Awsome Instant Pot Char Siu Chicken

Char Siu ChickenDay 6 of 2019, and I commemorated it by making Char Siu chicken, with lots of Instant Pot help of course. There are many make or breaks for this year, so there will be markers on my post. My personal counter of sorts!  A score card if you will.

Scorecard for week one so far has been uneventful. Nothing worse than the way the year ended.  A successful event at the Pleasantville Farmers Market, love the market and the vibe. Need some more action in other areas of life, but for now I will take things as they are. I am also enjoying recreating recipes that I have wanted to make/explore for a while, this week’s edition being Char Siu Chicken.

My Char Siu Chicken Story

One of my favorite lunches in NYC used to be the Chinese style grilled chicken and pork. The brightly colored bar-b-que pork aka char siu pork. This recipe is done with chicken, making it more manageable. I use bone in chicken thighs but do leave the skin on. The highlight of my recipe is the Chinese 5-spice powder. I made this at home (will do a post on this soon. I followed this recipe, substituting black peppercorns for the sichuan peppercorns and loved the flavors.

Char Siu Chicken

About the Color

The reddish hue of the grilled Chinese meats are naturally from color. Not unlike tandoori style recipes. I think the darker hues, looks just as beautiful. Maybe with just a little help from the garnishes.

To get some sense of the flavorings, I looked at this recipe and then this one.

Char siu chicken - instant pot

Ultimately, I came up with the recipe that I am ready to share with you. The key to my cooking ( as most of you know) is that I try to avoid getting unnecessary ingredients. Over the years, the bane of my existence has been trying to balance having everything with ensuring a minimalist approach.  Still at it. I will say however, I am quite good at estimating portions these days. I am also getting good at using leftovers.

Char siu chicken

Of course, now, the brother is working on making a Costco shopper out of me. Seriously?! A longish evening still ahead of me, still too many things left before I can get some shut-eye.  Another new semester begins for the girl child.

Char Siu

Other easy chicken ideas include this Seven Ingredient Chicken Curry and this collection of ten easy chicken curries.

If you like this recipe and want more ideas, do join my Indian Instant Pot Facebook group and Legume Love Group. Of course Instant Indian is ready for order, joining its siblings The Bengali Five Spice Chronicles and Spices and Seasons.

Do not forget to get social with me, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and even Youtube.

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Awsome Instant Pot Char Siu Chicken

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Yield: Serves 4 to 6

Awsome Instant Pot Char Siu Chicken

An easy and comforting rendition of the chinese style barbecue chicken. This instant pot version guarantees a moist chicken, the oven finish guarantees crisp skin.

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup soy sauce
  • 3 to 4 cloves minced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1 and 1/2 teaspoons five spice powder
  • 3 to 4 skin on bone-in skin on chicken thighs
  • To finish
  • sesame seeds (optional)
  • chopped scallions
  • chopped cilantro

Instructions

  1. Mix together the soy sauce, minced garlic, oyster sauce, honey, brown sugar, five spice powder until well mixed. Toss with the chicken thighs.
  2. Place everything in the instant pot and set on pressure for 3 minutes. Release pressure after 5 minutes.
  3. In the meantime, pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees. Place the chicken skin up and the sauce in a flat oven proof dish.
  4. Roast for 10 minutes, until the skin is crispy.
  5. Remove and cut into pieces removing the bone.
  6. To with the sesame seeds, chopped scallions and the chopped cilantro.

Notes

To skip the instant pot, roast in the oven, basting freguently for 30 to 40 minutes. Turn once.

https://spicechronicles.com/instant-pot-char-siu-chicken/

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