Rice cookers are a convenient and inexpensive way to cook food for those confined to small spaces or without access to conventional kitchens, so I’m going to develop a few recipes specifically for rice cookers, starting with this super easy Teriyaki Shrimp and Rice. This ultra simple dish is similar to shrimp fried rice that you’d get from your local take out joint, except it’s steamed not fried, and therefore way less caloric. The ultra short ingredient list means you don’t have to have a lot of ingredients on hand, and most of them can be kept indefinitely either in your pantry or freezer.
Check out my other Rice Cooker Recipes: Rice Cooker Chili, Rice Cooker Mac and Cheese, Rice Cooker Spanish Chickpeas and Rice.
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What Rice Cooker am I Using?
I chose to work with one of the most popular and most basic rice cookers on the market to make sure the recipes I develop have the broadest compatibility. That being said, every model rice cooker is slightly different, and may yield slightly different results. I’m using the Aroma Housewares 8 cup cooked/4 cup uncooked Digital Rice Cooker (affiliate link).
Can I Make This Teriyaki Shrimp and Rice in an Instant Pot?
Using the “rice” function on your Instant Pot will cook food in the same manner as a rice cooker, so this recipe should work just fine in an Instant Pot, providing you are using the rice function and not a pressure cooking function. That being said, I have not had a chance to actually test this recipe using an Instant Pot.
Rice to Water Ratios
There is a lot of conflicting information about what the proper rice to water ratio is for rice cookers, partly due to differing needs for different rice varieties and variations in the way different rice cookers work. I’ve tested this particular recipe several times with different rice to water ratios, and found that 1:1.33 worked best for me. Again, if using a different model rice cooker or a different variety of rice, the ratio may need to be adjusted.
Rice Cooker Teriyaki Shrimp and Rice Recipe
Servings 4 1.5 cups eachIngredients
- 1/2 lb. raw medium shrimp (41/50 size)* ($4.00)
- 1 small onion ($0.33)
- 1 cup frozen peas ($0.38)
- 1.5 cups uncooked jasmine rice ($0.99)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced ($0.16)
- 1 tsp grated fresh ginger ($0.10)
- 2 cups water ($0.00)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce ($0.24)
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar ($0.08)
Instructions
- If your shrimp is frozen, thaw it first by placing in a colander and running cool water over it until thawed (this only takes a few minutes).
- Finely dice the onion and place it in the bottom of the rice cooker along with the frozen peas (I did not thaw my peas). Add the uncooked rice, minced garlic, and grated ginger. Stir these ingredients together.
- Add the shrimp to the top of the rice mixture, then pour in 2 cups water. Close the lid and set the cooker to the “white rice” setting. The rice cooker will begin to heat and once the contents inside reach the appropriate temperature, it will begin to count down the cooking time (12 minutes for my model).
- Once the rice cooker finishes its cooking cycle, let it rest for an additional 5-10 minutes on the keep warm cycle before opening the lid. While waiting, stir together the soy sauce and brown sugar.
- Finally, open the lid and pour the soy sauce mixture over the contents in the rice cooker. Use a rice paddle to gently fold the sauce into the rice. Serve hot, with sriracha or sliced green onions if desired.
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Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How To Make Shrimp & Rice Teriyaki In A Rice Cooker – Step by Step Photos
If using frozen shrimp, thaw them first by placing them in a colander and running cool water over top until thawed (this only takes a couple of minutes). Finely dice one small onion and place it in the rice cooker along with 1 cup frozen peas (I did not thaw the peas).
Add 1.5 cups white jasmine rice to the cooker, along with two cloves of garlic (minced) and about 1 tsp grated fresh ginger. Stir these ingredients together until everything is evenly combined.
Add 1/2 lb. medium shrimp (41/50 size) to the rice cooker, then pour 2 cups water over top.
