#MulticookerMonday ~ Instant Pot Orange Chicken

If you are a blogger looking to join our Multicooker Monday group, request to join our Facebook page, or reach out to Sue of Palatable Pastime! We look forward to cooking with you. Multicooker Monday is a friendly food blogging group where we get together on the third Monday of the month  to post recipes for the multicooker: instant pot or pressure cooker, slow cooker, air fryer, sous vide or other cooking device with no theme; anything goes!

Is it kind of weird that I wasn't expecting to like this recipe all that much and I was incredibly surprised by it, in a wonderful way? Maybe I've never made orange chicken before, maybe I've not used my instant pot enough to believe it is great with "saucy" dishes... whatever the case may be - I stand before you reformed.

The chicken is perfectly tender, without being overcooked to the point of completely falling apart. The sauce is rich with an orange tang, not overly sweet, and wonderfully sticky. This was perfect served over some brown rice, alongside some fresh steamed broccoli for an easy, doable work night meal!  

Multicooker Monday

Recipes for Instant Pots, Slow Cookers, Sous Vide and More!

March 2020 Recipes

Pressure Cooker and Instant Pot Recipes:

• Instant Pot Carolina-Style Pulled Pork from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Instant Pot Orange Chicken from Making Miracles
• Pressure Cooker Carrot And Drumstick Sambar from Sneha's Recipe
• Thai Green Curry Mussels (Instant Pot) from Palatable Pastime

Slow Cooker Recipes:

• Maple & Honey Butter Crockpot Sweet Potatoes from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Slow Cooker Chicken Fajitas from A Day in the Life on the Farm

Sous Vide Recipes:

• Sous Vide Bone-in Leg of Lamb from Food Lust People Love
• Sous Vide Chicken from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking

Instant Pot Orange Chicken from Sweet and Savory Meals

Ingredients
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast, diced into bite sized pieces
2 TBS vegetable oil
salt and pepper

Sauce
1 cup orange juice
1 1/2 tsp ginger
1 TBS minced garlic
1 TBS rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup tomato sauce
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup soy sauce
 zest from 1 large orange

Cornstarch Slurry
2 TBS cornstarch
2 TBS orange juice

Directions

1. Set your instant pot to saute, and add the vegetable oil. When hot, add in the diced chicken and allow to brown well on 1 side before stirring (about 3 minutes), make sure to scrape well with a wooden spoon or spatula when you flip to ensure nothing sticks to the bottom during browning. Allow the next side to brown for a few minutes as well (I realize you won't get perfectly browned chicken in the instant pot - if you want that golden crisped exterior, I suggest browning in a skillet stove top and then adding the chicken to the instant pot with the sauce, but I thought the sacrifice was worth it to keep this 1-pot)! Season your chicken lightly with salt and pepper while browning. 
2. Meanwhile, whisk all sauce ingredients together in a medium bowl. When chicken is browned, pour the sauce over the top and stir a time or two (again, scrape the bottom with your wooden spoon or spatula to ensure nothing is stuck to the bottom, so you don't get the "Burned Food" notification).
3. Set your pressure cooker to Pressure Cook for 5-minutes. Allow a 10-minute natural vent (read out should say LO:10) before fully venting after cooking.
4. Prepare your cornstarch slurry by blending the 2 TBS orange juice and 2 TBS cornstarch together in a small bowl until smooth. Turn the instant pot to saute, and stir in the slurry, until blended in. Allow sauce to bubble for a couple minutes, it should darken in color slightly and thicken pretty quickly. You can then turn it off and allow it to rest for a couple minutes before serving!