Seafood and Rice
Serves 4.
By Dennis W. Viau; an original recipe.
The Instant Pot has become quite a popular kitchen appliance. I have one and I decided to test its limitations with this recipe. I cook rice first and then, while the pot is still hot, I had raw seafood to cook in the residual heat of the pot and rice. It works.
Ingredients:
12 large shrimp (about 5 ounces/142g), tail removed
½ teaspoon Chinese Five Spices blend*
¼ teaspoon minced garlic, more if you like garlic
2 tablespoons of frying oil, such as safflower oil
6 large sea scallops (about 5 ounces/142g) or an equal weight of bay scallops
1 cup (200g) dry white rice
1 cup (240ml) water
1 teaspoon chicken flavor base, such as Better Than Bouillon chicken base
Directions:
Combine the shrimp, Five Spices and garlic in a bowl. Stir to coat the shrimp evenly. Set aside.
Optional: Heat the oil in a heavy skillet, preferably cast iron, until hot. Carefully arrange the scallops (tongs help) in the hot oil and sear until lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn and sear the other side. Remove from the pan and set aside. (There is no need to sear bay scallops.)
Use the pot-in-pot method to cook the rice in the Instant Pot (IP).
If desired, rinse the rice several times to remove surface starch. Place about a cup of hot water in the IP liner pan. Arrange a trivet in the bottom. Place the rice, 1 cup water and flavor base in a stainless steel bowl that will comfortably fit inside the IP liner. Stir to distribute the flavor base. Place the bowl in the IP and attach the lid. Set the pressure release valve to “Pressure”. Select the Pressure or Manual function on the IP and set the time to four minutes.
When the rice is finished cooking, let the IP depressurize naturally for about 10 minutes, then carefully turn the pressure release to “Venting” to release the remaining pressure.
As soon as the IP can be safely opened, quickly add the raw shrimp and seared scallops on top of the rice and seal the pot again. Let sit 10 minutes. The residual heat in the pot should be enough to cook the seafood. If the seafood is not fully cooked, seal the pot again and use the Sauté function to bring the water in the bottom of the pot to a boil. Leave the pressure release valve at “Venting” and allow the seafood to cook an additional 5 to 10 minutes until done.
Arrange on plates and serve.
*The Dynasty brand Chinese Five Spices blend I use is made of cinnamon, star anise, fennel, cloves, ginger, licorice, szechuan peppercorn and white pepper (which is more than five, but those are the ingredients).
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