Chinese Chicken & Broccoli (Instant Pot translation and recipe revision)

Good evening my lovely readers! It's a beautiful 50* out and this momma is thinking "chinese"! Hubby and I are getting pretty good at perfecting the homemade chinese, so here is the basic run down of how we handled the last batch we made! My picky little people love homemade chinese normally, but this recipe was such a hit that I didn't even have enough left over to send in lunches for the next day!

This recipe is what I jumped off of, and it's obviously not an IP meal, but is easily translated. Here is the basic ingredient listing, with my revisions:

• 1 large Head of Broccoli, cut into florets
• 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 6 boneless chicken thighs skinless, chopped into bite sized pieces
• 2 cloves, minced or 2 tsp granulated garlic
• 1 onion, cut julienned
• 1 can bamboo shoots, drained
• 1 can water chestnuts, drained
• 1 tsp dried ginger, to taste, adjust after cooking
• 2 Tablespoons Hoisin Sauce + more to taste after cooking
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 3 Tablespoons soy sauce (extra to taste)
• 6 Tablespoons honey **
• 1-3 cups hot water per preference of gravy to veg/meat ratio

** I skip the honey, but have left it in just in case someone else would like to know how much to add.

1. Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and push "saute". When it says "hot" add your oil and push it around so it coats your IP liner. Then add your chicken, and sear it lightly, just till the chicken is getting white, or light brown spots.
2. Next you're going to deglaze the liner using the water. While the chicken is still in the bottom of the liner, and while the pot is still good and hot, add 1 cup of water and using a wooden spoon or scraper, scrape up anything that might be stuck to the bottom. The chicken will produce liquid, but the IP requires liquid to work correctly, and we like lots of gravy.
3. Cancel the saute function.
4. Add the garlic, onion, ginger, soy sauce, hoisin, & oyster on top, don't stir.
5. ** If you desire rice with this meal, & have a stainless steel PIP bowl, and a long legged trivet, you can measure your rice & water out into your PIP bowl and place the long legged trivet in on top of your food.
6. Set the cook time for 5-10 minutes depending on how much chicken you have, (if you have a single batch 5-7 is sufficient. If you double it you'll need to cook a little longer. Let it naturally release for 10 minutes.
7. While it's cooking, cut up your broccoli to suit you, some like it big, some like it small, I have preschoolers so I have to accommodate their small mouths.
8. When the IP beeps, you're going to stir the food and taste. Season accordingly. I added more ginger, hoisin, water, oyster, black pepper, and rice wine.
9. Once you're satisfied that it is seasoned to suit you, put the bamboo, water chestnuts & broccoli in on top, in that order. Do not stir it in. Reset the IP to either 0 (zero) minutes HP, or 1 minute LP depending on which one you have. This SHOULD produce broccoli that is softened but not mush... however I am not 100% on it, it COULD be too mushy... some folks like their broccoli pretty firm...
10. Anyway, when it beeps after adding the broccoli do a quick release.
11. If the quick release spits sauce... close it back up and do a controlled pressure release. Don't make a mess of your counter ... just close it back up and release the pressure slowly by hand...

Instant Pot Bone-In Chicken Instructions

1. Put 1 cup of water in the liner
   
2. Put the rack (trivet) that came with the IP into the liner
   
3. Now place your chicken into the liner, on the trivet. Do not pile. Just do a single layer on each trivet. (If you allow air flow between the layers, you can cook 12 pieces of chicken in 10-15 minutes instead of 30-45) Season it however you want, just remember that you may need to step up the seasoning just a little more than you'd expect. (I use Italian dressing as a marinade sometimes.  So you would move the chicken all around till its all coated in it)
   
   If you are using multiple trivets, add the next trivet now and continue adding chicken to the pot.  This works for up to 4 layers in my 8qt IP Duo.
   
4. Now hit Meat/Stew or Pressure Cook and using the "+" and "-" buttons go up or down to reach 15 minutes (00:15) and turn the black knob to the sealing position.
   
5. The screen will display "on" for awhile, you'll hear boiling and hissing sounds, might see some steam come out the top for a short time, then it'll seal and it will become quieter. The screen will still read "on" for a short time then the pressure inside (12psi) will be reached and the clock face will change to read your selected cook time. The pot will beep one time letting you know it's beginning the cook count.
   
