Instant Pot – Opie in the Kitchen

I really love my Instant Pot. It makes recipes like this super easy and fast! Now ordinarily I just order out for Asian food as it’s easier. But these days it’s not as easy and I had been meaning to try this recipe anyway. One this I will say is that using dark meat chicken vs. light meat makes a HUGE difference. This first time I tried this recipe I used boneless chicken breasts. It turned out dry and not all that good. This time I used boneless thighs and it was delicious. Enjoy!

General Tso’s Chicken

1 tbsp. oil (sesame if you have it)
1 1/2 lbs boneless chicken thighs
6 tbsp. rice vinegar
6 tbsp. low sodium soy sauce
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp fresh ginger (I have a tube in my fridge)
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
3/4 cup hoisin sauce
4 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. cornstarch
2 cups cooked rice
1 green onion, chopped

Directions:

Cut the chicken into about 1″ cubes. Turn your instant pot to sauté and add the oil. Once hot brown the chicken, about 5 minutes. Cancel the sauté. In a medium bowl which together the vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, pepper flakes, hoisin, and brown sugar. Poor into the instant pot and secure the lit. Make sure the valve is closed. Set your pressure cook to manual and for 10 minutes.

When the 10 minutes is up use the quick release on the valve to quickly release the steam. Remove the chicken. Add the cornstarch to a couple tbsp. of cold water and mix well, I like to use a jar. Set the instant pot to sauté and whisk in the cornstarch. The mixture should start to thicken pretty quickly. Once it’s thick turn the pot off, and set it to keep warm, and add the chicken back in. Serve it over rice and sprinkle with the onion and sesame seeds (optional).

Instant Pot Pulled Pork

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 lbs pork roast (give or take)

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp powdered mustard

1 tsp cumin

1 tbsp ancho chili powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

3 tbsp tomato paste

1/2 cup water

1 cup BBQ sauce

Directions

Combine in a small bowl the brown sugar, mustard, cumin, ancho, garlic, onion, salt and pepper. Cut the pork into 2 – 3 inch sections. Rub the spice mixture on all sides of the pork.

Add the oil to your Instant Pot and turn to the saute mode. Brown all side of the pork, this will take about 15 minutes or so. Once browned turn the Instant Pot off and add the vinegar, tomato paste and water. Put the lid on, make sure the pressure valve is closed, and use the manual setting to pressure cook the pork for 60 minutes.

After 60 minutes use the rapid release valve to release the steam safely. Remove the pork from the pot and shred it using a couple of forks and a medium bowl. Meanwhile turn the Instant Pot to the saute setting again and add the cup of your favorite BBQ sauce, I happen to like Cattleman’s Chipotle sauce, it’s one of the few I have found that doesn’t contain high fructose corn syrup. Let it reduce for about 15 minutes. Add the pork back into the sauce, stir to combine and then serve.