Cooking Lesson #274: Instant Pot Garlic-Sesame Chicken Thighs

…from the California Kitchen

How you doin’? I’m not a big take-out order kind of guy. I rather prefer to cook myself. The other day I had a hankering for some restaurant Chinese food. I called up one of the delivery services and they told me it would take an hour. Wait… an hour for some mediocre, semi-cold Chinese food? No way! I can make my own Garlic-Sesame Chicken in about half the time on my trusty Instant Pot. Pressure cooking the chicken with the sauce infuses the chicken with serious flavor. The best part is when I serve it—it’s still hot. The additional benefit is I can serve 4 adults for under 7 dollars. Serve this dish with white rice.

Speaking of rice, have you tried Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice? It comes in a pouch and is already cooked. Just zap it for 90 seconds in the microwave and serve. One pouch easily feeds 2 hungry people and is perfect as a side dish with Garlic-Sesame Chicken. Yum!
 
Prep time:  10 minutes
Cook time:  25 minutes
Additional time:  10 minutes
Yield:  4 servings
 
Ingredients
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
salt and ground black pepper to taste
8 bone-in, skin on chicken thighs
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
4 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons chopped green onion bottoms (save the tops for later use)
1/4 cup Chinese wine (Shaohsing Rice Cooking Wine) or dry sherry
4 tablespoons water
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce (I prefer Kikkoman)
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons chopped green onion tops
2 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
 
Directions

1. In a plastic bag combine the flour, salt and pepper.
2. Season the chicken thighs with flour mixture by toss them in the bag.  Shake off excess flour and set aside.
3. Turn on the Instant Pot and select SAUTÉ function.
4. Heat the sesame oil in the insert pot until hot.
5. Add 4 chicken thighs and sauté until browned on the first side, 3 to 4 minutes.
6. Add the garlic and green onion bottoms and flip the chicken, sauteing until the other side is browned and the garlic is fragrant, 3 to 4 minutes longer. Remove the first 4 thighs and brown both sides of the other 4 thighs.
7. Push CANCEL and using tongs transfer the chicken to a plate.
8. Pour 1/4 cup wine into the pot to deglaze and use a wooden spoon, scrape any browned bits from the bottom.
9. Whisk the water, soy sauce, hoisin sauce and honey together in a bowl until blended.
10. Return chicken to the pot and pour sauce over the top.
11. Close and lock the lid. Select HIGH PRESSURE and set the timer for 10 MINUTES. Allow 6 to 10 minutes for pressure to build.
12. RELEASE PRESSURE by carefully using the quick-release method, after about 5 minutes.
13. Unlock and remove the lid and remove the chicken with tongs or a slotted spoon and set aside.
14. Mix remaining 2 tablespoons water with cornstarch in a small bowl. Turn on SAUTÉ function and whisk cornstarch slurry into the sauce. Simmer until the sauce thickens, about 2 minutes. CANCEL SAUTÉ function.
15. Return chicken to the sauce, sprinkle with green onions tops and sesame seeds and mix.
16. Serve the chicken thighs over steamed or fried rice with a ladle of sauce.

ChefSecrets:  You can easily add a couple of more thighs to accommodate more people, just be sure to only sauté 4 at a time.

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