6. It will now count backwards from (00:15) to (00:00) at which time it will beep multiple times & the clock face will change to (L0:00) and begin counting up instead of down to indicate how long is been on low/keep warm.
   
7. Now, if this were veggies you'd flip the lever open and release steam (known as a quick release). But you're not going to do that this time because it's meat.
   
   This time, you're going leave it alone and allow the clock to read (L0:10) or (L0:15) before you open it. This allows the meat to rest and it will absorb the liquid in doing this and make very tender chicken.

Heidi's White Chicken Chili (Instant Pot)

INGREDIENT

• Chicken: 3 options, all work well 

- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts &/or thighs, trimmed of excess fat & chopped into bite size pieces; 

- 2 large cans of chicken or 

- A deboned rotisserie chicken

• 1 tablespoon butter

• 1 yellow onion diced

• 1 diced bell pepper (optional)

• 2 cloves garlic minced, 1 tsp preminced jarred garlic or 1 tsp dried granulated garlic

• 24-32 oz. chicken broth (low sodium) or bone broth from boiling the deboned rotisserie chicken carcass

• 1 (15oz) can triple bean chili beans with mild chili sauce.  Do not drain or rinse.

• 1 (15oz) can great Northern beans, drained & rinsed

• 1 (15oz) can black beans, drained & rinsed

• 1 (15oz) can Dark red kidney beans

• 1 (15oz) can light red kidney beans

•  3  cans whole kernel corn either with peppers or without

• 1 can Rotel tomatoes (with chilies) or plain stewed or fresh tomatoes without peppers

Optional if you want more peppers:

• 2 (4oz) cans of chilies, jalapenos, habaneros etc., or fresh bell, chilies, poblano, jalapeno, habanero

o   1/2 tsp black pepper

o   1 tsp cumin

o   3/4 tsp oregano

o   1/2 tsp chili powder

o   1/2 tsp paprika

o   1 package of ranch mix

~ 1 tbsp chicken bullion, to taste

o   Small handful fresh cilantro chopped

o   2 (8 oz) cream cheese blocks, softened

          - Can be cut and cubed into 1oz chunks for melting ease; if you don't want to you don't have to, it just melts smoother if you cut it up.

·   ★ Corn starch & water for thickening as needed

Fresh Toppings:

·        • Sliced jalapenos

·        • Lime wedges

·        • Sliced avocados

·       •  Sour cream

·       •  Minced fresh cilantro

·       •  Tortilla strips or oyster crackers

·         Shredded cheeses:  Monterey jack, Mexican blend, cheddar, cojack

INSTRUCTIONS

Layer ingredients in the IP inner pot:

1) chicken broth

2) butter

3) chicken

4) onions, & peppers

5) beans, 

6) corn (without juices if plain, with juice if pepper blended), 

7) Top with garlic & seasonings.  

- (pepper, cumin, oregano, chili powder, cayenne pepper, ranch mix, paprika, garlic etc.).  

8) Tomatoes are added to the layers absolutely last.  Do not stir. 

Seal & cook for 15 minutes with 15 minute NPR.

When the beep sounds, allow it to NPR (natural pressure release) for 15 minutes.  If there is any remaining pressure, you can go ahead & release it if you're impatient, or you can just allow it to sit there till the pin drops on its own from a full natural release.  

After you've opened it, stir, taste test, season if it needs more. The cream cheese will detract from the spice just a tad and the cooking will numb the intensity of the spices.  

Add cubed cream cheese, stir and cover for about 10 minutes, or  turn on saute low for a bit till its just starting to ripple.  After the ripples appear, be sure to continue stirring until chili is creamy and slightly thickened.  Use the corn starch and water slurry to thicken up the broth to your personal preference. 

Notes:

**  If using dried beans, the ratio of beans to water is 1:3, you'll need to cook the beans ahead, and discard the water before beginning the chili.

• 0.5-cups dried beans = 1.5 cups cooked

• Different beans require different cook times, but they average approximately 30-minutes of pressurized cook time

** If you attempt to bring back to a rippling boil once the cream cheese is added, it may be more likely to burn so just be watchful.

