Pressure Cooker Chicken and Rice with Peas
Tender chicken thighs and rice cooked together in one pot, with sweet peas stirred in at the end. A comforting, high-protein dinner with almost no cleanup.
- Total
- 50 min
- Prep 10 · Cook 30 · Rest 10
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Searing · Absorption rice
- Savory
- Pressure cooker
Instructions
-
Pat the chicken thighs dry with paper towels and season both sides with 1 tsp of the salt and the black pepper.
~4 min
Drying the skin prevents steam so the chicken browns instead of stewing, and salting early seasons the meat deeply.
-
Finely chop the onion and mince the garlic. Rinse the rice under cold water until the water runs clear, then drain well.
~6 min
Rinsing removes surface starch so the grains stay separate instead of turning gluey when pressure-cooked.
-
Set the pressure cooker to the sauté setting and add the olive oil. Brown the chicken thighs in a single layer, about 4 minutes per side, until golden. Work in two batches if needed. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
~8 min
Browning the chicken creates Maillard flavor compounds that enrich the final dish, and the browned bits flavor the rice.
Searing Pat the meat dry and leave it undisturbed until it releases easily from the pan; crowding or flipping too early steams it grey instead of golden.
-
Add the onion to the pressure cooker and cook on the sauté setting for 4 minutes until softened. Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.
~4 min
Sweating the onion softens its bite and releases sweetness; brief garlic cooking blooms its aroma without burning it bitter.
-
Stir in the rice, remaining 0.5 tsp salt, and the chicken stock. Scrape up any browned bits. Nestle the chicken thighs on top, lock the lid, and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes.
~10 min
Scraping up the browned bits dissolves that fond into the stock, so none of the chicken's flavor is wasted.
Absorption rice Use the right liquid ratio and let the rice rest covered off the heat so grains finish absorbing and firm up rather than turning sticky.
-
Release the pressure naturally for 10 minutes, then carefully quick-release any remaining pressure. Stir in the peas, cover, and let stand for 5 minutes until the peas are tender and the rice has absorbed the liquid.
~15 min
Natural release lets pressure and heat fall gradually, preventing starchy liquid from sputtering out and drying the rice.
Let the rice rest off the heat before fluffing so the grains firm up and do not turn sticky.
If the rice still tastes firm after standing, add 2 tbsp hot water, cover, and steam for 3 more minutes.
Absorption rice Use the right liquid ratio and let the rice rest covered off the heat so grains finish absorbing and firm up rather than turning sticky.