Easy Asian Recipes, Recipes, Sides · November 10, 2021

Instant Pot Korean Multigrain Rice (Japgokbap)

I love having Korean multigrain rice! However my rice cooker broke a few months ago, and I have yet to pull the trigger on a new one. Truth be told, I’ve bought three new rice cookers in the last year and all have died on me. At the time, I couldn’t get myself to buy one of those fancy, high-tech rice cookers that make a catchy jingle to let you know when the rice is ready. However, I quickly realized that its extremely difficult to find a simple yet quality rice cooker for less than $30. Things are just not made the same anymore!

So I’ve finally accepted that it’s time to bite the bullet and upgrade to a fancy rice cooker in hopes that the investment will last me the next decade. A rice cooker so fancy that it has more functional buttons than I could ever find useful and comes with its own soundtrack of catchy jingles. However, until I finish going down the Amazon review rabbit hole, such a nice investment will have to wait.

Until then, my Instant Pot has been my go-to rice cooker. Although I could probably survive making rice in the Instant Pot for the rest of my life, I just can’t stand how much space it takes up on the limited realty I have of countertop space. However, I will admit I have been pleasantly surprised at Instant Pot’s ease and performance!

Korean mixed grain rice is something my Korean friends introduced me to at a very young age. I remember my Korean friends would bring the colorful bright purple rice in their lunchboxes. As a child, I often admired and drooled at the lunches their Korean parents would prepare. Whether it was savory tofu glazed in soy sauce, fishcake, or a simple seaweed and purple rice, everything always looked and smelled so delicious. I have such fond memories of sharing culture and food with my Korean friends and still do to this day.

I continue to love having multigrain rice and tend to favor it to regular white rice whenever given the option at Korean restaurants. I enjoy the variety in texture and subtle difference in flavor. After learning that mixed grains offer great nutritional advantages over regular white rice, such as more fiber and antioxidants, I had even more reason to learn how to make it myself at home.

Why to use the Instant Pot to make rice

After much YouTubing and Googling, I learned that unless you have a fancy rice cooker with a glutinous rice option, making multigrain rice requires the additional step of presoaking the grains prior to cooking. With two hungry toddlers and a husband, this makes it near impossible to accomplish before dinner time. The Instant Pot skips the presoaking step and makes it so easy and convenient to get fluffy, healthy multigrain rice in just about 40 minutes!

What you need to make multigrain rice

White rice of choice. I like to use Calrose
Mixed grains rice
Water

Which type of rice to use

There are many resources online that share preferred ratios of different mixed grains and more traditional Korean methods and preferences. I originally learned how to make Korean mixed grains rice from the one and only Maangchi and have learned so much from her about Korean cooking! In the past, I’ve purchased different types of grains separately from the Korean market and experimented with different ratios. However, I’ve found that it’s most convenient to just buy premixed grains rice and add it to the white calrose I always have on hand. Otherwise, I end up spending so much money on different grains and I end up wasting leftover unused grains. If you can’t get your hands on prepackaged mixed grains offered at local Korean markets, I’ve also seen them sold on Amazon. The exact seven mixed grains rice I use is linked here. I usually find it at my local Korean market for much cheaper than online. Otherwise, another great option from Nishiki, a popular rice brand, is linked he re.

Also keep in mind that depending on the type of mixed grains and white rice you end up choosing, you might have to adjust the cooking time and water ratios a little bit!

Looking for another Asian rice dish? Try my easy and delicious Garlic Fried Rice!