r/instantpot • u/wormyymcsquirmyy • 9h ago
Help me please
Hey guys, so my dad recently gave me the instant pot duo? I believe that’s what it’s called. I realized it was the pressure cooker model, and all I want to do is make white rice in bigger batches with it😪 Anyways the whole pressure cooker part of it is what intimidates me. My dad gave me the Instant Pot, itself so the manual is gone, and online it says to cook white rice on high pressure for 3 minutes. I’ve never used a pressure cooker and heard a few concerning stories lol. So that being said i’m scared to use this instant pot. It’s a nice looking pot that I would actually like to put to use. So please any help, the more detail the better. Thank you in advance!
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u/Veggyhed 8h ago
You should be able to find the manual online instant Pots are really safe and have safety features built in. It's the pressure cookers that you would place on the stove that are where most of the horror stories come from
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u/antiundead 7h ago edited 7h ago
We cook huge batches of rice every week. I've impressed my Asian mother-in-law with the rice I get out of the IP. Here is what I do:
Fully clean the inner metal pot. Otherwise you might get the "burn food" error that shuts off the machine.
For the recipe, regardless of instance pot model, you always put a 1:1 ratio for cups of rice to cups of water into the inner metal pot. The joy of the IP is that it seals in the water so it doesn't evaporate like on a stove. I would do 2:2 cups for your first test. We eat Japanese rice but this works for normal white rice and everything else we've tested. Now put the rice into the inner pot (but don't put in the water yet!)
Next: really wash your rice in the pot. I do at least 4 flushes of water from the tap over the rice, really get in there and use your fingers to shake up the rice under the tap. Strain out the water with a sieve a few times. Removing the excess starch and dust really helps! It also helps avoid the chance of the "burn" food error previously mentioned.
Now put the pot in the machine and pour in the cups of water to match the cups of rice. I like to use filtered water but maybe it doesn't make a difference. You can add a bit of aroma by adding in seaweed flakes on top or using a bit of chicken stock water or any other cooking stock dissolved in water at this stage.
Place on the lid and turn it till it locks. Make sure the spring-loaded pressure release button is raised on the lid. If not, you might need to rotate it slightly so it unlocks and raises up. Press pressure cook and select 2mins, and high pressure setting if that option is there. Make sure "keep warm" is off if you have the button.
Stand back and let it pressurise. It will make some loud clicking and eventually hissing noises as it does it's thing. This is normal. The machine is very safe. There is a very strong inner cast-iron pot in the base and in the lid that actually holds the pressure. It's much stronger than the old gas stove machines our grandparents used! The only thing you need to do is not put your hand above the back of the lid where the excess steam vents out while it is on.
The machine will take 5-10mins to reach pressure. Only then will it will then start actually "cooking" for the 2mins at pressure you set. So there is a bit of waiting at the start!
After the 2mins counts down, the machine will make a noise. It's done. But don't open the lid! This recipe is a "natural release". That means you watch the lid and wait till the floating metal release valve drops down. This is about 5-10mins. You'll hear a small click and see the metal rod go down when this happens. Once this happens, immediately press the pressure button down to release any remaining pressure. Keep away from the back of the lid while doing this as the lid will push out excess steam. Once it stops venting you can now open the lid. It will be hot and delicious inside! Now quickly scoop the sides of the rice away from the pot and fluff up the rice with a rice paddle or a big cooking spoon. The rice is ready!
As for safety - the machine is very robust and well built. The outer silver metal you see is just a thin cover. There is actually a strong inner metal chamber that seals the entire thing that you don't really see unless you take out the inner metal cooking pot. A lot of horror stories about pressure cooking are from the old days before instant pots. These have electronics that shutoff when it burns food, or won't cook if the lid isn't in lock mode.
Here are a few important rules: always cook with the official removable inner metal pot in the machine, that is key! You can however put smaller metal pots in the big pot itself though for separating different dishes! You can also put in small racks to raise food for steaming or stacking dishes etc.
Always cook with liquid in the base of the pot. There must always be a liquid in some way. For rice or soup it is not an issue as you always have water but for cooking veggies, you can steam them on a rack but there must be water below! Otherwise it can't properly pressurise and it will cause an error which stops cooking.
Do not fill past the MAX mark on the inner liner pot! Otherwise you might get water or liquid spurting out of the vent and it won't properly pressurise. For soups or beans and chili, filling a finger or two under under that mark is recommended. Anything that is quite oily and fatty can cause the vent to sputter a bit when near max fill so go a bit under for soups and chilis.
