I wonder if you could do the same in an Instant Pot... I just tried the stovetop technique with wheat berries (hard white), and they just expanded very slightly. But unlike a raw wheat berry, they tasted okay!
To do the same thing on an instant pot, you'd have to remove the entire lid all at once. It's the explosive decompression which fluffs up the grains. For this reason, the asian merchants usually open the devices into a bag made of sturdy material.
Gotcha—so probably not going to end up in the official Instant Pot cookbook. Ha
Instant pot plus C3. It's a winner! (Well, once...)
Instant Pot is 12 psi. The popcorn cannons are about 150 psi. It needs to be released at once and a blast of steam comes out with the grains.