The Fresh and Healthy Instant Pot Cookbook: Korean Chicken Bowls

It’s a new year, and I should be posting about a new cookbook. But right now I have been pretty stuck on The Fresh and Healthy Instant Pot Cookbook.

I even bought my own copy, which is rare. I already posted the Crunchy Lentil Salad, which I’ve been making a lot. The recipes in this book are simple, healthy, and tasty! So if you have an Instant Pot, I highly recommend you get a hold of this book.

Korean Chicken Bowls

Serves 4

• 1/2 cup soy sauce of tamari
• 5 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon Sriracha
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup white rice
• 1 cup water, plus 2 tablespoons
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1/2 red onion
• 1 cup fresh baby spinach
• 1 tablespoon arrowroot or corn starch
• 1/2 cup chopped green onion
• Sesame seeds, for garnish

1. Add soy sauce, maple syrup, ginger, Sriracha, and garlic to the Instant Pot and stir to combine. Place chicken on top of the sauce in a single layer. To cook the rice at the same time, position the Instant Pot trivet over chicken breasts and place a 7-inch oven-safe bowl on top. Add rice and 1 cup water to the bowl, then secure the lid and move the steam release valve to Sealing. Select Manual/Pressure Cook to cook on high pressure for 4 minutes.
2. While the chicken and rice are cooking, see the red pepper and slice it thinly. Slice the onion thinly into half-moons, and chop the spinach.
3. When the cooking cycle is complete, let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes. Then move the the steam release valve to Venting to release any remaining pressure. When the valve drops, remove the lid. Remove the bowl of rice, and use tongs to remove the chicken. Press Cancel.
4. Add sliced bell pepper and onion to the sauce in the Instant Pot. Press Saute and let the vegetables simmer in the sauce until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk together starch with the remaining 2 tablespoons water to create a slurry. While the vegetables are cooking, use two forks to shred the chicken, then add it back to the pot once the vegetables are tender. Stir in spinach until it wilts, about 1 minute. Stir in the slurry and continue stirring until the sauce thickens, 1 to 2 minutes.
5. Serve the chicken and vegetables over the cooked rice with a sprinkling of green onions and sesame seeds over the top. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 or 4 days.

My notes: I cooked the rice separately because I’ve struggled getting rice cooked properly in the Instant Pot. I need to get that figured out!

Hope you enjoy this recipe from The Fresh and Healthy Instant Pot Cookbook by Megan Gilmore.