to liquid, 22 minutes cook time and 5 minutes natural release.
I’ll use that method for this recipe next time, cutting the soy sauce by half. I served it with with honey ginger chicken. They went well together.
Thank you for your tips, Donna. I’ll be revisiting this recipe. I’ve made it several times and it works for me but hasn’t for everyone.
After reading the reviews I decided to change up some things. I used washed white rice. Set to Sauté and white onion and ginger in a little oil…i used 1tsp garlic powder(I didn’t have any fresh on hand), grated ginger, 2 tablespoons of tamari, salt to your taste but I used 1/4 tsp and sprinkled in sesame oil(didnt measure it), 1 1/2 cups of water and 1 cup of frozen peas and carrots. Set it to pressure cook on high for 4 minutes and let it naturally release pressure for 10 minutes( thats important). It turned out great. Could have used more salt but I paired it with bourbon chicken and it was still good. Hope that helps someone!
That sounds amazing Amina and am sure that our readers will appreciate it as well. The bourbon chicken sounds delicious too!
The recipe is soupy and tastes terrible.
How much liquid did you add. I recommend 1 rice to 1 cup of liquid and never have that issue. I used to do 2 to 1 which worked for me but many people had to much liquid.
@Russell, I agree. this was horrible.
I had to move it to stove top to continue cooking and try to fix the flavor. to much soy sauce in this recipie. It was unfixable. we tossed it in the trash
Flavor is good however next time I’ll just make it on my stovetop. Mine came out very mushy in the insta pot.
Thanks, Tasha. Will you tell me what kind of rice you used. I’m curious because my rice doesn’t and I want to make any clarifications for my readers.
I made this in my rice cooker on the brown rice setting. It took about 40 minutes but came out perfectly. I added a teaspoon of sesame oil and a teaspoon of rice vinegar for some extra flavor.
Thank you for the tip! I don’t own a rice cooker but I’m sure some people in our community do. I love the addition of sesame oil and rice vinegar too.
@Harley Jane,
I was actually just about to ask if we could use a rice cooker. I have both an Insta pot and rice cooker, but am much more comfortable with my rice cooker and use it all the time. Did you still do the 1 to 1 liquid to rice? I usually use the old asian grandmother trick of just adding liquid to the top of my knuckles (with hand flat on top of rice) but with the different elements in this (oil, soy, etc) I think it needs to be a bit more exact. one last question, I like my rice a little firmer, def not mushy. Thanks in advance for your help!
I baked a 3lb. Cornbeef on 325 for 3 hours covered little water on bottom of rack and it is very tuff help
Soupy salty too much soy and why underdone My wife hated it, said it was the worst rice she ever had. , and it reminded me of the lousy rice my mother made me when I was a kid and have had a hard time liking rice since. I should have known there was a problem with this cook when she stated that people are saying it is a bit soupy so she halved the amount of water. Really? From a more reputable site it was calling for about a 1 1/4 water to 1 cup rice recipe and then cooking it for 25 minutes and not 15. Maybe you can cook white rice for 15, but not brown rice.
I’ve never had a problem cooking brown or white rice 2:1 in the IP for 15 minutes and a 10-minute natural release.
@Retrogrouch, you are spot on. this was the worst rice recipie I have ever tried off of the internet. I should have read the reviews before wasting my ingredients. I moved it to the stovetop when it was underdone in the instant pot. tried to salvage it as much as possible, but it was just horrible. we tossed it all in the trash and just skipped the rice for our meal. Very disapointing.
I’ve made changes to this recipe and tested it several times. I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you.
The us was very soupy as well as salty. All my Instant Pot recipes use a ratio of one cup water to one cup rice…I should have reduced the broth to one cup. Will try again with some tweaks.
I’m sorry it didn’t work for you, Kay! I always use the 2:1 liquid rice ratio and have never had an issue. I hope you’ll let me know if it works with one cup of broth. I’ll make note of this in the recipe for our readers. Thank you!
I used parboiled brown rice and only used one cup of broth because for parboiled rice you need a 1:1 ratio of rice to liquid. I added 3 TBSP of soy sauce instead of a quarter cup. Everything else was the same. I cooked on high for 8 minutes and then did a natural release (cooking time for parboiled brown rice, parboiled regular rice is 6 minutes on high with natural release).
It turned out well and I added a couple of tablespoons of water to loosen it just a bit. I think I might like a splash of rice vinegar as mine was rich. In any case, I hate when people change recipes drastically but I thought I should comment and let people know the flavours are quite good.
Thank you, Kiara. I certainly don’t mind you sharing your variations with our community. I like to look at the recipes that I try on what other people found helpful. I appreciate you stopping by and sharing!
I made this tonight. I love that it used brown rice and it had great flavor. I made it exactly as state, but mine turned out soupy. I thought the rice to liquid ratio seemed off from what I normally do in my instant pot. I would reduce the liquid next time.
Thanks for stopping by Tracy! Did you let it naturally release for 10 minutes before opening it up? I’ve also noticed that different people have different results with their instant pots. Some people get an overcooked result and some under. Once you get used to how recipes cook in your instant pot, your results will be a little more consistent. I appreciate your comment and stopping by!
Love making rice in the instant pot! The flavors in this one were amazing! And the leftovers were just as good for lunch the next day!
Thank you, Amy! The instant pot is the only way to go with rice!
We love all things Asian and this is going on our menu this week! Love that you used Brown rice too!
Thank you, Kathleen! We love this rice with so many dishes.
So excited to find your recipe! I often need an Asian rice side dish, but have never really settled on a particular recipe – I just sort of make it up as I go along. This is extra-great because you recommend brown rice (my preference, too), plus it all comes together so quickly and easily in the Instant Pot. Thank you!!
Thank you, Shelley! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
I love Instant Pot recipes. I’m making orange chicken tonight and this will go perfectly with it!
Thanks, Jess!
What a simple yet delicious dish! Love that it takes less than 30mins too 🙂
We’re with you Chris! Quick and delish!
Oh yum! What a great recipe for a tasty side dish. 🙂
Thank you, Carrie!
Love this simple recipe and the Asian flavors. Will try it for dinner today.
Thank you, Roxana! We loved it and hope you did as well!
It is so good to have a bowl of flavorful rice on the side for dinner. Thank you for sharing this easy recipe!
Thank you, Alina!
Oh yum! I seldom make Asian recipes so can’t wait to make this rice dish.
Thank you, Charla! We love this simple dish with any main dish.
Wow, what CAN’T the instant pot do?? I am drooling over this rice, bookmarked to make later. Thanks so much for the recipe 🙂
We learning to love ours Cathleen! Thank you!
Ohhh all those lovely flavours – I think I’m going to have to get myself an Instant Pot! This looks so good – a perfect side dish with so many Asian flavours.
Thank you, Kate!