Rice in the Instant Pot-Chow Mein too!!

Since I got my Instant Pot ( HERE is the link.) I’ve made all of my rice in it.  I’ve liked it a lot.  The house doesn’t get heated up…It’s quick.  It stays warm without burning.  I’ve liked it.  BUT….admittedly, my rice was a little sticky.

Kayla came to my house one day and my life, at least in regards to rice, has changed.  I now make WONDERFUL rice.  I forgot to take pictures while I made it but it’s easy.  You can do it.

The Instant Pot directions call for makers to use a ratio of 1 cup of rice to 1.5 cups of water.  DON’T FOLLOW THAT.  Do a 1 to 1 ratio.


That’s the first tip, but there’s more.  Put 1 tablespoon of butter per 1 1/2 cups of rice in the bottom of the Instant Pot.  Push the saute button.  Pour in the rice.  Stir.  The rice will lose the fresh from the bag color and turn tan cream colored.  I stirred mine for about 1 minute.  Add the water.  Stop the saute feature.  Add salt if you like.  Put on the lid.  Hit the rice button.  Mine sets to 10 minutes automatically when I push the rice button.

If you saute the rice in butter first the rice will not be sticky.

I use rice a lot when I make my version of “clean the refrigerator Chow Mein”.


To do that I clean up all the veggies that need to be used up from the refrigerator.  In this batch I had:

3 carrots peel and chopped a few baby carrots too
1/2 of a jumbo onion
1 whole and 3/4 of another green pepper
the corn cut from 1 ear of sweet corn
1/2 of a small cabbage
4 chicken breast cooked and chopped up

Then I added:
1 can of watercress water included
1 can bamboo shoots water included
1 can of bean sprouts water included
2 cans cream of chicken soup
Ginger to taste- I did 2 teaspoons
Soy sauce to taste- I did 5 tablespoons
1 tablespoon of chicken soup base
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

I closed the Instant Pot and put it on manual for 5 minutes.

Once it was done, I released the steam.  I pushed the saute button and mixed some cornstarch and water together to thicken it.

I’m a taster cook…so now I taste and adjust the spices.  More ginger or soy sauce can be added.

This is one of my favorite meals ever.  It’s simple, easy and makes a big batch so I have supper made for a couple nights.  It’s far from real Chinese but it’s a great “clean the frig Chow Mein”.

I throw things together like this all the time.   People are so afraid of their Instant Pots.  The truth of it…just try.  On the day I wrote this, I used my Instant Pot 3 times…
once for Sweet Corn for lunch with the kiddos..
once for the rice
once for the chow mein.

I love my Instant Pot.  I’d take it over a stove top any day!

5 thoughts on “Rice in the Instant Pot-Chow Mein too!!”

  1. I have GOT to try my Insta Pot. I’ve had it nearly three years and it has never been plugged in! What is the best thing to try first?

  2. Susan the Farm Quilter

    Thanks for the recipe, Jo!! I hope you are using low sodium soy sauce…otherwise you are getting just about the RDA in just one serving. After cooking for someone who is allowed 1,000 mg of sodium a day, I am hypersensitive to sodium. Once you train your taste buds to low/no salt, prepared foods taste so salty. Unfortunately, soy sauce doesn’t figure in to my cooking right now…even the low sodium stuff is 570 mg/tablespoon and the regular stuff is 960 mg/tablespoon. Not trying to tell you how to eat, but I now understand why salt is called “white death”. And this is from someone who used to eat rock salt in junior high and a 1 pound bag of sunflower seeds a week in my early 20s!! I loved salt, but I’ve learned to use lots of spices instead. Please take this as a quilting friend who wants you to stay healthy!!!

  3. Love my instant pot! I also love making hard boiled eggs with it. 4 mins on manual mode and then let it depressurize for about 3 mins and you have the perfect eggs.

  4. I have purchased an instant pot twice about a year apart. I took both of them back, I am afraid of the intant pot, afraid I won’t understand it. Dare I buy one a third time? I enjoyed your recipe.

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