Lemon, Garlic and Rosemary Whole Chicken (Instant Pot)

Whenever I spoke to friends/relatives/co-workers about cooking the last few years, I would hear so much about how they fell in love with their IP and why they couldn’t stop using their IP.  Cooking with an IP is currently very popular, but what is an IP?  IP stands for Instant Pot which is a multifunctional electric pressure cooker.  According to The New York Times, Instant Pots currently sit in the top 10 list of Amazon best sellers in the Kitchen category.  I’ve owned one for more than a year now and I understand why people love it so much.  You can easily convert many recipes for pressure cooking.

I normally cook this chicken in a Dutch Oven with potatoes and carrots added to the pot (Dutch Oven chicken recipe will follow).  Cooking this chicken in a Dutch Oven or in a pressure cooker keeps the chicken moist and tender.  When I don’t have much time preparing dinner, I just bring out my IP.

Ingredients:

1 (4 pounds)	Whole roasting chicken
2 Tbsp	Butter (melted)
2 Tbsp	Lemon zest
2 Tbsp	Rosemary (chopped)
3 Tbsp	Minced Garlic
3 tsp	Salt
a dash	Cooking wine (optional)

Spices for Chicken Skin:

1 tsp	Chili powder
2 tsp	Paprika
2 tsp	Garlic powder
1 tsp	Salt

Ingredients for gravy:

1 cup	Low sodium chicken broth (cooking together with the chicken in Instant Pot)
2 Tbsp	Corn starch
1-2 Tbsp	water

Chicken Marinade:

1. Clean the chicken and pat dry.
2. Melt butter in a microwave and prepare all herbs.  (picture A)
3. Use a chopper to chop garlic, rosemary and lemon zest together.  (picture B)
4. In a container, mix butter, salt and herb mixture.  (picture C)
5. Rub herb mixture evenly underneath the chicken skin and cavity.  (picture D)
6. Cover with cling wrap and let it sit in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight (you can skip this step if you don’t have time).

Direction:

1. Combine all spices for chicken skin in a bowl.  (Pictures 1 & 2)
2. Sprinkle the skin evenly with the spice mixture.  (Picture 3)
3. In a large frying pan, heat 3 tablespoons of oil with a sprig of rosemary.  Cook the chicken until evenly golden brown, add in cooking wine (optional).  (Picture 4)
4. Pour 1 cup of low sodium chicken broth (or water) to your Instant Pot (pressure cooker), place the metal trivet into the pot.  Gently place chicken on top of the trivet with tongs.  (Pictures 5 & 6)
5. Select manual setting, adjust pressure to high and set time for 20 minutes.  Turn knob to the sealing position.  When finished cooking, do a quick pressure release.  (Picture 7)

To make gravy:

1. Reserve all the juice from the pot and skim the fat from the top. Transfer gravy from Instant Pot to a small pot.
2. Place the pot on stove top on medium heat.  Dissolve 2 Tbsps of cornstarch in the minimum amount of water needed to make a thin paste.
3. Pour the cornstarch slurry into the pot and use a spoon or whisk to mix (don’t pour in all cornstarch slurry, if gravy is still thin, add more in until it’s slightly thickened.)
4. Transfer gravy to a sauce boat and serve hot.

 

Braised Pork Soft Bones (豬軟骨)

Ever since I bought an electric pressure cooker (Instant Pot), I’ve tried different recipes that required long cooking times on the stove top.  I must say I love pressure cooking as it has saved me so much time!   This Instant Pot is very safe to use, if the cooker is still pressurized, the lid will be locked to prevent accidental opening.  I have tried cooking a whole chicken, tri-tip, soup and Oxtail.

Ingredients:

3 pounds 10 cloves 1 2 slices 3 stalks 2/3 cup 1/2 cup 1/2 cup 4 Tbsp 4 Tbsp 1 Tbsp

Pork Soft Bones Garlic Anise Ginger Green Onions Light soy sauce Mirin Water Dark soy sauce Brown sugar Mei Kuei Lu Chiew (or rice cooking wine)

Directions:

1. I bought these pork soft bones in an Asian supermarket, as you can see from picture 1, they are like short ribs and has a little fat marbling in the meat. The little white circles are the soft bones, once the ribs are cooked for a long time, you can eat the bones together with the meat.
2. Add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil to a frying pan and fry the pork ribs until slightly golden brown. (picture 2)
3. Add garlic, ginger and green onions to the ribs and stir well. (picture 3)
4. Add a tablespoon of Mei Kuei Lu Chiew (if you don’t have this type of wine, just add rice cooking wine). (picture 4)
5. Transfer the ribs to a pressure cooker. In a separate bowl, combine light soy sauce, mirin, water, dark soy sauce and brown sugar.  Pour the mixture into the pressure cooker. (pictures 5-10)
6. I am using an electric pressure cooker (Instant Pot).  Close the pressure cooker lid tight and make sure the steam release knob is turned to “Sealing” position. Select “Meat/Stew” function, set pressure to “normal” and the cooking time to 35 minutes.  As the pressure increases inside the cooker, the Float Valve pops up and seals the cooker.  (picture 11)
7. When the ribs are done cooking, slide the steam release knob to the “Venting” position to let out steam until the Float Valve drops down. The meat is so soft and tender, you can serve it with noodles in soup or rice.  (Picture 12)

Note:  If you don’t have a pressure cooker and want to make this on the stove top, instead of 1/2 cup of water, add 4 cups of water to the pot.  Cook ribs in medium low heat for about 2 hours.