This Instant Pot dish has meltingly tender chicken coated in a flavorful sauce, thanks to ingredients like garlic, ginger, basil, and soy sauce. It’s my low carb/keto and pressure cooker take on the popular Chinese dish Three Cup Chicken.
A Weeknight Dinner That Beats Takeout
This is a fast-moving recipe without much active cooking involved, and deserves a spot in your weeknight dinner rotation. To save time, the chicken’s marinating time is “built-in” to the recipe; the chicken soaks in the marinade while you’re cooking the aromatics (ginger, garlic, red pepper). Another time saver is skipping the browning of meat as you typically see in recipes, so the chicken goes from raw to being pressure cooked. And for simplicity, the liquid in the recipe serves as both the marinade and the eventual sauce.
Instant Pot Chinese Chicken
Instant Pot Chinese chicken thighs with unbelievably tender meat, coated with a rich and flavorful sauce, plus scallions and basil stirred in.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless fresh chicken thighs
- 10 cloves garlic, halved lengthwise
- 2- inch piece of fresh ginger, thinly sliced widthwise
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon unrefined sesame oil (or your preferred cooking oil)
Marinade/Sauce:
- 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce (not regular soy sauce, which may be too salty)
- 1/4 cup dry sherry or shaoxing wine
- 1 teaspoon corn starch
Flavorings Added At The End:
- 5 scallions, sliced
- 1/2 cup (1/2 oz) fresh thai or italian basil leaves, halved lengthwise
Instructions
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In a large mixing bowl, whisk soy sauce, dry sherry, and corn starch until dissolved.
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Pat chicken thighs dry with paper towels. Trim off excess fat with kitchen shears. Cut the chicken into 2-inch chunks.
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Add chicken pieces to the mixing bowl with the sauce, stirring together until the chicken is well-coated with sauce. Arrange the chicken so they’re mostly submerged. Set aside on the countertop to let them marinate while you work on the next step.
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Add oil, ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes to the pressure cooker pot. Turn on the saute setting for medium heat. Cook until the garlic is browned and softening, about 10 minutes after turning on the heat, stirring occasionally. Turn off the saute setting.
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Carefully pour all of the contents of the mixing bowl (both chicken and marinade) into the pot, and briefly stir everything together. Cover and seal the lid. Cook at high pressure for 10 minutes, followed by a quick release.
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Uncover. Turn on the saute setting for medium heat. Boil until the liquid starts to develop a sauce-like consistency, 5 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pot. Turn off the saute setting.
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Briefly stir in scallions and basil, and serve.
Nutrition Info
| Makes 3 Servings |
| Amount Per Serving: |
| Calories 360 | |
| Total Fat 19g | 29% |
| Saturated Fat 1g | 3% |
| Cholesterol 182mg | 61% |
| Sodium 940mg | 39% |
| Net Carb 7.5g | |
| Total Carb 8.5g | 3% |
| Dietary Fiber 1g | 4% |
| Sugars 4g | |
| Protein 37g |
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Can I use coconut aminos instead of the low sodium soy sauce?
Yes, that should work. If you try it, I’d love to hear how it turned out.
I don’t have an instant pot but the recipe looks tremendous. Can you recommend another method of cooking it.
You can cook this using a pan on the stovetop. For Step 4, just saute on the pan. For Step 5, don’t cover and just let it simmer until the chicken is extremely tender and the sauce is thickened to your liking.
Can I substitute xanthan gum for corn starch? I don’t use any grain products.
Yes, you can. In this recipe, corn starch not only thickens the sauce but also tenderizes the chicken. Xanthan gum will help with the former and not the latter, but the chicken should still taste quite good.