One Pot Chicken Rice with Shiitaki Mushrooms

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 chicken drumsticks
• 1-2 cups shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, sliced
• 2 teaspoons tamari
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon maple syrup
• 2 cups jasmine brown rice
• 2 3/4 cups chicken broth or water
• salt 

METHOD:

1. Marinade chicken and mushrooms with a sprinkle of salt, ginger, tamari, sesame oil and maple syrup. (The longer you marinade the chicken for, the more flavorful it is. But if you don't have time, add more tamari at the end when it is done cooking.)
2. Pour rice into Instant Pot, add broth or water. 
3. Mix in marinated chicken and mushrooms.
4. Switch Instant Pot to Manual Mode and cook for 22 minutes at high pressure.
5. When 22 minutes is up, let the pressure come down naturally.
6. Open the lid. Stir and mix. Season to taste with tamari or salt. 

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Asian Sesame Chicken (or tofu) Salad

This Asian Sesame Dressing is super versatile and makes a delicious cold appetizer dish with either shredded chicken or tofu.

Ingredients:

• 2 stalks green onion, finely chopped
• 4 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons tamari
• 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine (Chinese cooking wine) or Sherry wine
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon brown rice vinegar

Mix all the ingredients together. 

For Asian Sesame Chicken Salad, layer cucumbers at the bottom, add Instant Pot shredded chicken, drizzle Asian Sesame Dressing and sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Mix well and serve.

For Asian Sesame Tofu Avocado Salad, layer cucumbers at the bottom, add tofu and avocado on top, pour in Asian Sesame Dressing, garnish with sesame seeds, cilantro and serve.

Instant Pot Shredded Chicken

Always having pre-cooked protein in the fridge is one of my top kitchen practices. And what is an easier way to make a big batch of shredded chicken than the Instant Pot?  

Here is what you need:

• Instant Pot
• 1 steamer rack
• 1 steamer basket
• 4 chicken breasts (skin on or off)
• 1 cup of water

Here is how you do it:

1. Add 1 cup of water to Instant Pot.
2. Put a steamer rack down, add 2 pieces of chicken breasts on top.
3. Layer a steamer basket on top of the first tier of chicken breasts. Put 2 more pieces of chicken breasts on top to create a second tier.
4. Close the lid and cook on High Pressure for 5 minutes.
5. When the timer is up, leave the chicken breasts in Instant Pot for 10 minutes to de-pressurize (even if the floating valve drops before the 10-minute mark.)
6. Open the lid. Take out the chicken breasts and set them on a plate to cool off for 5-10 minutes.
7. Shred the chicken breasts with your hands or 2 forks.
8. Store them in containers. Refrigerate or freeze. 

What do you do do with a big stash of shredded chicken? I fortify my noodle soups and lentil soups with the extra protein and make delicious salads and stir-fries with it.

Get the recipe of Asian Sesame Chicken Salad here

Read this article from Jen Reviews about Pressure Cooker vs Slow Cooker

Buy an Instant Pot here

Instant Pot Columbian Chicken Stew

This is an Instant Pot recipe from Serious Eats my husband made for my daughter while I was away and became her all-time favorite Instant Pot chicken dish. 3 main ingredients , that's it!

Ingredients:

• 3-4 lbs. chicken thighs or drumsticks with bones
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 3 large potatoes (Yukon or Russet), cut into 1 to 2 inch chunks
• 3 large beefsteak tomatoes, cut into 1 to 2 inch chunks (about 3 cups)
• 2 bay leaves

Method:

1. Rub chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. Switch Instant Pot to saute function, When hot, add a tablespoon of olive oil. Saute onion for a few minutes. Add chicken pieces and brown for a few more minutes.

3. Turn off Instant Pot. Combine potatoes, tomatoes, bay leaves, and a large pinch of salt. Seal lid and cook under high pressure for 25 minutes. Release pressure, remove lid, season to taste and serve.

Check out my Instant Pot Chickpea Curry and Chipotle Black Bean recipes.

Read this article from Jen Reviews about Pressure Cooker vs Slow Cooker

Buy an Instant Pot here

Tempeh (or chicken) in red sweet pepper sauce

Start with a good tempeh. Check out Barry's Tempeh - "the only fresh tempeh in New York" that is "unpasteurized, fresh and alive with an abundance of probiotics and enzymes"!

This recipe is based on my Indian food guru, Madhur Jeffrey's chicken in red sweet pepper sauce. Over the years I've made this so many times I can practically throw it together with my eyes closed.  This recipe is so perfectly balanced in flavors you don't want to make any substitutions - except for the protein part, it works just as well with tempeh, or half chicken and half tempeh (for those of you who want to increase your intake of plant-based protein but are intimidated by tempeh!)

The most tedious part of the cooking process is assembling all the ingredients and spices together for blending.  Once the sauce is made, you can kick back and relax while it cooks.

Ingredients for blending:

• 1 onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 inch cube of ginger
• 1 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1 big handful (1 oz) slivered almonds
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp ground tumeric
• a little cayenne (depends on your comfort level)
• 2 tsp of salt

Blend all ingredients in a food processor or blender, pushing them down with a spatula whenever you need to, until you get a paste like this. ( Most of the work is done!)

Decide on your protein. I like to use about 8 oz. of tempeh and 1 1/2 lb. of chicken. Double the amount of either protein if you decide to go for only one of them.

Put 5 tbsp of oil ( I use olive oil)  in a pot set over medium heat. When hot, add the blended paste, stir and cook for about 5 minutes. Put in your protein. Add 4-6 oz. of water, 2 tbsp of lemon juice and black pepper. Stir, bring it to a boil. Cover, turn the heat to low and simmer gently for about 40 minutes or until the chicken is tender. Stir a few times.

It is absolutely delicious. Leftovers taste even more amazing the next day!