Pineapple Chicken, A Semi-sweet Asian Influenced Dish
I almost called this “Hawaiian Chicken”, but I realized that just because something has pineapple in it doesn’t give me the right to call anything “Hawaiian”, so “Pineapple Chicken” it is! I was kind of going for Hawaiian flavors, but this isn’t exactly a traditional Hawaiian dish. It is more of a semi-Teriyaki-BBQ type dish.
Quick and tasty, this is an excellent dish for a “school night”.
Let’s start by browning a couple pounds of boneless skinless chicken thighs. Since many of you seem to be using the Instant Pot these days, I used the “normal” sauté mode for this. Work in batches and remove chicken to a plate after browning.
When chicken has all been browned, sauté some ginger and garlic for 30 seconds or so, stirring continuously.
Add an 8-ounce can of crushed pineapple, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/2 cup ketchup, 1/2 cup brown sugar, a tablespoon of hoisin sauce and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Place the chicken back in the pot.
Turn off sauté mode and lock the top on the pot.
Switch to manual mode and set for 15 minutes at high pressure.
When time is up, turn sauté mode to “normal”.
Stir some cornstarch and water together, add to the pot and simmer for 3-4 minutes, stirring often until thickened.
I don’t know why, but it’s difficult not to go into pun mode when discussing Pho. Maybe it’s the fact that most of the Pho restaurants around have a bad pun for a name. My favorite is 9021-Pho in Beverly Hills. I’ve never eaten there, it’s just my favorite name.
Why do I call it “Faux Pho”? Because traditional Pho broth is simmered for many hours, sometimes days. And like my recipe for Saurbraten before it, my goal here is to take something that normally can take days and get the essence of the dish in a mere fraction of the time. Is it exactly the same? Er, no, hence the “faux”. But I can say that this is a super fragrant, tasty Vietnamese chicken noodle soup, or “Chicken Soup For The Seoul.” Sorry, that’s the last pun, I promise.
So, how do we go about constructing this thing? Well, get your spice bag ready first. Yeah, you could just dump the spices in the pot since we are going to strain the broth at the end anyway, but I like use a bag since you can whack it with the side of a cleaver or a mallet, to crack the cardamom and coriander without having spices shooting all over your kitchen. Put a cinnamon stick, about 4 star anise, 10 whole cloves, 5 cardamom pods (I used black cardamom) and a teaspoon of coriander seeds in a spice bag (or you could wrap in cheese cloth). With the side of a cleaver or a meat mallet (the smooth side), give the bag a little whack to crack the cardamom and coriander. Set the bag aside for the moment.
Quarter an onion, peel and divide a piece of ginger into two pieces and crush a couple of cloves of garlic.
Turn your electric pressure cooker to the medium sauté mode and plop in the onion, ginger and garlic. Sauté until it gets lightly brown.
Place 2.5-3 pounds of chicken breast (with skin and bones attached) on top of the onions.
Pour in the chicken stock and stir in the salt, brown sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce and 1 teaspoon of liquid smoke.
Toss in the spice bag.
Turn off the sauté mode.
Lock the top on, turn on manual mode and set the time for 12 mins.
While soup is cooking, cook a package of rice noodles according to package directions. When finished, drain and rinse with cold water to stop cooking. I like to use the flat rice noodles that say “Pad Thai” on the package, but you can also use the narrow rice noodles.
Get the toppings ready and arrange on a platter. I like to use fresh mint, lime wedges, bean sprouts and thinly sliced jalapeño. Put platter in the center of the table and a bottle each of Sriracha sauce and Hoisin sauce.
When the time is up for the soup, let the pressure come down naturally for ten minutes, then do a quick release.
Remove the chicken to a plate, and let it cool for a couple minutes.
Pour the broth through a strainer over another pot.
Pour the broth back into the inner pot of the pressure cooker.
Remove the skin from the chicken and pull the meat from the bones.
Stir the chicken back into the soup.
To prepare the bowls, put some noodles in each one and ladle the soup into each one.
