Cook: 30 Minute Orange Chicken (Instant Pot)

I love Panda Express. It reminds me of high school trips to the mall and going on vacation since it is usually my meal of choice at the airport. To be honest, sometimes Elliott and I get it delivered via UberEats even though the nearest Panda is only about a 5 minute drive. That being said, I wanted to make a version that tasted just as good as Panda’s but was super easy and quick to make and a bit healthier. I came across this Instant Pot recipe from Sweet and Savory Meals that I thought was great. I made a few tweaks and ended up really loving this version.

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Serves: 6-8

Ingredients:

• 2 packs of chicken (combination of breast and thigh meats) - cut into 1-2 inch pieces

• 2 1/2 tbsp of vegetable, canola oil or ghee

• 1 tbsp of Asian seasoning

• 1 cup orange juice (no sugar added) - I like using a little pulp

• 6-8 cloves of garlic (minced)

• 1 tbsp seasoned rice wine

• 1/2 cup tomato sauce

• 1/4 cup white granulated sugar

• 1/4 cup brown sugar

• 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce

• 1 tbsp Sriracha or red chili flakes

• Zest from 1 orange

Cornstarch Slurry

• 2 tbsp cornstarch

• 2 tbsp orange juice

Garnish

• Green onions (sliced)

• Orange zest

• Serve over white or brown rice

Instructions:

• Clean, pat dry and season your chicken with Asian spices. I like this McCormick blend.

• Turn your Instant Pot on using the Saute feature and select “More”. This will give your chicken a nice sear before cooking.

• Once the Instant Pot shows HOT, add your oil or ghee and then begin to add the chicken pieces stirring so that all the sides become nice and golden color. You’ll also need to stir quite a bit so that the chicken doesn’t get stuck to the bottom of the pan.

• If you find that there are lots of pieces stuck to the bottom, deglaze with some orange juice so that they don’t burn when your Instant Pot comes to pressure.

• Combine all the sauce ingredients to the pot (orange juice, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, white and brown sugar, rice wine vinegar, orange zest and Sriracha).

• Add the tomato sauce. The Sweet and Savory meals recipe has this listed as optional but I recommend it because it adds an umami element since you’re adding tomatoes. It give the sweet oranges a nice balance.

• Give everything a stir and then close the lid and cook for 5 minutes using the Manual function. Make sure your vent is closed.

• Use the natural release and then turn off the heat. Once 10 minutes is up, release the rest of the pressure by opening the vent.

• Using the Saute function again (this time on low), combine cornstarch and orange juice (whisking it so it’s free of lumps).

• Add this mixture to your chicken and cook on the saute function for about 5 minutes and then let simmer. You can add more cornstarch if you want it thicker.

• Turn off the pot and let it sit for 10 minutes, the sauce will continue to thicken.

• Serve over white or brown rice and the finish off with more orange zest and green onions.

Season your chicken with some Asian spices for maximum flavor release.

Add in all the sauce ingredients.