Instant Pot Recipes

Here's a list of Instant Pot recipes that I hope bring you delight as they did to me :)

- Hainanese chicken rice

- The formula is 5.5 minutes of High pressure cooking for every pound of chicken

- Spicy Asian chicken wings

- Cook the wings in the Instant pot before finishing them off in the oven for a crunchy texture

- Pulut hitam

- Szechuan inspired slow-cooked lamb shanks

- Cooked beans blend

- Beef broth

- Malaysian beef bone soup aka sup tulang

- Gluten- free beef meatballs

- Bah kut teh a.k.a. Malaysian herbal rib soup

- I adjust the cooking time to 45 minutes and select the "Meat/ Stew" and "High Pressure" setting

- Brown rice

- Pho ga, Vietnamese chicken soup with rice noodles

- Masala Chana dal

- Red adzuki beans soup, a Malaysian Chinese sweet dessert

I'll be trying these pretty soon:

Beef pho

Carnitas, Mexican pulled pork

Jamaican Oxtail with broad beans

Lamb curry

Mutton briyani

Vegetarian bean soup

Tofu pudding

Tips on using Instant Pot:

1. When pressure cooking is completed, it is better to cool the pot before venting the steam out. I wrap a cooled damp cloth on the lid to hasten the cooling rate. The best way is to let it cool with time.

2. When boiling soups or stews, it is better to fill the pot halfway. This prevent over-spilling.

3. It is better to avoid cooking acidic foods like tomatoes in the pot. I usually transfer the ingredients into a regular pot to finish off cooking with acidic foods.

4. When using quick- release by moving the knob to "Venting", make sure you, your fingers and face are away from the very hot releasing steam. I always wrap my fingers and hand with cloth to prevent scalding. When taking off the lid, always tilt the lid so that the steam bellows out and away from your face and hands, and the water drops from the lid fall back into the pot.

Szechuan Inspired Slow-cooked Lamb Shanks

I had the craving for a hearty lamb stew and purchased a couple of Australian lamb shanks from the store. Since lamb has a strong flavor, I picked Szechuan style (red wine was a close second!) to balance the richness of the lamb. I like my food spicy so please adjust the spice level to your liking.

I browned the shanks in the oven instead over the stove to reduce smell in the kitchen

Ingredients (Yields 2 to 3 generous servings):

2 lamb shanks- cut to large chunks, 1 large onion, 1 medium size carrot, 6 garlic cloves, 2 inch fresh ginger root, 6 dried shiitake mushrooms, 4 dried chili peppers, 1 tsp Szechuan peppercorns, 3 cloves, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 0.25 cup soy sauce, 1 tbs thick soy sauce, 1 cup warm water, 10 cherry tomatoes, and 1 tbs olive oil. Salt and sugar to taste

Procedures:

1. Preheat oven to the maximum temperature possible (mine went up to 250 degC/ 482 degF). Season heavy cast iron skillet with olive oil

2. Rinse and pat dry lamb shanks. Lay the lamb shanks on the skillet and place skillet in the oven. Brown all sides (2 to 3 minutes per side, varies according to the oven temperature)

3. Rinse and soak shiitake mushroom in warm water (save water for step #5)

4. Cut onion and carrot to large chunks. Peel garlic and ginger. Crush them to release flavors- I didn't bother to chop finely since they will slow cook. I left the tomatoes whole

5. Mix all the ingredients in the Instant Pot, ensuring the shanks are covered by the sauce mixture

6. Set the Instant Pot to "slow cook", "low" for 8 to 10 hours. Cover and let it cooked

7. Once done, season with salt and sugar to your liking.

8. Serve with rice, noodles, crusty bread or mashed potato. Enjoy!

Beef Broth

Beef broth makes a great base for Vietnamese pho, French onion soup and other variety of soups.

Ingredients:

2 lbs organic oxtails chunks, 3 cloves, 3 cardamom pods, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 large onion, 1 carrot, 1 ginger, 6 garlic cloves and 6 liters of filtered water

Procedures:

1. Soak oxtails in cold water for 30 mins. This is to remove any blood and bone debris.

2. Remove onion and garlic skins. Cut into halves. Cut ginger into halves. Wash them and pat them dry. In a cast iron skillet, lay spices and aromatics in one layer. Set oven to broil and toast the aromatics and spices until they are charred but not burned ;)

3. Discard oxtails' soaking water. Trim any excess fat

4. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add oxtails into water and boil them for 10 mins. Drain the oxtails and rinse them under cold water to remove scums

5. Pour 3 liters of filtered water in the Instant Pot. Add the dry roasted aromatics and spices. Cut the carrot into chunks and add them in the pot. Cover and set the valve to "Sealed". Select "Soup" and timer to "45 minutes". Let the Instant Pot does it magic :)

6. After the pot is cooled down and the steam is completely removed (valve must be pointed to "Vented"), filter the broth in another pot. Save the solids in the Instant Pot

7. Pour the rest of filtered water in the Instant Pot with the solids for a second boil. Repeat settings- set

the valve to "Sealed", select "Soup" and timer to "40 minutes". Let the Instant Pot does it magic again

8. When done, filter the broth. The broth is ready to be used. You can store the broth overnight and discard any fat solids. Enjoy!

Tips:

1. For more flavor, you can add daikon radish and star anise

2. You can substitute parboiling the oxtails in step 4 by roasting the chunks until the fat renders and browned or browning each side of the chunks at very high heat using a cast iron skillet

Sup Tulang, Malaysian Beef Bone Soup

This is a slight variation to the beef soup and broth. It is filled with many spices and herbs that are commonly found in Malay cuisine.

I bought a spice bouquet and followed the instructions on the packaging. I added more spices and herbs to enhance the flavors and freshness.

For more info on Malay spices, click here.