[2017, 2018, 2019 2x]

Instant Pot Orange Chicken (Pot-in-Pot)

Instant Pot Orange Chicken 

Intended to be cooked PIP (pot-in-pot).

Ingredients:
1 pound chicken, diced (3 - 4 breasts, or 4 - 5 thighs)
1 medium onion, quartered
2 - 4 cups chopped fresh vegetables
1 tsp salt & pepper
Rice
Sauce ingredients: 
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon orange zest
2 large cloves garlic
2 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon minced ginger
3 tablespoons corn starch + water (for thickening later as needed)
Sugar/honey/agave to sweeten (optional)
Items Needed:
6-quart or 8-quart Instant Pot
Oven safe (stainless steel) bowl or PIP pan large enough to hold all the ingredients, but small enough to fit in side your instant pot with room to spare around the edges for steam to escape.
Trivet
A sling (my trivet has a built in sling)
Rice cooker (not required, it just makes this busy momma's life easier)

Instructions:

• Mix sauce ingredients together in an oven safe bowl that fits inside your instant pot.  Make sure it's big enough to hold all the ingredients.  This is your cooking pot. Taste test prior to adding the raw chicken to the sauce to ensure that it is to your liking.  Add sweetener as needed.
• Dice the chicken up and roll around in the sauce till all pieces are covered
• Place quartered onion on top of the raw chicken that's been rolled in the orange sauce in the (Pot-in-Pot) PIP bowl. 
  **  You could add the "heat resistant" vegetables (water chestnuts, bamboo, onions, bell pepper, sugar snap peas, mushrooms, carrots, celery) to the top of the bowl at this point if you wanted
  
• You can cook your rice at the same time as the chicken mixture if you choose, as long as you have a size appropriate PIP pan to do it in. The ratio of water to rice is 1:1, and rice doubles, so 1 cup of uncooked rice = 2 cups cooked rice.
  
• Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes using the trivet & 1 cup of water (if using 6qt) or 2 cups of water (if using 8qt or just want to be sure you have enough steam).
  
• If you have chosen to not cook it all in one pot, start your rice elsewhere.  I use a rice cooker because it simplifies my life and I can cook twice as much chicken mixture. 
  
• Natural Pressure Release (NPR) for 10 minutes to allow the juice to settle into the meat and to prevent the meat from being "shocked". 
  ** Shocked meat causes a tough, rubbery consistency.
  
• Stir the contents of the bowl to ensure even sauce distribution, pour the fresh veggies on top and either reseal on low pressure for 2 minutes (for frozen), or allow the residual heat from the meat mixture to cook the fresh broccoli.
  
• Once the time has completed, give it 2 minutes of NPR then enjoy by putting it over rice.

Notes:

Rice: 

• Remember when cooking rice that the cooked quantity will be double the dry quantity. (1 cup dry = 2 cups cooked)
• When using a rice cooker, or the stove top, or any method that allows water to evaporate as it cooks, the rice to water ratio is 1 cup rice to 1.5 cups water (1:1.5)
• When using a pressure cooker to cook your rice, or any method that does NOT allow for water evaporation, the ratio is 1 cup rice to 1 cup water (1:1)

Vegetable suggestions:  Water chestnuts, bamboo, carrots, celery, mushrooms, sugar snap peas, bell pepper, broccoli.  All of these will stand up to heat well except the broccoli.

• Broccoli is tricky at times. I usually cook it 1 of 3 ways.
  1) Use a steamer tray, or a tall legged trivet with instant pot steamer basket in my rice cooker while the rice is cooking.
  2) Microwave it
  3) Steam it on low pressure using the steamer basket in the Instant Pot. Low pressure 2 minutes, or 0 minutes under high pressure.   
• Bamboo will absorb any flavors that are around it, as well as adding to the flavors, so if you want super orange bamboo, put it in the sauce.  If you simply want that bamboo flavor, don't mix it in till afterward.
• Bell peppers, celery and mushrooms will produce liquid when cooked

The photo is not mine.  I have used it to illustrate what the dish SHOULD look like, but I have not had the chance to take photos of my actual food.  Photo belongs to:  Siam Orchid Thai Restaurant

Instant Pot Sweet & Sour Anything

Instant Pot Sweet & Sour Anything

Makes approximately 12 servings.
Owned by my mother and rewritten with permission.

