Instant Pot Japanese Fried Rice
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A few years ago, I jumped on the electric pressure cooker bandwagon as more and more recipes were being created to make weeknight meals easier and faster. My primary reason for purchase was that a friend told me that it’s a great cooking appliance to make Indian food – one of my favorites! Since I purchased the Instant Pot, not only have I made Indian food with it, but it has essentially replaced my slow cooker altogether. It’s now one of the most used appliances in my kitchen.
I started experimenting various recipes using Instant Pot and there’s been a lot of pleasant surprises and a few disappointments. For example, I cannot get any of the pasta dishes to come out right. Pasta is almost always overcooked or partially undercooked. But I’ve been really happy with the way that most rice dishes, even including some risottos, turn out.
Most traditional Japanese recipes do not require a lot of time to cook, and I already have a rice cooker to make my plain, white rice. So, I haven’t thought to use pressure cookers to make any of my Japanese dishes. Until…I started seeing the recipes for fried rice using Instant Pot!
Japanese Chāhan or Yakimeshi
I love Japanese fried rice, called Chāhan or Yakimeshi in Japanese. To make the best tasting fried rice takes a bit of planning. But not because the ingredients are anything that’s difficult to get. One of the tricks to making the best fried rice is to use ‘cold’ rice – maybe a day-old rice that’s been in the refrigerator – and not the fresh, hot rice. I can barely plan meals for the same day. So Japanese fried rice, unfortunately, hardly ever made it on the menu.
After putting this Instant Pot Japanese Fried Rice recipe together (which does not require preparing the cold rice a day in advance), it will be a more of a staple in our household for sure! It doesn’t beat the traditional way of cooking Chāhan or Yakimeshi but it’s pretty darn close to being perfect for a quick weeknight meal!
Healthier substitution
I used bacon in this recipe just because pork or ham is used frequently to make Japanese fried rice. (And of course, bacon makes everything taste better!) To make a healthier version of this, substitute bacon with about a cup of cubed chicken breast or pork. Or use no meat to make a great vegetarian side dish. If you do opt for a healthier version, add one tablespoon of cooking oil when the Instant Pot first heats up, before adding the onion.
Substituting rice
The recommended rice to use for this is the short- or medium grain rice. You can also use brown rice to make it healthier or use Jasmine or Basmati rice. But be sure to adjust the amount of water and cooking time if you make these substitutions. For Jasmin and Basmati rice, reduce the water to 1 ½ cups and the same cooking duration (5 minutes). For brown rice, use 2 cups of water and cook for 18 minutes.
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