A free recipe for a dish made with an instant-pot, just for you.
Recently, my dad gifted me an instant pot. For those who don’t know, an instant-pot is this kind of new/kind of not new cooking device that is essentially a mix between a pressure cooker and a crockpot. For this issue’s cooking article, I thought that I would put this bad boy to use.
I thought that I would make deconstructed Omurice, which is like an omelet stuffed with rice and chicken. Growing up with Asian heritage on my mother’s side, I thought I would use this as an opportunity to compare how rice is made in the instant-pot compared to how rice is traditionally made.
The ingredients for this recipe were sourced from my local food bank and the spices were sourced from the back of my spice cabinet. For the ingredients, all you’ll need is chicken, rice, eggs, some sort of cooking oil, ketchup, and sesame seeds, the last two being optional. For cookware, you’ll need the instant pot, a kitchen spoon, a spatula, a chef’s knife, a cup, and a pan or skillet.
When my family taught me how to cook rice, I was told that you must place your rice in the pot and hold the tip of your finger on top of the layer of rice and fill the water up to your first knuckle, or the point where the tip of your bends. The booklet recommends that you rinse the rice prior to cooking and that the rice-to-water ratio be 1:1. While on a traditional stove, rice must soak for 15 minutes before cooking for another 15 and let cool for yet another 15, the instant-pot just requires you to close the lid and set it for 30 minutes.
As the rice is cooking, you will want to prepare the chicken and the eggs. Using your chef’s knife, dice your chicken into small cubes. This will be simple if you have a boneless cut such as a chicken breast, but if you have a thigh you will want to cut around the bone.
Place your chicken into the oiled skillet and set the stove burner to seven. Stir occasionally with spatula for seven-to-nine minutes or until the chicken is golden brown. Reduce heat to medium.
In a cup, two eggs. With a utensil, stir the eggs until the yolks and the whites have mixed into a single-colored liquid. Pour this liquid into the skillet with the chicken and stir while repeatedly taking the skillet on and off of the burner so that the eggs come out nice and fluffy, turning off the burner once this is done.
When the rice is finally done, open the vent and let the instant pot leak out all of the built-up air before opening the lid. Scoop the rice and chicken/egg mix into a bowl. You can eat it as is or you can add ketchup and sesame seeds for a savory flavor. If bland for your tastes, salt and pepper is always an option.