Instant Pot Ginger Garlic Chicken
Instant Pot Ginger Garlic Chicken has the flavor of traditional Chinese ginger garlic chicken you will find at your local take-out restaurant. You will love the same mildly spicy sauce and the ease of making take out at home in your Instant Pot. Make a side of simple skillet-fried rice loaded with veggies and you have an entire Chinese take-out meal at home.
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Making your favorite Chinese dishes at home is just as flavorful, but less expensive and you control the ingredients. If you want to stay inside after a long weekday but crave your favorite Chinese food, you can make it at home so easy in the Instant Pot.
Have dinner at home, no pickup, no delivery but still have a relaxing dinner at home. Our family has traditionally ordered Chinese takeout on Friday night when we are all tired and just want a good tasting meal that no one has to cook. But the cost keeps going up and the taste is lacking.
Better Than Takeout – Easy Instant Pot Chinese Dinner
I want to save on my budget but I do not want to give up my favorite takeout food flavor. That is why I started creating recipes that are super easy, great-tasting, and do not take any more time to make than to order and drive to get takeout.
I can control the freshness of the food, and the veggies that my family likes. All the while still having a great tasting low-cost dinner for our Friday night movie night. Now I have a simple Chicken and rice Instant Pot dinner ready in no time.
Quick Stove Top Fried Rice
After watching the Japanese Chiefs at our local Hibachi restaurant, I have started making this recipe for a super quick fried rice to serve with all our homemade “better than take-out” Chinese dishes
- before starting the chicken, make a quick white or brown rice in the instant pot. (get a one-sheet cheat sheet for all simple Instant Pot recipes, including rice times)
- In a hot stovetop skillet, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil or vegetable oil.
- Add to skillet 1/2 onion chopped and 1/2 teaspoon of chopped garlic and saute for 2 minutes
- Next, add the cooked rice and saute for about 3 minutes to get it hot
- Add, 2 tablespoons of butter
- Add 1/4 or less of low sodium soy sauce, and cook for 3 minutes.
- Next, add half of a bag of frozen peas and carrots or any frozen veggies, and cook for about 4 minutes until the veggies are hot.
- Make a well in the middle of the pan, add one egg that has been beaten, let it cook until almost done then mix into the rice mixture.
Tips & Meal Prep Ideas for Instant Pot Ginger Garlic Chicken
- You can use fresh or frozen chicken in the Instant Pot
- If you have whole breasts and want to cut them easily, put them in the freezer for about 10 minutes, and then use kitchen sizzlers to cut up the chicken.
- It is always easier when making Chinese to have all your ingredients chopped, measured, and ready to go.
- Mix corn starch always with cold water in a separate bowl to add to the Instant Pot.
- Corn starch will mix best with a fork to make sure you do not have lumps.
Super Simple Chinese Ginger Garlic Chicken in the Instant Pot
Remove the chicken when the cooking time is over before you add the corn starch water mixture.
When the sauce is thick, add the chicken back to the pot.
If you need other quick and easy Instant Pot Chicken dinners to make your family dinner time simple. You will love the family-friendly recipe that makes weeknight dinner time less stressful. Instead of standing over the stove after a long day, spend it with your family and let your “fairy godmother” Instant Pot make dinner for you!
Check Out These Budget Friendly Instant Pots
Instant Pot Ginger Garlic Chicken
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Main dish
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: Chinese
Description
Simple sweet and tangy ginger garlic chicken breast, made from frozen chicken tenders in the Instant Pot Mini. Just enough for two for dinner, tastes like your favorite take out Chinese chicken. Make a quick and easy fried rice for the side.
Ingredients
- 4 frozen chicken tenders (or 2 chicken breasts cut in half)
- 1/3 cup of water
- 1/3 cup of soy sauce
- 1/4 cup of brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon of ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon of prepared chopped garlic (or two cloves of garlic chopped)
- 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
To Thicken the sauce:
- 2 tablespoons of cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons of cold water
For fried rice:
- 3 cups of cooked rice
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1/2 small onion chopped
- 1 teaspoon of minced garlic
- 1/2 of a bag of frozen peas and carrots
- 3 tablespoons of soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- 2 eggs mixed with a fork
Instructions
- Make 1 1/2 cups of rice (makes 3 cups cooked).
- Spray the bottom of the inner pot of the Instant Pot mini.
- First, mix in the bottom of the instant pot, the water, soy sauce, brown sugar, ground ginger, prepared minced garlic, and sesame oil.
- Stir
- Layer the frozen chicken on top and mix as best you can, with the chicken frozen it is hard to get the sauce over all the chicken.
- Secure the lid, set to seal, and cook high pressure for 8 minutes.
- When the 8 minutes are over, do a quick release.
- Remove the chicken on a clean plate.
- Set the Instant pot to saute.
- Stir the 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of water in a small bowl with a fork.
- Add the cornstarch mixture to the sauce of the instant and stir until clear and thickened.
- Add the chicken back into the inner pot of the Instant Pot. Mix to coat the chicken and turn off the Instant Pot.
- Serve with fried rice, or white rice
To Make a quick fried rice:
- Heat a large skillet with 2 table spoons of olive oil.
- Add the onion and cook on medium for 2 minutes
- Add the garlic and cook 1 minute
- Add all 3 cups of rice and stir, cook for about 2 minutes on medium heat
- Add the soy sauce and stir
- Add the frozen veggies stir, cook for about 3 minutes.
- Add the butter
- Push the rice mixture to the sides of the pan making a circle in the middle where you see the pan.
- Add the egg to the circle and mix until the egg is cooked. When cooked stir into all the rice.
Notes
You can serve the Garlic Ginger Chicken over plain white rice, or make the quick restaurant style rice.
When making the fried rice you can use an frozen vegetable you like.
Keywords: Instant Pot Ginger Garlic Chicken
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