This Instant pot sushi rice, is a contemporary version of classic sushi rice recipe. The recipe is bundled to a much simpler form that you can ever imagine.
If you love sushi and never want to try it because of its delicate cooking process, here you go. This post is built especially for you. Learn how to cook sushi rice with easy tips and techniques. This is one of the few fun recipes that you very easy to keep in mind, and no need to refer the online sources when you make the next time.

The method we discuss in this post preserves overall the quality of this Instant pot sushi rice, and easy to work with when making sushi rolls or sushi bowls. Turn your regular dinner to an awesome Japanese dinner, effortlessly.
The story of sushi and me never ends, I cannot accurately say when the affection started towards it. But it has been years, and I'm getting old too. But the love for my sushi is stable and sturdy.
But sadly, we do not have many Japanese restaurants in Central Pennsylvania. Within a few available options, we explore new dishes every time we go. And the sushi does costs heavy, which is another factor that stops us from visiting these authentic food stores.
So, to satisfy all my cravings for sushi is to make my own. Recreating the food I loved in the restaurants at home, gives me an immense pleasure that I have made the best food at a comparatively lesser cost.
Since our regular grocery stores in Pennsylvania carry Japan's authentic ingredients, I do not have any problem in locating the ingredients and the tools.
Do check your grocery store's international aisle for the ingredients and the equipment. If not, get it from the online stores, where the choices at plenty at a reasonable cost.
Other Asian style recipes,
- Spicy Ramen noodles
- Spicy Szechuan noodles
- Garlic chicken recipe
- Asian cabbage salad
- Spicy Thai noodles
- Spicy edamame
- Perfect sushi rice
Making sushi rice at home was a difficult process for me, as there are plenty of instructions available. For me, few worked out and the rest left me embarrassed with the burnt bottom of soggy rice. The few which was worked out for me comes with a long-standing time in the kitchen, which I hate.
So, for your convenience, I have tried to bring all the steps together into one. As I told earlier, the couple of Instant pot settings does the wonders. It is hard to believe that it takes only 4 minutes to cook the sushi rice in Instant pot. But it's true, soft sticky, rice gets ready without any mess or fuss while cooking.
What is Sushi rice?
Sushi rice refers to Japanese short-grain rice, which is sticky and used to make sushi rolls.
Sushi is a Japanese dish made with vinegared rice, salt, sugar and accompanied with other vegetables, meat or seafood. One of the popular international food in the United States. You could possibly hit at least a store in mall's food courts. Sushi rolls are good to serve as an appetizer or as a main meal. The restaurant here in our place use to serve this as an appetizer before our main meal.
How to make Instant pot sushi rice?
The instant pot is a boon to the modern living and essential for a busy mom. Coming to the sushi rice, Instant pot provides an excellent result that we fell in love with. I have made with stovetop and pressure cooker option. But I felt this is more reliable and perfect every time we make.
The cooked rice in Instant pot is soft, moist, sticky, holds a great shape after rolling.
The ingredients.
Rice. Japanese short grain rice is the perfect verity for this recipe. However, in the US, we get products labeled as Sushi rice. So no difficulty in locating them. I got a 4-pound bag in Walmart. That's sufficient for my occasional uses. I adore white rice for sushi, and we are mentioning about its best cooking preference.
I have not yet tried with brown sushi rice, once I try I come up with sharing my story. However, you have something we are glad to hear that too.
Rice vinegar. Another important ingredient that brings all the authentic flavors of Japan. Sometimes, my readers say they have substituted rice vinegar for the white vinegar. But both do taste different and white vinegar is not the substitution of rice vinegar.
If you are in the United States, you will not have a problem finding these ingredients in the grocery stores, else get it online. It is a worthy investment if you are reading this much far(which shows your love towards Japanese food).
Water. So what's the sushi rice water ratio? for Instant pot, 1 portion of rice for 1 portion of water. The pressure does the remaining work. Do you think it's a little water? yes of course. But with the 1:1 ratio of water and sushi rice, the rice cooked well by retaining its sticky property.
Salt. One teaspoon of salt is perfect for 2 cups of rice. But taste before closing the lid, add when preferring more.
Sugar. Which neutralizes the rice and salt. And plays extremely well when combing with other topping ingredients. This is an enhancer, skip if you do not want to.
The recipe directions
Prepping the rice. Wash and rinse the sushi rice multiple times until clear water is seen. This is a process to discard excess starch. Use a colander for easy use. I use to rinse for 5 times.
