Tom Yum, Prawn & Pumpkin Risotto

A speedy and flavourful risotto that can be made in 6 minutes of pressure cooking via an Instant Pot, perfect as an easy weeknight meal. It's one pot, punchy and no fuss but all the flavour.

Serves: 2-3 

Ingredients: 10

Skill Level: Easy

Cooking time: 20 minutes (5 minutes prep, 15 minutes cooking)

Ingredients

1 stick of lemongrass, stalk bashed with the end of a knife and cut into 10cm lengths

300g pumpkin, skin removed and cut into small chunks

1 tablespoon of tom yum paste. I have also done this with red thai curry paste.

3-4 makrut lime leaves

2 (130g) roma tomatoes, roughly chopped. If you can’t get fresh tomatoes, you could omit or add a tablespoon of tomato paste or ¼ cup of passata

1 cup of arborio or canaroli rice. Sushi rice is also another substitute if you can’t find these.

3.5 cups of chicken stock

½ cup of coconut milk

10 (250g) prawns, peeled, deveined and cut into bite sized chunks. Banana prawns or any medium sized prawn works well in this.

1 stalk of coriander leaves, finely chopped

1 stalk of spring onion, finely chopped

Method

1. Turn your Instant Pot onto ‘Saute’ mode and once hot, add a tablespoon of vegetable oil. 

2. Add the lemongrass and stir for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add the pumpkin and stir for another minute.

3. Add in lime leaves, tomatoes and tom yum paste and saute for another 30 seconds or until fragrant.

4. Add in rice and saute for another minute.

5. Add in chicken stock, give it a quick stir, close the lid and turn on ‘Pressure Cook’ mode on ‘High Pressure’ and for 6 minutes.

6. Once done, press the pressure valve and allow the pot to depressurise. 

7. Open the lid and remove the lemongrass stalks and lime leaves. Press ‘Saute’ mode again and give everything a stir to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom. The rice should be al dente and the pumpkin should be tender but still hold its shape with some bits melting into the risotto. 

8. Stir through the coconut milk and prawns and cook for another 2 minutes until the prawns have turned fully opaque and orange. If the risotto feels a bit too dry, add a dash of water to loosen it up.

9. Press either ‘keep warm’ mode with the lid on (if you don’t want to serve immediately or off completely and stir through the spring onion and coriander just before serving.

10. Spoon onto plates and serve. The right consistency for risotto is when it spreads across the plate when jiggled.

11. Leftovers can be stored in a container in the fridge. When I go to microwave the risotto again, I usually add a dash of water to loosen it back to its original consistency.

Watch the Process

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