How to Cook Rice in a Donabe with Double Lids
Last updated: 4 August 2026
A double-lid donabe is built for rice. The inner lid holds the steam and pressure in, the outer lid holds the heat, and the steam vent tells you exactly when the pot has come to temperature. Because the pot stores so much heat, you cook on medium-high for a set number of minutes, turn the heat off, and let the rice finish on its own — no simmering stage to watch.
This guide is for a double-lid donabe. If your pot has a single lid, follow How to Cook Rice in a Donabe (Single Lid) instead — the heat stages are different.
What you need
- A double-lid donabe — most hold up to 3 cups of rice; check your pot's rated capacity and do not exceed it
- Japanese short-grain rice (koshihikari or similar)
- A 160ml rice cup — this is the standard Japanese rice measure, not the 250ml metric cup
Watch the method
Our playlist shows rice cooked in a donabe. The single-lid video comes first; the double-lid method follows the same rinse and rest steps but uses the times below instead of a low-heat simmer.
White rice
Use 1 part rice to 1.2 parts water. Cooking time is on medium-high heat, from the moment the pot goes on. Every cooktop is different, so treat the times as a starting point.
| Rice | Water | Time on medium-high | Serves |
| 1 cup (160ml) | 190ml | 7 min | 1–2 |
| 2 cups (320ml) | 380ml | 9 min | 3–4 |
| 3 cups (480ml) | 570ml | 11 min | 5–6 |
| 4 cups (640ml) | 760ml | 12 min | 7–8 |
| 5 cups (800ml) | 950ml | 12 min | 9–10 |
| 6 cups (960ml) | 1,140ml | 15 min | 11–12 |
- Rinse. Cover the rice with cold water, swirl and drain. Repeat three or four times until the water runs mostly clear.
- Soak. Cover with fresh water for 30 minutes, then drain well. This can be skipped if you are short of time, but the grains cook through more evenly with it.
- Add rice and water to the donabe and fit both lids. Line up the steam vents on the two lids so the steam can escape.
- Cook on medium-high for the time shown above. Steam pouring from the vent tells you the pot has reached full temperature; if it starts before the time is up, wait about 30 seconds more and turn off the heat.
- Turn off the heat and rest for 10–15 minutes with both lids on. Do not lift the lid — the trapped steam finishes the cooking.
- Fluff and serve. Turn the rice gently with a rice paddle from the bottom up.
Brown rice
Brown rice needs about twice as much water and a long soak. Maximum 4 cups.
| Rice | Water | Time on medium-high |
| 1 cup (160ml) | 320–350ml | 9 min |
| 2 cups (320ml) | 640–700ml | 9 min |
| 3 cups (480ml) | 960–1,050ml | 11 min |
| 4 cups (640ml) | 1,280–1,400ml | 12 min |
- Rinse the rice and soak it for about 2 hours, then drain.
- Add rice and water to the donabe and fit both lids.
- Cook on medium-high for the time shown above.
- Turn to low and cook for a further 20 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and rest for 20 minutes with the lids on, then fluff and serve.
Rice porridge (okayu)
Use 1 part rice to 6 parts water — half a cup of rice (80ml) to 480ml water makes 2 bowls.
- Rinse the rice and soak it for about 30 minutes, then drain.
- Add rice and water to the donabe. Cook uncovered on medium-high until the water boils.
- Turn to low and cook for 30 minutes, stirring once or twice so the rice does not catch on the base.
- Turn off the heat and season with salt to taste.
Troubleshooting
Burnt base
Shorten the cooking time by 1–2 minutes, or start on medium instead of medium-high. A heat diffuser helps on strong gas burners.
Rice is hard in the centre
Soak for the full 30 minutes, and add 10–20ml more water next time.
Rice is wet or mushy
Reduce the water by 10–20ml, and make sure you rested the full 10–15 minutes with the lids on.
Boiled over
The pot is over its rated capacity, or the steam vents on the two lids are not aligned.
No steam from the vent after the time is up
Your cooktop is weaker than average. Add 1–2 minutes next time; do not lift the lid to check.
Heat levels
Heat settings vary between cooktops. If your dial runs from 1 to 10, use this as a guide:
- Low: 1–2
- Medium-low: 3–4
- Medium: 5
- Medium-high: 7–8
- High: 9–10
A donabe should never be heated empty, and a hot pot should not be placed on a cold or wet surface. The base of the pot must be dry before it goes on the flame.
The rest of our donabe playlist covers hot pots and other donabe cooking.