Sprinkle the green onions over each one and serve.
Let guests customize their bowl with whichever toppings they prefer.
Update: I managed to get some photos with a bit of color when having leftovers the next day (coincidentally, while watching The Leftovers).
I guess I am on a Caribbean kick lately. After making my Jerky Joes last week, here I am again hanging out in the islands. The main reason is probably that I already had those spices out and I am not finished playing with them yet.
One thing that I have noticed is that although this dish is chock full of flavor, it is not particularly photogenic. I neglected to include something, anything, to provide a splash of color, but what I got was quite a brown photo. But I swear it is tasty.
This is one of those recipes where no two people do it the same way, yet each person claims to do it the “right” way. Some make Brown Stew Chicken with carrots, potatoes, bell peppers and other ingredients. I went with the bell peppers, but I kept it pretty simple besides that. My twist is the addition of ginger beer rather than water. Having recently discovered cooking with this ingredient, I have really been going to town with it recently. I think it ads a nice flavor.
I like to use chicken thighs, because of the winning combo of price and flavor. Traditionally this dish is made with a whole cut up chicken, but I just bought a large package of thighs. Usually labeled “family pack”, I am a little embarrassed to buy such a thing for just my wife and me, but we do get a couple meals out of it. And we are technically a family.
If you want to leave out the Kitchen Bouquet it probably won’t be noticeable in the flavor, but the color just won’t be the same.
For the hot sauce, I think the Habañero Tabasco is perfect but you can use what you have on hand. I think Sriracha would work well, even though it is not exactly caribbean.
So, how do you make it? Funny should ask. I was just about to ‘splain.
Season about 4 pounds of chicken thighs with Montreal Steak Seasoning. You can use seasoning salt, or a combination of Salt, Pepper and Garlic Powder.
Heat the coconut oil in your pressure cooker pan over medium-high heat. I recommend that you don’t substitute a different oil in this particular case. The coconut ads that special something to this dish.
In batches, brown the chicken on the skin-side only. I don’t think the extra time to brown the entire thing is worth it in this case. The skin is full of flavor and that is going to leave enough brown bits on the pan to make it quite tasty.
After the chicken has been browned, pour out most of the fat, leaving about 2 tablespoons.
Sauté some sweet onion and bell peppers until they start to soften (about 3-4 minutes).
Add in some garlic and green onion and continue to sauté for another minute.
Now comes 1/2 cup catsup and 2 tablespoons brown sugar. Cook for a few minutes, stirring often. This is where a lot of the color comes from, so you want it to slightly caramelize and darken.
Add in some allspice, thyme, salt, soy sauce, hot sauce, lime juice, Kitchen Bouquet and stir.
Now, put the chicken back in the pot.
Pour a cup of ginger beer over the chicken and place the top on the pressure cooker.
Bring it up to high pressure, then lower the heat to maintain the pressure.
Set the time for 20 minutes.
When time is up, let the pressure come down on its own for 10 minutes, then do a quick release.
If you would like the sauce a little thicker, put the pot over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes to reduce the sauce slightly. This is not a super thick stew, the sauce will be a little on the thin side.
Serve with caribbean peas and rice, a traditional side dish. The peas are actually beans, but this is what it is called, so who am I to change it? I made a super quick version, which I will post the recipe for in a few days. It is one of those “so simple it is barely a recipe” recipes, so it will be on the Wednesday post.
You could also serve this with French fries if you like.
Butter chicken, also known as Murgh Makhani is a North Indian dish that can be found in most Indian restaurants, and I have even seen frozen versions in my local market. But why buy mediocre frozen versions when you can make it fresh?
My goal with this recipe was to strip it to the basics to make a fast and easy version that is perfect for a weeknight meal.
The chicken is traditionally cooked in a clay tandoor oven, but wouldn’t you know it, mine was in the shop. So, I just browned the chicken in the pressure cooker pan.
Some may scoff at the fact that I eliminated the yogurt marinade, but that can add anywhere from another couple hours to an entire day. So if you are one of the scoffers, I will allow you a minute or so to finish your scoffing.