Recipe can be make either PIP (Pot-in-pot) or directly in the liner.  It's your personal preference. 

Ingredients:

• 1 can Chicken broth + 2 table spoons chicken base (like bouillon or better than bouillon)
• 3-5 cups meat, diced
• 1 green pepper (optional)
• 1 onion, chopped (or approximately 1 tablespoon dried minced or granulated onion) 
• 1 can chunked pineapple, juice reserved to be measured out and added later
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic or 2 teaspoons dried granulated garlic
• 3/4 cup white vinegar or rice vinegar
• 3/4 cup pineapple juice (drained from can; add water to reach quantity of liquid)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 medium tomatoes, chunked, or 1 package of grape tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons corn starch + water for thickening later

Instructions:

1. Layer the ingredients, in order, except the corn starch & tomatoes.  Do not stir.
   
   (PIP it doesn't matter if you stir or not, or what order you put the food in, just make sure you have a large enough bowl to hold everything, but is still small enough to fit into your Instant Pot liner with space to allow the steam to circulate, a trivet in the bottom of the liner, and a minimum of 1 cup of water in the bottom of the liner).
2. Place lid on pot and lock into place.  Set for 10 (ten) minutes high pressure.   Allow 10 minutes natural pressure release to allow the juices to settle into the meat then do a quick pressure release.  While the chicken etc. is cooking, make your corn starch slurry for thickening.
3. After opening the pot, place the tomatoes in, place the lid on the pot, lock it & set it to "saute" for a few minutes till tomatoes have warmed.
      
4. Thicken by turning on the saute' function, get it boiling and slowly pouring in the corn starch & water while stirring. Be careful, if you get it too thick it might splatter up.  If you pour too fast it will create lumps. 
5. Once it's thickened to your liking, serve over rice & enjoy.

Optional additions:  

• 1 tablespoon ginger (I use dried, fresh will give you a much stronger hit of spices)
• 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce 
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce 

*  This recipe works with multiple types of meat.  Choices include:  Chicken, Pork, Meatballs, Shrimp, Beef.

**  Recipe was originally for the stovetop and was rewritten for the IP by me

*** Meat can be rolled in flour & fried on the stove prior to pressure cooking, and the drippings and crunchy bits added into the gravy mix prior to pressure cooking but be aware the breading tends to thicken the juice a bit & you have to add more liquid, so I have chosen to omit this step because I don't care for how it changes the consistency of the gravy and the extra step involved. 

****  Photo gotten from google to demonstrate what it should look like when completed.  Will ETA when I have a recent photo of my own food. 

Multi-cooker Ranch Chicken Chili with cream cheese

Cooks notes: Can be eaten as a soup, served over steamed rice, or in tortillas/taco shells.  With optional toppings: sour cream, freshly grated cheddar cheese, avocado, fresh lime, and fresh cilantro

Needed items:

2 chicken breasts, cubed

2 cans chicken broth, low sodium

1 medium purple onion, diced
1 can Rotel diced tomatoes, with chilis
1 can corn kernels

1 can baja corn

1 can jalapeno corn
1 can mixed chili beans, mild sauce

1 can red chili beans (mild)

1 can white chili beans (mild)

1 can black chili beans (optional)

1 pkg. Ranch dressing mix
1 8-oz pkg. cream cheese, cut into smaller bits

Corn starch & water to thicken as needed

1 Multi-cooker, capable of at least 8 functions

Directions:

•    Put the cubed chicken & diced onion into the multi-cooker under the "sauté & simmer" setting. Sauté until chicken is white & the natural juices have come forward.
•  Wisk the ranch dressing into the chicken broth till its smooth then pour over the chicken and onions.
•  Add the tomatoes, corn, & beans, stirring to combine, then top with the cream cheese.
•  Continue to let it simmer, stirring occasionally until the cheese has melted/blended into the broth.  Allow the soup to simmer until the simmer setting flips into the last 10-minutes of cooking.
• In the last 1 - 2 minutes, thicken soup with a corn starch & water slurry.  Let the cooker flip into "keep warm", let sit for a few minutes to let the flavors meld, then serve.