Ingredients:

1kg or 2.2 lbs beef bones and chunks of meat, 1 pack of Mak Siti rempah ratus sup tulang bunjut, 2 cloves, 2 cardamom pods, 1 large onion, 1 lemon grass, 1-inch ginger, 6 garlic cloves, 1 carrot, 1 potato, 1 tbs olive oil and 1 liter (4.25 cups) of filtered water. For garnish, 1 bunch of fresh cilantro and Thai bird chilies

Procedures:

1. Trim excess fat from beef and rinse meat and bones. Soak them in cold water for 15 mins. This is to remove any blood and bone debris

2. Crush lemon grass, ginger and garlic cloves. Chop them. Cut onion to bite size

3. Discard water and pat dry the beef and bones

4. Switch on and select "Saute" Instant Pot. Heat up olive oil. Add the beef and bones. Brown them all over (~ 5 mins). Remove them from the pot and set aside

5. Saute all the spices from Step 2, cardamon and cloves until brown and fragrant. Add beef and bones back into the pot

6. Add filtered water and give a quick stir. Cover. Select "Slow Cook" for 8 hours

7. At the fourth hour of slow cooking, peel and cut potato and carrot to bite size chunks. Skim off excess fat from the surface of the soup. Stir in the vegetables and cover to resume cooking

Since I did not want to wait for the full 8 hours, I finished cooking with pressure cooking. At the fifth hour, I selected "Manual" and dialed in 15 minutes, making sure the knob was set to "Sealing". After 15 minutes were done, I let it to continue warming for 5 to 10 minutes before I released the steam by changing the knob to "Venting"

8. Serve with fresh cilantro and chilies. You can eat with rice, noodles, or as-is.

Gluten- free Beef Meatballs

I used minced Kobe beef to make these meatballs. I omitted breadcrumbs and eggs to keep the meatballs light. Turned out good! Feel free to adjust or substitute the protein.

Ingredients:

1lb minced beef, 1 bottle (24oz) marinara sauce, 0.5 cup black olives, 4 garlic cloves, 1 medium onion, 4 dried chilis, 1 tbs dried Italian herbs, 2 tbs whole milk, 1 tbs olive oil, 0.5 cup water, and ground pepper to taste

Procedures:

1. Peel garlic and onion and cut to chunks. Rinse dried chilies. Blitz them and black olives in a food processor

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine minced beef, blitzed ingredients, milk and dried Italian herbs. Season with ground pepper to your liking

3. Coat the bottom of the Instant Pot pot with olive oil. Pour 1/3 of the sauce

4. Form meatballs the size of golf balls. Place them in the pot, giving the meatballs some space in between. Pour more sauce before making another layer of meatballs. Pour the remainder of sauce and water

5. Cover the Instant Pot and turn the knob to "Sealing". Select "Manual" and adjust time to 10 minutes

6. After the pressure cooking is done, let the pot sit for 10 minutes before releasing the steam

7. Serve with your favorite pasta or as a sandwich

Cooked Beans Blend

I used my Instant Pot to cook my heirloom bean blend. I rinsed the beans a few times and soaked them in water twice the volume of the beans overnight. The beans expanded. I drained them and then added in the Instant Pot. I added a roughly chopped medium size onion and two dried bay leaves. I filled water until it reached a couple of inches above the top of beans. I splashed in a tablespoon of olive oil since I read somewhere it would reduce foaming. I made sure the beans mixture did not exceed half of the volume of my Instant Pot. I then shut the lid, turned the knob to "Sealing", selected "Manual" and dialed in 45 minutes. When the cooking was done, I made sure it cooled down normally and not quick release mode.

Brown Rice

I recently discovered this recipe for cooking brown rice faster. Use 1 cup of dried brown rice to 1 cup of water. I usually cook more than 1 serving of rice so I have some on hand.

Click here for cooking brown rice over the kitchen stove.

Ingredients:

1.5 cup of dried organic brown rice (I used the Calrose brand) and 1.5 cup of water

Procedures:

1. Rinse the rice until the water runs clear

2. Add rice and water to the Instant Pot

3. Select "Manual" and adjust time to 15 minutes. Cook under "High Pressure"

4. When cooking is done and the timer goes off, let it sit for 5 to 6 minutes. Then, quick- release the steam by moving the knob to "Venting"

5. Open the lid and let the rice sit for 5 minutes. Fluff and serve warm

Red Adzuki Beans Soup

I grew up eating this Malaysian Chinese sweet dessert. Almost everyone knows how to cook this dessert. It's rich in minerals, vitamins and fiber. I reduced the amount of sugar and enhanced my soup with fresh lemon peel and pandan leaves. Please be aware to not fill the Instant Pot completely, instead use up to 2/3 of the pot.

Note there is high likelihood of messiness ensured when manually released steam. Be cautious as the soup can spewed out from the vent chute

Ingredients:

12 oz dried red adzuki beans, 10 cups of filtered water, lemon peel of 1 small lemon, 3 to 4 pandan leaves, 2 to 3 tbs raw brown sugar and 0.5 tsp salt

Procedures:

1. Rinse beans and soak overnight

2. Drain beans and add in Instant Pot. Add 10 cups of water and lemon peel

3. Select "Manual" and 30 minutes on High Pressure

4. Once done cooking, let it sit for at least 20 minutes or until the float valve falls back. If you want to release the rest of the steam manually, gently move the Instant Pot away from windows, to an open area of kitchen counter. Wrap the top of the lid with wet rag and slowly release the steam. There is a high likelihood the soup will spew through the vent. Ensure all steam is released before opening the lid

5. Select "Saute" and 15 minutes. Add pandan leaves, sugar and salt in the soup. Stir occasionally

6. Serve warm or cold with thick coconut cream. Enjoy!