Instant Pot Chinese Chicken

Instant Pot Chinese Chicken–tender bites of chicken in a sweet and savory sauce made with easy pantry ingredients. Bonus! You can make steamed rice at the same time in the same pot!

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Note: the SLOW COOKER instructions are listed in the recipe card below

Instant Pot Chinese Chicken

I made this dish for my parents and family last night and we all agreed it was a winner! The sauce is slightly sweet and savory and tastes really good over the tender chicken and the steamed rice. If you’re a fan of orange chicken I think you’ll also really love this dish!

Why you should make this dish:

• Not only is this homemade takeout copycat dish healthier, but you’ll save money. That’s a win-win in my book.
• You can make the chicken, sauce and rice all together in one pot! Pair it with some roasted broccoli and dinner is done.
• It’s an easy dump and go recipe…no sautéing steps. The hardest part of this recipe is cutting up the chicken.

Ingredients to make Chinese chicken

• Rice vinegar–I used roasted garlic seasoned rice vinegar
• Low sodium soy sauce–it’s important to use low sodium soy sauce so that the dish isn’t too salty.
• Boneless, skinless chicken thighs–you can also use chicken breasts, if you prefer. For chicken breasts I would use a 2 minute pressure cook time instead of 3.
• Hoisin sauce–find it in the Asian section at the grocery store
• Brown sugar–light or dark brown sugar both work
• Gingerroot–I like to buy ginger and wrap it in foil and stick it in the freezer. Then I use a small grater* to grate it directly into the Instant Pot. It grates much easier when it’s frozen. You don’t need to peel the gingerroot.
• Minced garlic–fresh or jarred
• Pinch crushed red pepper
• Cornstarch–to thicken the sauce. You can also use arrowroot.
• Sesame seeds–to garnish
• Long grain white rice–for pot in pot rice. You can also use jasmine rice.

Steps

1. Add liquid and chicken into Instant Pot: Add rice vinegar, soy sauce and water into Instant Pot. Stir in the chicken cubes.
2. Dump on top (without stirring) the hoisin, brown sugar, ginger, garlic and red pepper. This will prevent the burn error.
   
3. For pot in pot rice: If you want to make rice at the same time then position a tall trivet* into the pot. Add water and rice to a pot-in-pot pan*, cover with a lid or foil and place it on top of the trivet.
   
4. Pressure cook: Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 3 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid. 
   
5. Thicken sauce: Carefully remove rice pan and the trivet. Set aside and keep covered so that it can keep steaming while you thicken the sauce. Make a cornstarch slurry by stirring together cornstarch and water until smooth in a small bowl. Turn Instant Pot to sauté setting. Stir the slurry into the Instant Pot until sauce has thickened. 
6. Serve the chicken and sauce over rice and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

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Notes/Tips

• Try cutting chicken when partially frozen. When the chicken is just barely frozen you can easily slice it into cubes. If you have fresh chicken you may want to throw the chicken into the freezer for 10-20 minutes first.
• Slicing against the grain: I like to slice against the grain into strips and then cut into cubes. This keeps the chicken more tender.
  
• Adjust the Spice. Add more or less red pepper flakes according to your spice preference.
• For gluten free folks make sure to use gluten-free soy sauce and gluten-free hoisin sauce.
• Make it as a dump and go freezer meal: Add chicken, rice vinegar, soy sauce, hoisin, brown sugar, ginger, garlic and red pepper into a freezer zipper bag. Freeze. When ready to enjoy add ½ cup of water into Instant Pot and dump in contents of bag (frozen or thawed). Pressure cook for 3 minutes with a 10 minute natural pressure release.
• Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

More Fakeout Takeout Recipes…

• Instant Pot Better Than Takeout Chicken Lo Mein
• Instant Pot Honey Sesame Chicken
• Instant Pot Mongolian Chicken
• Instant Pot “Eggcellent” Drop Soup
• Instant Pot Panda Express Chow Mein
• Instant Pot Dan Dan Noodles

Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for.

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*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.