Instant Pot Orange Chicken

One of my Christmas presents this year was a nifty new kitchen gadget, an Instant Pot®. Have you heard of this thing? It's an electronic pressure cooker. Apparently it's all the rage right now, even though I was unaware. I had heard of it a couple of times and have been wanting a pressure cooker but didn't give it much thought. I guess that Santa thought that I needed one, and I'm happy to say that I think that I will love it! I'm thinking that it will get more use than my slow cooker. It cooks food 70% faster and has tons of functions. You can even use it as a slow cooker, steamer, or rice cooker. I have made a batch of white rice with it, and it turned out better than when I use my actual rice cooker....seriously. It did an amazing job. The first meal that I made using this gadget was a deer roast with potatoes and carrots. It turned out SO tender and just fell right off of the bone!

The recipe below is pretty much the original that I used, even though I changed up some of the wording. It only takes a total of about 30 minutes. Plus, you only dirty up one pot, and nothing beats that. It also smells AMAZING. There are, however, a couple of things that I want to let you know about. First of all, I forgot to dry the chicken off with paper towels so my chicken did not end up a golden-brown, as you will see in the pics below. It ended up more juicy, which I was fine with. Secondly, I used bottled orange juice for the 2/3 cup of juice that is required in the beginning. After grating the orange for the zest, I juiced that orange and used it for the remainder orange juice that the recipe calls for. Thirdly, I did not add Sriracha because I did not want my Orange Chicken spicy. And finally, my taste buds were not working 100% the night that I made this due to me burning my tongue off on hot, liquid lava tomato soup at lunch earlier in the day. It still tasted DELICIOUS though, and the hubby gave it two thumbs up saying it was "awesome" and that he would want it again. It's a keeper!

Instant Pot Orange Chicken

(Scroll to bottom to see recipe without pictures.)

Recipe adapted from: Sweet and Savory Meals
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4-6

Ingredients:

2 lbs chicken breast or thighs, cut into 1-2 inch pieces

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 cup orange juice, bottled or fresh squeezed (the original recipe suggests no-sugar added juice)

6 cloves garlic, minced (less if you prefer)

1 cup tomato sauce 

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup soy sauce

zest from 1 orange

Optional:

1 tablespoon Sriracha
4 green onions, sliced
extra orange zest

Directions:

1.) Dry chicken it with paper towels before cutting into 1-2 inch chunks.

2.) Heat up pressure cooker. Press Sauté. Click on the Adjust button. Select More to get the Sauté More function, which means that the food will be sautéed over medium-high heat. Wait for the Instant Pot® indicator to read HOT.

3.) Add the oil to the hot Instant Pot®

4.) Add the chicken and sauté for 2-3 minutes, stirring a few times. Cook until just starts to turn golden. When sautéing, stir constantly so chicken doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.

(After you sauté the chicken, check if any bits stuck to the bottom. If so, deglaze the pot with 1/4 cup orange juice and scrape with a wooden spoon. If you leave the bits stuck to the bottom, they may burn or cause the pot not to come to pressure. If you want a truly golden-brown chicken, you can brown chicken on the stove top beforehand.)

5.) Add 2/3 cups of orange juice (save remainder), minced garlic, tomato sauce, soy sauce, white sugar, brown sugar, orange zest and Sriracha sauce (optional).

6.) Stir well until all ingredients are combined and chicken is coated in sauce.

7.) Close lid, select the Poultry function and adjust the time to 7 minutes. (My model of Instant Pot® did not have Poultry function. On my model I used the Meat/Stew function.)

8.) After the 7 minutes, use a 10 minute natural pressure release. This means that the pressure is released gradually. To do this click on Keep Warm and wait 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, open the valve and let any excess pressure release.

9.) After the 10 minute natural release, turn off the heat. Release the remaining pressure. Open the lid.

10.) Select Sauté function again, this time on LOW. 

11.) In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with the remaining orange juice. Whisk until well combined with no lumps. 

12.) Add the mixture to the Instant Pot® and gently stir to combine. Cook on Sauté function for a few more minutes, stirring gently, until the sauce thickens. (If you want the sauce even thicker, mix one tablespoon of cornstarch with orange juice and add to the pot.)

13.) Let the Orange Chicken stand for 5-7 minutes to let the sauce thicken.

The rice cooker that I normally use.

14.) Serve over rice. Garnish with fresh chopped green onions and extra orange zest.

Enjoy!

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Instant Pot® Orange Chicken

Ingredients:
2 lbs chicken breast or thighs, cut into 1-2 inch pieces
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup orange juice, bottled or fresh squeezed (the original recipe suggests no-sugar added juice)
6 cloves garlic, minced (less if you prefer)
1 cup tomato sauce 
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
zest from 1 orange

Optional:
1 tablespoon Sriracha
4 green onions, sliced
extra orange zest

Directions:
1.) Dry chicken it with paper towels before cutting into 1-2 inch chunks.
2.) Heat up pressure cooker. Press Sauté. Click on the Adjust button. Select More to get the Sauté More function, which means that the food will be sautéed over medium-high heat. Wait for the Instant Pot® indicator to read HOT.
3.) Add the oil to the hot Instant Pot®
4.) Add the chicken and sauté for 2-3 minutes, stirring a few times. Cook until just starts to turn golden. When sautéing, stir constantly so chicken doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.
(After you sauté the chicken, check if any bits stuck to the bottom. If so, deglaze the pot with 1/4 cup orange juice and scrape with a wooden spoon. If you leave the bits stuck to the bottom, they may burn or cause the pot not to come to pressure. If you want a truly golden-brown chicken, you can brown chicken on the stove top beforehand.)
5.) Add 2/3 cups of orange juice (save remainder), minced garlic, tomato sauce, soy sauce, white sugar, brown sugar, orange zest and Sriracha sauce (optional).
6.) Stir well until all ingredients are combined and chicken is coated in sauce.
7.) Close lid, select the Poultry function and adjust the time to 7 minutes. (My model of Instant Pot® did not have Poultry function. On my model I used the Meat/Stew function.)
8.) After the 7 minutes, use a 10 minute natural pressure release. This means that the pressure is released gradually. To do this click on Keep Warm and wait 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, open the valve and let any excess pressure release.
9.) After the 10 minute natural release, turn off the heat. Release the remaining pressure. Open the lid.
10.) Select Sauté function again, this time on LOW. 
11.) In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with the remaining orange juice. Whisk until well combined with no lumps. 
12.) Add the mixture to the Instant Pot® and gently stir to combine. Cook on Sauté function for a few more minutes, stirring gently, until the sauce thickens. (If you want the sauce even thicker, mix one tablespoon of cornstarch with orange juice and add to the pot.)
13.) Let the Orange Chicken stand for 5-7 minutes to let the sauce thicken.
14.) Serve over rice. Garnish with fresh chopped green onions and extra orange zest.