Ok, we are back. As you may have noticed, this is not a super authentic recipe, but it is super tasty.
As I have mentioned, boneless, skinless chicken is not really my favorite but it works well for this recipe (and it was cheap at the store). I brown it with the breasts intact to make things easier, then cut it into 2-inch chunks before adding into the sauce.
Let’s start by heating a little coconut oil and butter on medium-high heat in the pressure cooker pan. Mixing the coconut oil and butter helps keep the butter from burning.
Add the chicken breasts to the pan and brown them until they are a nice golden color, then remove them to a plate.
Lower the heat to medium and add in the rest of the butter.
When the butter has melted, add some diced onions, along with some finely chopped ginger and Serrano chiles. If you have read many of my recipes you have probably noticed that Serrano chiles are my favorite chile to cook with. I have no idea if they are readily available everywhere, but we have them up the ying-yang here in SoCal. If your local ying-yang is not full of Serrano chiles, jalapeños will work fine. Sauté the onions, chiles and ginger until they start to soften (about 3-5 minutes).
Add in the garlic and continue to sauté for another minute or so.
Dump in some garam masala, cumin, fenugreek, turmeric, coriander and cayenne and sauté for 30 seconds or so. I usually put all the spices together in a small bowl so I can just add them in one swell foop, which makes things a lot easier.
Add a can of diced fire-roasted tomatoes, a tablespoon of tomato paste, a tablespoon of brown sugar, one cup of coconut milk and some salt.
Stir everything together.
Now cut the chicken into 2-inch chunks and add into the sauce mixture.
Lock the top on the cooker and turn heat to high to reach high pressure.
When high pressure is reached, adjust heat to maintain high pressure and set time for 7 minutes.
When time is up, remove from heat and let pressure come down on its own for about 7 minutes on its own, then do a quick release.
If sauce looks a little thin, place over medium high heat for 5-7 minutes to thicken, stirring often.
Serve with rice, naan, or any other flatbread. You can top with a little yogurt, which I had planned on doing but totally forgot until my dinner was totally digested. I did remember for the leftovers the next day, though.
Quebecois Hot Chicken Sandwich. Comfort Food At Its Finest!
Ok, I’m not Canadian, but my heritage traces back to there. I also grew up so close to Canada that one time I accidentally got stuck in the line to cross the Ambassador Bridge to Canada because I was looking for parking to attend a concert in Downtown Detroit.
Once I reached the border guard, he let me make a U-Turn and go back to my search for parking. So, Canadian food is one of the cuisines I grew up with. And since a lot of it involves gravy, you can count me in!
There are quicker ways to make this recipe, such as buying a rotisserie chicken and jarred gravy, but I think this way is tastier, and it only takes about 40 minutes or so total.
It would not be a proper hot chicken sandwich if it wasn’t served with peas. You can use either frozen or canned, I have used both and I probably like canned better for this, but I used frozen this time. I usually just heat them in the microwave, but you can heat them on the stove if you prefer.
Plain white bread is traditional, but sometimes I switch it up with sourdough. Use whatever you like, but keep in mind that the bread should never be toasted! In fact I never understood this obsession with toasted bread. I don’t know if it is just here in SoCal, or it is everywhere, but it is difficult to order a sandwich in a diner without the bread being toasted. You usually have to specify “not toasted” to get the bread in its natural state. Sure, some sandwiches, such as a BLT are normally served on toast, but something like a tuna sandwich or a corned beef sandwich? Come on!
To get started on the sandwich, melt a couple tablespoons of butter in the pressure cooker pot over medium heat.
Stir in 3 cups of beef broth, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, along with a teaspoon of Kitchen Bouquet (you can leave this out if you want, but I like the flavor and color it adds to the gravy.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that this recipe utilizes the steam rack or trivet that came with your pressure cooker. All 3 of my pressure cooker came with such an item, so hopefully yours did as well.
Season the skinless, boneless chicken breast halves with salt and pepper.
