My youngest and I invented a new thing in the Instant Pot last night (if it already exists, OK, but I didn’t know about it): taco fried rice! It was a “throw it all in and see what happens” dish, but here’s the basic recipe:
Ingredients:
- 1 medium onion, medium dice (a little smaller than a dime, like you’d find in real fried rice)
- 1 can of corn kernels (I know, stick with me)
- 1 cup long-grain rice, rinsed (could have used 2, but I was only feeding 2 of us last night)
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1lb ground beef (cubed chicken breast would work too)
- 2T vegetable oil
- 1T minced garlic
- salt
- cumin
- chili powder
- smoked paprika
Directions:
- Turn instant pot on sauté while you dice your onion.
- Once it’s hot, put in the 2 tablespoons of oil and wait till it’s all shimmery and hot
- Throw in the onions and stir ’em around until they’re just starting to brown on the edges
- Strain the corn and throw it in too. Seriously, it was good. Stir it around for a minute, just to get it coated with the oil and heat it up a smidge.
- Throw in the minced garlic and stir it around a little. You should have the stuff for the next step ready because you don’t want the garlic to burn. 30 seconds, tops.
- Shake in some salt, cumin, chili powder and smoked paprika. If I had to guess, there was probably a half a teaspoon of cumin, a teaspoon++ of chili powder and half a teaspoon of smoked paprika. Stir the spices in until the onions and corn are coated and you can really start the smell ’em.
- Put the rice in, stir it around until it’s fully coated in everything that starts to look less chalky white.
- Pour in the chicken stock, put on the lid, seal it up and hit the Rice button.
- While the rice is cooking, brown the ground beef. Spice how you would meat for tacos. If it’s not really lean, you’ll want to strain it before the next step. You’ll want to use your biggest sauté pan for this. You’ll see why in step 11!!
- When the rice is done, let it “release” for 5 minutes or so (if I rush it, my rice is always underdone, so I like giving it at least 5 minutes).
- Now… scoop the rice into the pan with the beef. Turn the heat up to medium-high-ish. If it’s dry, throw a little of your favorite salsa or picante sauce. Not a lot, maybe a teaspoon or two.
- Stir it all around until everything’s mixed and you start to get some rice kernels that are a little crunchy.
- Scoop it onto plates, or bowls and enjoy.
We had it with a little cheese and refried beans on the top, and it was pretty darn good.