Instant Pot Hainanese Chicken

Our family loves Hainanese chicken. Made a modified version of the recipe below for Hainanese chicken. I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs. I salted the chicken thighs before using and used low sodium chicken broth. Since I didn’t have any chicken skin, I also omitted the step to put the chicken in an ice bath. Want to try this again next time with whole chicken legs, or even a whole chicken! Also saw this recipe on Tasty by Niki that looked yummy.

https://www.pressurecookrecipes.com/hainanese-chicken-rice-pressure-cooker/

HAINANESE CHICKEN RICE IN PRESSURE COOKER (~from Amy and Jacky)

INGREDIENTS

Chicken

·        2 – 4 whole chicken legs (used skinless, boneless chicken thighs)

·        3 stalks green onions, cut 2 inches long (used 6 stalks of green onions)

·        1 shallot, roughly minced (omitted)

·        6 cloves garlic, roughly minced

·        2 tablespoons ginger, sliced

·        1 ½ cup unsalted chicken stock or water (used low sodium chicken broth)

·        1 tablespoon sea salt

·        1 tablespoon olive oil

Rice (doubled this recipe, and cooked in rice cooker)

·        1 cup jasmine rice

·        ½ cup chicken stock from the chicken legs pot

·        ½ cup water

·        1 tablespoon olive oil

·        2 cloves garlic, minced

Chicken Stock Soup

·        Remaining chicken stock

·        Water

·        Lettuce or cabbage

·        Chopped green onions for garnish

Sweet Soy Sauce (doubled this recipe)

·        1 tablespoon dark soy sauce

·        1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine (splash of wine)

·        ½ tablespoon chicken stock from the chicken legs pot

·        1 teaspoon sugar

·        2 drops sesame oil

Green Onion Ginger Sauce (doubled this recipe)

·        1 stalk green onions, finely chopped

·        1 tablespoon ginger, grated

·        1 ½ tablespoon peanut oil, heated (used canola oil)

·        Salt to taste

Chicken Chili Sauce (doubled this recipe)

·        2 tablespoons hot sauce (used Sriracha) 

·        2 tablespoons ginger, grated (stir-fried the ginger with garlic)

·        3 cloves garlic, minced

·        1 lime, juiced (used a splash of lime juice)

·        1 teaspoon chicken stock from the chicken legs pot

Directions

1.     Heat Up the Pressure Cooker: Heat up your pressure cooker (Instant Pot: press Sauté). Make sure your pot is as hot as it can be when you pour olive oil into the pot (Instant Pot: wait until the indicator says HOT).

2.     Sauté the Green Onions, Shallot, Ginger, and Garlic: Pour in 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the green onions, minced shallot, minced garlic and sliced ginger, then sauté for roughly 2 minutes.

3.     Pressure Cook the Chicken Legs: Pour in 1 ½ cup of unsalted chicken stock or water and deglaze the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Add 1 tablespoon of sea salt to the chicken stock mixture in the pot and mix well. Place all the chicken legs into the pot. Close lid and pressure cook at High Pressure for 8 minutes (Electric or Stovetop pressure cookers). Turn off the heat and fully Natural Release (roughly 10 – 15 minutes).

4.     Firm up the Chicken Skins: Open the lid and carefully remove the chicken legs from the pot with a pair of kitchen tongs. Plunge the chicken legs in an ice bath or place it under running cold tap water. Then, place them on a metal cooling rack to firm up the skin. (omitted this step)

5.     Filter the Chicken Stock: Pour the chicken stock through astrainer to filter out the solid ingredients. In a measuring cup, mix ½ cup of chicken stock and ½ cup of water together. Please ensure it is not too salty as it will be used to cook the chicken rice with it.

6.     Pressure Cook the Chicken Rice (I cooked in rice cooker): Heat up your clean pressure cooker (Instant Pot: press Sauté), pour in one tablespoon of olive oil and sauté 2 cloves of minced garlic in the pot. Add in a cup of jasmine rice and immediately add in the 1 cup chicken stock + water mixture. Close lid and pressure cook at High Pressure for 3 minutes (Electric or Stovetop pressure cookers). Turn off the heat and fully Natural Release (roughly 10 minutes).

7.     Prepare the Green Onions Ginger Sauce: Place the freshly grated ginger in a small bowl. Pour in 1 ½ tablespoon of HOT peanut oil, 1 stalk of finely chopped green onions and mix well. Add salt to taste (roughly ½ teaspoon).

8.     Prepare the Sweet Soy Sauce: Mix all the listed ingredients together.

9.     Prepare the Chicken Chili Sauce: Mix all the listed ingredients together.

10. Prepare the Chicken Soup: Do not let the remaining chicken stock go to waste. It is both tasty and healthy. Heat the chicken stock in a sauce pan. Dilute the chicken stock with water until it is not too salty. Bring it to a light boil and cook your favorite lettuce or cabbage in it for roughly 1 minute. Garnish with chopped green onions and serve on the side.