If you have $60 bucks to spare, I beseech you to place an Amazon order for an Instant Pot mini. I’ve cooked everything from soft boiled eggs to beef pho (flex, I know) in this mighty little gadget. My stovetop misses me, tbh.
My go-to Instant Pot recipe is Chicken Arroz Caldo, a Filipino rice porridge packed with comforting chicken-y and ginger-y flavor. My mom used to make this a lot when I was a kid, especially when I got sick or as an after-school treat.
A few things to remember with the Instant Pot:
- READ THE ENTIRE MANUAL BEFORE USE. I know, smh. But trust me on this.
- Do not place any body part over the steam valve thingy when you release it.
- ALWAYS wait for the float valve seal thingy to drop, unless you want food to explode all over your kitchen.
- Same goes with overfilling the Instant Pot. Been there, done that. Just don’t do it, especially with creamy things. I’m pretty sure microscopic bits of my beef stroganoff incident remain splattered on my cabinets.
- You’ll have a heart attack the first time you do a quick release. Welcome to the Instant Pot club. 🙂
Ingredients (proportioned for the Instant Pot Mini)
4 chicken thighs (can be frozen!!!! WHICH IS WHY WE STAN THE INSTANT POT)
A glug of olive oil
2-3 knobs of ginger, finely chopped
1 onion, diced
1 carton (32 oz) of chicken broth (bone broth, if you’re fancy)
2/3 cup white rice, rinsed at least 3 times (ya gotta clean your rice!)
Salt and pepper, to taste
Chopped green onions for garnish (optional)
Fried garlic for garnish (optional)
1 hard-boiled egg (optional)
Instructions
- Sauté onions and ginger in olive oil until translucent, using the “Sauté” function on the Instant Pot.
- Dump the chicken thighs, rice, and chicken broth into the pot. Push “Cancel” to stop the “Sauté” function.
- Secure the lid, and turn the valve into the “Sealing” position.
- Press “Pressure Cook” and set to 14 minutes on high. It will take a few minutes for the pressure to build up in the Instant Pot. After that, it will cook in that pressure for 14 minutes.
- Once the float valve has decompressed (dropped, and no longer raised), slowly turn the steam valve from the “Sealing” position to “Venting.” I usually do this with a wooden spoon at a distance, lol. Just don’t turn it from “Sealing” to “Venting” all at once, unless you want ginger-chicken rice porridge all over your ceiling.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve with chopped green onions, fried garlic, and a boiled egg (halved) on top.
Let me know if you end up buying an Instant Pot. My coworker Lukas was actually the influencer who convinced me to get one because it produced “the fluffiest rice” of his life. It was serendipitous that I was also on the prowl for a new rice cooker. So I now have a multifunctional kitchen must-have with the Instant Pot. Also echoing Lukas’ recs: buy the nonstick liner. It’s a game changer.
Hope y’all had a wonderful and well-rested weekend! As always, stay well.
-Mimi 🙂