Combine the ingredients. Combine water, rice, rice vinegar, salt, and sugar together. Stir until all the ingredients merge well. Test for salt, and add if you like.
Set the Instant pot. Close the lid. And set the Instant pot manually for 4 minutes. Close the vent to the 'Seal' position.
Resting time. Once the cooking cycle is over, wait for 10 minutes to naturally release the pressure. This ten minute is precise, you can have your external alarm for this 10 minutes.
Quick Release the pressure. Once 10 minutes resting time is over. Quick-release the remaining pressure by turning the seal to the 'vent' position(This time the pressure will not be much, as it has released 90% of them already in a natural way).
Open. Once all the pressure is released, carefully open the lid(The lid might have collected some condensed water, make sure it does not falls back to the pot).
Cool it down. Take a large tray. Transfer the cooked sushi rice in a single layer. Allow it to come down to the room temperature for about 10-20 minutes.
Ready. Then start making your favorite sushi rolls, bowls or fried rice.
Storing and Reheating Ideas Instant pot sushi rice
For a shorter time. If you have transferred the rice to the tray for cooling and thinking of processing it later, cover it with the aluminum foil or cling paper to retain its moist level.
For a long time. Always choose the airtight container for the best results.
This Japanese sushi rice is best to use fresh, however, it stays good for 2-3 days when refrigerated.
Bring down to room temperature to reheat. Sprinkle water, and mix gently to moist the rice evenly.
Then microwave for 1 minute, and increment it by every 30 seconds until the rice becomes hot.
Freezing the sushi rice is not working well, as it dries out the rice and taking away the stickiness.
The recipe FAQ
Why do I need to rinse the rice? The sushi rice is starch-rich. Rinsing them multiple times removes the excess starch and makes it good for making the rolls. Generally washing upto 5 times is advisable.
Why should I quick release the pressure after 10 minutes of wait time? Well, I know why this question arises. After 10 minutes, the pressure is not much still we should quick release and open the lid, to avoid the sushi rice cooking further. And thereby avoiding mushy rice.
Why freezing is not good? Freezing dries out the rice and its hard to roll the rice. Moreover, frozen rice is not as soft and sticky as they use to be even after reheating.
Can I use the same recipe for the Pressure cooker as well? Yes, the same instructions set for the pressure cooker method as well. For the pressure cooker method, cook for 4 minutes in high flame, switch off the heat. Wait for 10 minutes to cook the rice well with the pressure inside. Then release the pressure manually. And Japanese sushi rice is ready.
Other easy recipes you may like,
- Instant pot scrambled eggs
- Instant pot vegetable pulav
- Instant pot ven Pongal
- Instant pot boiled peanuts
- Instant pot penne pasta
Instant pot Sushi rice
Ingredients
- 2 cups sushi rice
- 2 cups water
- 2 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tsp sugar
Instructions
- In the inner pot, combine all the ingredients together.
- Stir until salt dissolves.
- Close the lid and set the cooking time for 4 minutes manually.
- Once the cooking cycle completes, wait for 10 minutes to naturally release the pressure.
- Then set the seal to vent position. And allow the remaining pressure to release.
- Open the lid, and transfer to the tray for cooling.
- Wait for 10-20 minutes to bring down to room temperature. And enjoy making sushi at home.
Notes
Nutrition
Toni
I love how easy it is to make!! Thanks for the recipe!
Amanda Wren-Grimwood
This is a great way to make sushi rice without the fuss!
Safira
My niece LOVES Sushi rice and she loved this. So yummy! Thanks for sharing!
Jessica Formicola
This rice turns out perfectly every time! I'll never use another rice recipe!
Alice | SkinnySpatula
I didn't know you could make sushi rice in the Instant Pot. Definitely something to try because it sounds so easy!
Ieva
Wow, this was a true discovery for me! I make sushi a couple of times a month but never cooked rice for it in an instant pot! Tried it today, and it was so easy and quick! Thanks for all the great tips!
Tayler Ross
Since trying this recipe the first time, we've made it several times! It's so easy and turns out great!
kushigalu
Thanks for this instant pot version of sushi rice. Pinned to try this soon.
Andrea
I'm so excited to know how to make sushi rice in the Instant Pot! I've made sushi at home before, and it's very involved, so I'm thrilled for an easier way. Thanks for sharing!
Jen
Everyone at my house loved it! Thanks so much for the recipe!