Orange Chicken in the Instant Pot

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I've been using my Instant Pot plenty this year.  It helps me get dinner done in under 30 minutes, which is important when you work all day and are hungry once you get home.

The recipe I found on SweetandSavoryMeals was a good start...but I took a look at the ingredient list and knew there was way more garlic and ginger than I would like and I wanted to make sure I had plenty of orange flavor, and a trick I learned from America's Test Kitchen is to use frozen orange juice concentrate.  No breading on this chicken; but with orange juice concentrate, no one can say this is "healthy" but it has less carbs and calories than a fried and sauced version. Chicken thighs cook up really nicely in the Instant Pot (more fat, less likely to dry out and get rubbery than chicken breasts).


Meat
2 lbs  boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons  vegetable oil

1 tsp ginger, minced (I used the kind in a jar/bottle)

2 tsp garlic, minced (again from the jar)

Sauce:

3/4 C. water

4 oz of frozen orange juice concentrate

1 Tbsp rice vinegar

1 Tbsp. brown sugar

1/4 C. soy sauce

1-3 tsp sriracha sauce (I use 1)

zest from one orange

Cornstarch slurry 

1Tbsp cornstarch

2 Tbsp water

In a bowl, mix up all the sauce ingredients and set aside. Turn the Instant Pot to saute and cook the chicken with the oil for about 3-4 minutes until the outside is lightly browned.   Add the ginger and garlic and stir for about a minute.  Pour the sauce ingredients in and scrape up the bottom of the pot of any brown bits (flavor!) Set the pot for 3 minutes--yup just 3 minutes.  (If you've cut your chicken into small bites and browned the outside, it will be close to being fully cooked before you set the Instant Pot).  After it has cooked at pressure for 3 minutes, let the chicken natural release for 3-5 minutes.  Open it up and stir in the cornstarch slurry and turn pot back to saute and cook until bubbly and slightly thicker.  Serve over rice or with veggies. 

Sweet and Sour version:  Try pineapple juice instead of water/oj concentrate.  Increase the vinegar to 2 tablespoons.  After you've cooked it and are adding in the cornstarch slurry, toss in a can of pineapple chunks.