Close the rice cooker and set it to the “white rice” function. The rice cooker will begin to heat up, and once it reaches the appropriate temperature it will begin to count down the actual cooking time (mine is 12 minutes for the white rice function). Depending on the temperature and volume of the ingredients in the cooker, it can take a different amount of time to come up to temperature before it begins counting the actual “cooking time.”
After the cooking cycle has finished, make sure to let it sit without opening the lid for an additional 5-10 minutes. This really helps give you more even results because it gives the steam a chance to settle in the cooker. While waiting for the rice to rest in the cooker, stir together 1/4 cup soy sauce and 2 Tbsp brown sugar in a small bowl. It’s okay if the sugar doesn’t totally dissolve.
Pour the soy sauce mixture over the contents of the rice cooker, then use your rice paddle to gently fold the sauce into the shrimp and rice.
If you’re at the max volume of your rice cooker, like I was, it may be easier to transfer everything to a large bowl to fold in the soy sauce, but that’s up to you. Once the sauce is incorporated, the Teriyaki Shrimp and Rice is ready to eat!!
Of course I topped mine with some sriracha, but that’s optional! A couple sliced green onions or cilantro would also be nice if you have them on hand.
Dig in!!
I have been using a rice cooker to make my daily portion of rice for the past two years as I maneuvered through my hectic university days. I came across this recipe to make a whole dish out of a rice cooker, gave it a try today and I loved it! This is definitely going to stay with me! Thank you.
I was very excited to try this recipe. Not much flavor and shrimp was over cooked. I was so disappointed.
Does the shrimp get overcooked?
Oneta, yes, for me I did feel the shrimp were overcooked. I’m going to try it again using frozen shrimp because I did really like the overall recipe. Simple and tasty. Next time I will not defrost and hopefully the recipe will then be a 5 star.
I’ll try and let you know.
Looks good!! Is there a way to make chicken teriyaki like with pineapple and peas? Thanks.
Sounds like a great experiment. I would try the ratios in this recipe. xoxo
Can you make this in a crock pot? I don’t have an instant pot. Or just on the stove top, I guess instead of crock pot. Thank you!
Slow cookers usually don’t do well with rice because they don’t get hot enough to cook it properly. It tends to just make the rice mushy. :(
It’s a rice cooker not a slow cooker.
She asked if she could make it in a slow cooker (crock pot).
I need that dish that looks like a takeout box. I love it.
I made this stovetop in a dutch oven. I sautéed the onion only with a little oil until soft, then added all the other ingredients (except the sauce). Bring to a boil, turn to low for 15 min, steam with heat off for another 5-10. Stir in sauce, done!
I recommend to put the frozen peas in the last 5 to 10 minutes cooking time and on top, otherwise they become overcooked.
Due to diet issues, my family has to eat brown sticky rice (We live in Japan), but I would love to be able to make this in my rice cooker. Do you have any suggestions on how I might tweak this to work with brown rice?
I think your best bet is to check the manual for your machine and see what the suggested cooking time is for brown rice, or if it has a brown rice button, and then use that. The only issue you might have is that because brown rice generally takes much longer to cook you might end up overcooking the vegetables, but adding them later with the shrimp probably won’t be enough cooking time.
I’ve got mine cooking right now, but I am sure it will be fine. The only comments I have are (1) this is not the sort of disk in which I would leave the tail of the shrimp on. Pain in the neck to have to peel of the tail of each shrimp as they turn up. Also, while I used dried ground ginger, because my fresh ginger is frozen solid in the freezer….people who are not accustomed to cooking Asian, need to know that there is definitely a different flavor between fresh and dried/ground ginger. Better than nothing, but quite different. And, to the person who asked if it would be okay to use broccoli rather than peas….come on now! Be brave and try it. It will be just fine!
I keep my fresh ginger in the freezer and when I need some, I peel the skin to the amount I need and then use a zested to grate the ginger up. It’s super easy, and makes my ginger last a long time. I think I may have gotten that trick from this website? I dunno, but def WAY better than powdered ginger! – Best