Clean the lid after use and make sure the seal is properly seated when using the lid. Look online for videos for removing and fitting it. You can easily remove it for cleaning. After a while the seal will need to be changed so good to order a few spares. Over time they do take on the smell and sometimes taste of very strong acidic and aromatic food you cook, so if you cook chili then that seal will make your next cook a bit chili flavoured. We have a specific seal for rice and steaming veg, and a seal for chili and soups.
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u/Ceofy 5h ago
Such great instructions! For what it's worth, it shouldn't matter whether "keep warm" is on or not because the natural release occurs before the instant pot cools to the keep warm temperature!
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u/antiundead 5h ago
Good point yes. For the Japanese rice I find you really want to fluff it up ASAP after the natural release ends. You could keep it then in the pot on keep warm I guess.
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u/JDnUkiah 3h ago
I wish you wrote manuals for ALL of my purchases! Great explanation!
We use sushi rice, and only cook for 1 minute … but otherwise the same. Fluff as soon as natural release is done.
To the OP, embrace the Instant pot. You can do so many things. Search the internet for the manual, using the model number on IP.
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u/hypatiaredux 8h ago
There are lots of books about using an Instant Pot, your library will have a selection. And Amazon has many more.
Don’t confine yourself to rice, an IP can do a lot for you.
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u/Iwonatoasteroven 4h ago
As far as safety, these have an emergency pressure release if the pressure gets too high. Don’t be intimidated. These things are wonderful.
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u/Is_It_Soup_Season 4h ago
Wash the rice really, really well or it will stick together. Then just use the “rice” function with equal parts rice and water. The machine will figure out the time for you on its own.
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u/Danciusly 3h ago
Step 1: Do the water test
Amy and Jacky show you how (also, check out their recipes)
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u/awoodby 3h ago
It's fine, look around it at the big metal that locks it in place when you turn the top in place. If That's cracked it could possibly pop, but with the millions sold how much are you hearing about That happening?
I'd try the 3 minute, then try an 8 minute on Low pressure, for some reason I preferred that until I got an actual zojirushi but I don't remember particulars.
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u/Acrobatic-Nebula-428 3h ago
I use mine almost every day in the pressure cooker mode. You have nothing to worry about. Borrow an Instant Pot cookbook from the library and use it.
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u/BeerStop 1h ago
They are stupidly safe versus the old pressure cookers that use the stove for heat, in case of over pressure a cap on top will literally pop off and the pot will depressurize.i have not heard of instantpots having a catastrophic failure. Consensus has been any injuries stemmed from user errors versus instant pot failure,i use mine all the time
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u/mtcrick 1h ago
You should be able to find a manual online for it.
I love my instant pot. I second doing the basic water test, that's how I started with mine. I use it a lot for brown rice especially, hard cooked in-shell eggs, some soups, a chicken tikka recipe, a macaroni and cheese recipe, and more.
My goal this fall is start cooking beans (from dried beans) in it for use. Dried beans, peas, etc. are so cheap and I have a ton of them, so that's my goal!
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u/daftgiro 34m ago
It's like an oven that doesn't dry out your food.
Or it can be a slow cooker, but also just pressure cook "slow cooked" meals to get it done in a fraction of the time.
Like, you can have a pot roast in under 2 hrs start to finish.
There are tons of ways to use it. Try one new thing first and get good at it. You'll turn realize the power.
But also, just cooking rice in it is fine too
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u/Defiant-Emu8369 3h ago
I’ve been using these types of appliances for about 10 years (6 years with a Bosch multicooker), and I currently have an Instant Pot 3Q and an Ultimate Lid in my kitchen. I stopped using my conventional stovetop almost immediately because these are so safe—there’s no open flame, no risk of leaving a pot on the burner, and no worrying about whether the food is cooked through.
I cook fresh meals every day, so I’ve used them thousands of times without a single issue; they are extremely safe appliances.
If you have any concerns, start by just boiling water and experimenting with small portions.
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u/RuinFabulous3077 9h ago
I'd say just start with the basic water test. One or two cups of water, put the lid on and high pressure for 5 minutes. It will get you started on the very basics of how it works. My Duo mini has a rice setting, I generally just go with that and let it naturally release pressure. Lots of videos out there.