Instant Pot Kabocha Squash Sticky Rice Porridge
This Instant Pot Kabocha squash sticky rice porridge recipe is seriously so easy, healthy, and good that you could eat this for breakfast, dessert, or as a snack!
I used to hate porridge as a kid. I thought it was gloopy, sticky, and indecisive. It was in between rice and soup — just pick one already! It didn’t help that my grandma would make this particular rice bean porridge every. single. day.
However, as I grew up, I discovered other types of porridge. I found that pork and century egg porridge was actually delicious when topped with white pepper. Recently, I was challenged to make a pumpkin porridge by my mom, who loves all types of porridge. She tasted this porridge at a potluck once, and described it to me and my dad, and we ended up successfully recreating it!
We improvised with kabocha squash, since it’s widely available in our local Asian grocery store, and not as intimidatingly large as a pumpkin. Kabocha squash is a tasty Japanese squash, with dark green skin. It is similar in flavor to a pumpkin, but usually only about 2-3 lbs, and is also much harder to cut.
By the way, this recipe only requires 2 ingredients (plus water) and is ridiculously easy to make, especially with an Instant Pot. It’s safe to say that this Kabocha squash sticky rice porridge is now part of our regular meal rotation!
How to make Instant Pot Kabocha Squash Sticky Rice Porridge
Measure out 2 cups of sticky rice in the Instant Pot. Wash and drain a few times until the water is clear. Drain the water.
Peel and cut the kabocha squash into chunks about 1 – 2 inches.
Use a food processor to finely mince the kabocha squash chunks until they are about half the size of a grain of rice (see picture below).
Add the minced kabocha squash into the pot with the washed sticky rice.
Add cold water until it’s at the 4-liter line in the instant pot – about 4 cups of water.
Place the kabocha/sticky rice mixture into the Instant Pot and cook on high pressure for 25 minutes. Let the steam naturally release for 25 min.
Stir the mixture so that the liquid and solids are evenly mixed. Serve while hot and add sugar as desired.
Instant Pot Kabocha Squash Sticky Rice Porridge
Equipment
- Instant Pot or pressure cooker
- Food Processor
- Knife and/or peeler
Ingredients
- 1 kabocha squash (about 3lbs)
- 2 cups glutinous rice or sticky rice
- 12 cups water
- sugar to taste
Instructions
- Measure out 2 cups of sticky rice in the Instant Pot. Wash and drain a few times until the water is clear. Drain the water.
- Peel and cut the kabocha squash into chunks about 1 – 2 inches.
- Use a food processor to finely mince the kabocha squash chunks until they are about half the size of a grain of rice (see picture above).
- Add the minced kabocha squash into the pot with the washed sticky rice.
- Add cold water until it's at the 4-liter line in the instant pot – about 12 cups of water.
- Place the kabocha/sticky rice mixture into the Instant Pot and cook on high pressure for 25 minutes. Let the steam naturally release for 25 min.
- Stir the mixture so that the liquid and solids are evenly mixed. Serve while hot and add sugar as desired.
Yum! I like this recipe a lot-I generally like fresh porridge, but I didn’t know that I would like porridge with squash. But it’s really good. Just wondering, can you use any other squash with this recipe other than kabocha and pumpkin? I really enjoy this porridge with a spoonful of sugar! Thank you! (Plus, for some reason, I think the pictures of the process are really cool). Also, can you eat the skin? (I know that sounds like a silly question).