Looking for more ways to cook various rice dishes in your instant pot? Today we will use the trusty pressure cooker to make Instant Pot Takikomi Gohan, a versatile Japanese rice dish with a colorful mix of ingredients. Everything is cooked in one pot, and nutrition-wise, it is a wholesome, comfort food to enjoy on a hectic weeknight. This rice recipe is specifically created for those of you who practically cook everything with the instant pot. If you don’t own an instant pot, you can prepare takikomi gohan following my rice cooker method.
What is Takikomi Gohan?
Takikomi Gohan (炊き込みご飯) is a Japanese rice dish cooked with dashi and soy sauce along with mushrooms, vegetables, meat, or fish. Takikomi Gohan often includes seasonal ingredients such as matsutake mushrooms in Matsutake Gohan or chestnuts in Kuri Gohan. We also put different ingredients to make all kinds of variations. On the blog, we have:
Gobo and Miso Takikomi GohanSweet Onion Takikomi GohanGinger RiceSansai Gohan (Rice with Mountain Vegetables)Classic Takikomi Gohan (stovetop)
There is a similar dish called Maze Gohan (混ぜ御飯), in which flavorful ingredients are mixed into cooked rice.
4 Important Tips for Making Instant Pot Takikomi Gohan
1. Cut the ingredients into similar sizes.
Ingredients should be cut into similar sizes for two reasons. One, you don’t want to eat chunky big ingredients when you’re eating soft tender rice. And two, all the ingredients are cooked at the same time; therefore, tougher ingredients should be cut into slightly smaller than tender ingredients.
2. Add the seasonings right before cooking rice.
Takikomi gohan is always cooked with soy sauce and salt. These ingredients prevent the rice from absorbing water, so make sure to soak the rice for 20-30 minutes before cooking. Japanese short-grain rice is ALWAYS soaked prior to cooking because it is plumper and thicker and it takes time to become tender.
3. Do not mix rice and ingredients.
When you add the ingredients to the rice, you may want to mix it all up. Actually, it’s best not to. In order for the rice to cook evenly, the rice should not be mixed up with the ingredients, and stay below the ingredients. That way, rice gets access to water easily without interference from the meat and vegetables.
4. Fluff the rice after 10-minute natural release
Set the timer for 10 minutes when the Instant Pot beeps to let you know it’s done cooking. Then release the remaining pressure by opening the valve. You do not want to keep too much moisture in the cooker, so open up the pot and release the moisture and fluff up the rice.
Takikomi Gohan Ingredients & Substitute
Don’t feel restricted to using the same ingredients when it comes to Takikomi Gohan. As I mentioned earlier, Takikomi Gohan has many variations and you can definitely make yours with whatever you like. Here are the ingredients I used today, with tips on substitution.
The Wonder of Instant Pot Japanese Mixed Rice
Besides being convenient, you’ll learn that takikomi gohan makes a great template for trying new flavor combinations. I hope you can lean on the recipe anytime when you need to make a fulfilling meal for the family. Wish to learn more about Japanese cooking? Sign up for our free newsletter to receive cooking tips & recipe updates! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram.
