Instant Pot Chicken Phở

This is one of the best recipes I've made in a long time! It is quick and easy enough for a weeknight, and makes fantastic leftovers. 

Usually when I make or order phở it is made with a rich, spicy beef broth, but Phở Gà or Chicken Pho is also very common. The gingery broth is an amazing complement to the chicken.

Using the Instant Pot makes this dish so quick and easy.  I also love the way the pressure cooker makes such a lovely, clear broth.  The most time-consuming part was gathering the spices. 

This recipe is adapted from Epicurious. It will serve 6 as a meal.  Leftovers are even better the next day and the broth freezes beautifully. 

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 medium onions, halved

2-inch piece of ginger, sliced, skin on

1 tablespoon coriander seeds

3 star anise

5 cloves

1 cinnamon stick 

3 cardamom pods, smashed

7 bone-in chicken thighs (about 2-3 pounds)

3 tablespoons fish sauce

1 tablespoon sugar

8 cups water

salt and pepper

rice stick noodles 

Toppings:

cilantro

red and/or green chilis, sliced

green onions, sliced

1 lime, sliced into wedges

Directions:

Push the "Saute" button on the Instant Pot. When the pot is hot, add the oil.  Place the onions, cut side down in the pot and add the ginger.  Cook without stirring for 4-5 minutes until charred. 

Add the corriander, cardamom, star anise, cinnamon and cloves.  Stir for 1 minute. Add the chicken, fish sauce, sugar and water.  Place the lid on the Instant Pot and lock it. 

Press the "Manual" button and set the time for 17 minutes at high pressure.  It will take about 30 minutes in total for the soup to come to pressure and cook.  Once done, let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes, then turn the vent to release remaining pressure.  While pressure is releasing, cook the rice noodles according to package directions. 

Once the pressure is released, remove the chicken to a large bowl. Strain the broth into a large bowl or measuring cup, discarding solids. Skim fat from the top of the broth. Season the broth with salt and pepper to taste. 

Carefully remove the chicken from the bones and discard the skin and bones.  Shred the chicken.  

Place noodles and chicken into individual bowls.  Top with hot broth.  Each person can add their own herbs, chilis, lime and green onions to their bowl to their own taste. 

This soup tastes amazing.  You will love it! 

Instant Pot Black-Eyed Peas

Black-eyed peas are traditionally served on New Years Day to bring luck in the coming year. 

They are SO easy to make in the Instant Pot, or any electric or non-electric pressure cooker, you don't need a special occasion to make these beans!  

Enjoy them on New Years Day along with some Collard Greens for good luck! 

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 pound (454 g) dried black-eyed peas
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
6.5 cups water
2 tablespoons Better Than Bouillon vegetable or chicken base

Better Than Bouillon is amazing stuff, but if you don't have it, you can use chicken stock in place of the water, or use stock cubes mixed into the water.

Directions:
Place all ingredients in the Instant Pot.  Set it to Manual at High Pressure for 25 minutes. 
Once cooking is complete, let the pressure release naturally.
Serve the black-eyed peas with some of the delicious cooking liquid, and use the rest of the liquid to make Collard Greens, or save it for soup!

Instant Pot Pork Ribs

I love to cook ribs low and slow, then grill them with BBQ sauce to make them crisp and flavourful.  But slow roasting the ribs in the oven takes hours.  You can get the same tender results in the Instant Pot in minutes! 

I normally make at least two racks of ribs in the oven, since it takes so much time and effort, but with this method, I can justify making just one rack for a weeknight dinner.  I never thought I'd have homemade ribs on a weeknight!

I use a homemade spice rub when I make ribs, but you can season them any way you like.  Montreal Chicken seasoning is great for ribs.  

In the Instant Pot you need to use the rack to cook ribs.  You also need some liquid for pressure cooking.  I used chicken stock this time, but apple juice, cider or beer would be great!

For tender ribs, cook on Manual for 21 minutes.  It will take about 40 minutes when you include time to build up and release the pressure.  Still reasonable for a weeknight dinner!

You can spread the ribs with your favourite BBQ sauce and serve when they come out of the Instant Pot, but I like to crisp them up on the grill.  

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients
1 rack spare ribs
2 tablespoons spice rub (see recipe below, or make/buy your own)
1 cup chicken stock, apple juice, beer or cider
BBQ sauce

Directions
Rub ribs all over with spice rub
Place rack in Instant Pot
Add stock, juice or beer to pot
Place ribs on rack in pot
Seal Instant Pot lid
Set Instant Pot to 21 minutes on Manual setting
Once done, let pressure release naturally
Grill or broil ribs, brushing with BBQ sauce until crisp



BBQ Spice Rub
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions
Mix all spices together and store in a sealed container. 

Instant Pot Risotto

After months of wanting one, I bought myself an Instant Pot on Amazon Prime Day! 

I've never, ever used a pressure cooker before so I was really eager to give it a try.  

For my first test run, I decided to work with this recipe from Serious Eats for Miso Risotto in a pressure cooker.  I adapted it a bit with the ingredients I had on hand.  And, although the recipe is written for an electric or standard pressure cooker, I didn't find the instructions intuitive for my first time using the Instant Pot. But the results were fantastic.  

I would never make risotto the traditional way in the middle of summer.  It just makes the kitchen too darn hot.  But this method makes it very quick and easy, and doesn't heat up the kitchen!

The first thing I learned about the Instant Pot is that the actual cooking time can increase and even double when you add time to preheat and release the steam.  In this case, the risotto was still very quick and worth the effort.  

The second thing I learned, which was a big surprise, was that the saute feature gets very hot!  Never having used an electric pressure cooker, I was very surprised how hot it got.  You'd need to keep a close eye on it not to burn your garlic.

Ingredients

6 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups Arborio rice
3/4 cup dry sake or sherry
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 cup miso paste
4 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
salt
chives or green onions

Directions for Instant Pot

Have all ingredients measured, prepped and ready to go before turning on the Instant Pot. 

Press the "Saute" button and wait until preheated (less than a minute).  Add the oil, then the onion and saute about 2 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and saute one minute more.  The pot insert will move around, but you can hold on to the edge with a kitchen towel to keep it steady. 

Add the rice and cook, stirring for about 4 minutes until the rice is toasted and coated in oil.

Add the sake or sherry and cook, stirring until mostly dry. Stir in soy sauce and miso paste. 

Add stock.  Make sure all ingredients are submerged and there are no grains of rice or pieces of onion stuck to the sides of the pot, and make sure the rim of the pot is clean.  

Put the lid on the Instant Pot and click it closed.  A little tune will play to indicate it is properly closed. 

Push the "Manual" button. Push the "Pressure" button until the Low Pressure light is on. The timer will default to 30 minutes.  Press the minus - button until the timer says 5 minutes. 

After 10 seconds, the program will start.  It took about 5 minutes to come up to pressure, then the timer started counting down.  Once 5 minutes was up, the pot went into "Keep Warm" mode.  To quick-release the steam, press "Cancel" and turn the steam nozzle to "Vent". Depressurizing took about 2 minutes for this recipe. 

Once the pressure is released, open the lid, being careful to turn your face away from the steam.  Stir the risotto a few times until it thickens.  Add salt to taste if desired.  Mine didn't need it. 

Serve the risotto in shallow bowls, topped with chopped chives or green onions. 

Instant Pot Unboxing

I finally got something I've been wanting for a while.  The Instant Pot was on sale for Amazon Prime Day and I snapped one up.  

I got the Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 Multi-Use Programmable Pressure Cooker, 8 Quart 1200W

Check out the video for the grand unveiling.  I plan to make lots of delicious things with this!