2 lb chicken breast or thigh meat cut into 1-2 inch pieces, about 900 g
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons ginger minced or grated
2 teaspoons garlic minced/grated, about 3-4 garlic cloves
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon Sriracha hot sauce or ¼ teaspoon chili flakes
To Finish The Sauce
3 tablespoons brown sugar or granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch or flour
3 tablespoons water or extra orange juice
To Serve
¼ cup scallions diced (green onions_
Sesame seeds
Steamed rice or noodles
Side of greens of choice if you want
Instructions
Prepare ingredients. Wash and blot dry the chicken with a paper towel. Then trim off excess fat. You could use kitchen shears. Then cut the chicken into bite-size chunks. Get the sauce ingredients ready as well.
Sauté. Turn the Instant Pot on and press the Sauté function key. Once hot, add in the oil and swirl it around. Add in the chicken, salt and pepper and sauté for 2 minutes, stirring halfwayway. Then press Cancel to stop the Sauté function.
Use ⅓ cup of orange juice to deglaze the pot. Simply pour it in and stir through with the thicken, scraping the bottom to make sure there are no bits of chicken stuck as these may cause a BURN notice.
Combine orange zest, remaining orange juice, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, lemon juice and Sriracha hot sauce. Pour the mixture into the Instant Pot over the chicken.
Secure and lock the lid. Make sure the pressure handle is pointing to Sealing on Duo Classic. Select Manual/Pressure Cook and adjust the timer to 4 minutes on HIGH pressure. After a few beeps/seconds, the ON sign will come on indicating the pot is heating up and the pressure is building; pressurizing will take about 3-5 minutes and then the 4-minute timer will begin.
Once the timer is done, allow the pressure to release naturally for 5 minutes. Then use the quick release method to let off the remaining pressure (press the steam knob down or point to Venting on older models).
Finish the sauce: Open the lid and stir the contents. The sauce will look a little thin at this stage. Press the Sauté setting button again. Stir in the brown sugar and let the sauce bubble for 5-6 minutes, stirring a couple of times.
In a small bowl stir together the cornstarch or flour and water. Stir this cornstarch slurry into the Instant Pot and let the sauce thicken for a minute. Press Cancel to stop the Saute process.
Taste for seasoning and add more salt or hot sauce if desired. Serve over rice or noodles with favorite vegetables on the side.
Notes
Saute: 2 minutes | Pressurizing: 4 minutes | Cooking at HIGH pressure: 4 minutes | Release: 5 minutes natural release, then quick release the remaining pressure | Finish sauce: 5 minutes.
Frozen chicken: Change the cooking time to 10 minutes and leave the rest the same.
Burn notice: Make sure to deglaze the pot with orange juice or water after Sauteiing the meat at the start and scrape the bottom with a spatula to remove any burnt stuck bits. This will prevent the Burn notice.
Slow cooker version: Make this easy orange chicken recipe in a crockpot. Combine everything in the crockpot, and cook on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. To finish the dish, transfer most of the sauce into a pan and saute on the stove over medium-high heat to reduce slightly. Finish with the slurry as per the recipe.
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