Once the sauce is stirred together, lower the steam rack into the pot and place the chicken on top of it. The chicken will be partially submerged, this is fine.
Lock the top on the cooker, turn heat to high (or set your electric to reach high pressure and maintain for 10 minutes).
When high pressure is reached, adjust the heat to maintain high pressure (does not apply to electrics) and set timer for 10 minutes.
While chicken/sauce is cooking, mix 3 tablespoons flour with about 6 tablespoons of water (just enough to make a thick liquid).
You can also heat up a can of peas at this time.
When time is up, do a quick release.
Remove the chicken to a plate.
Carefully remove the steam rack.
Put the pressure cooker pot over medium high heat and bring to a simmer (electric use the sauté mode on high).
Stir in the flour/water mixture. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes to cook out the flour taste and to bring to the desired thickness, stirring frequently.
Shred the chicken meat with two forks. It doesn’t need to be finely shredded, just pull it apart.
Arrange 1 piece of bread on a plate for each sandwich you are making.
Pile chicken on the bread (one breast half for each sandwich is good).
Put a little gravy on top of the chicken, then place another piece of bread on top. Add more gravy to the top of the sandwich, then top with peas.
This weekend, I once again reach back into my heritage to make a tasty Quebec-Style Hot Chicken Sandwich (also known simply as a “Hot Chicken” or a “Chicken”. Not to be confused with Nashville Hot Chicken, Quebec-style Hot Chicken is a dish consisting of bread, chicken, gravy and peas. What’s not to love?
Come by this weekend to find out how to make it the pressure cooker way!
Looking around the interwebs at various recipes for Quesadillas, there seemed to be quitej a few recipes for “Cheese Quesadillas” (yes even Paula Deen doesn’t know any better), “Cheesy Quesadillas”. But seeing as how “Queso” is Spanish for cheese, that would be akin to posting a recipe for a “Tuna-y Tuna Sandwich”.
But this recipe is for a quesadilla with the addition of chicken, so “Chicken Quesadilla” is appropriate.
Sure, there are quicker Chicken Quesadilla recipes, but this one has a tasty, braised chicken filling that would take longer if prepared in a conventional manner.
I have made a smaller batch of this in my stovetop pressure cookers, but in my electric the minimum liquid is 1.5 cups, so a larger batch of chicken is necessary.
This is a bit of a hybrid recipe, in that it utilizes the pressure cooker as well as the oven or griddle. I probably would do them on a griddle if I had one, but because of the size limits of my kitchen that probably will not happen soon.
This can also be done with smaller tortillas, using two tortillas with one on the top and one on the bottom, but my preference is to use large “burrito size” tortillas and fold them. This is also better if cooking them on the griddle, since your can just pivot them from one side to the other, whereas if you were doing it sandwich style, there would be a lot more difficulty in flipping it without losing all of the tasty filling.
I like to use a 9 or 10 inch tortilla. The ones I used this time were 12 inch and a little difficult to work with.
So let’s make the chicken filling. If you want to make the chicken dicing a little easier, you can pop the chicken breasts in the freezer for about 15 minutes or so to firm it up a bit.
In a couple tablespoons of your favorite cooking oil (it doesn’t have to be your favorite, your are welcome to cook in one you hate if you really want to), sauté a chopped onion until it becomes translucent. Add in 5 cloves of garlic (smashed with a press) and sauté for another minute.
Add a couple pounds of cubed boneless, skinless chicken breast and cook until the outside starts to turn white.
Add the oregano, cumin, salt and pepper and stir together.
Pour in 1/2 cup of beer and stir it all together.
Add two cans of Ro-Tel, after draining the liquid from one of the cans.
Put the pressure cooker over high heat (if using an electric PC, switch to pressure mode). Put top on the pressure cooker and bring to high pressure.
When high pressure is reached, adjust heat to maintain high pressure and set time for 3 minutes.
When time is up, do a quick release.
Remove the top from the pressure cooker.
Put pot over high heat (for electrics switch to the highest sauté or brown mode.
Add about 1/2 cup loosely packed cilantro and simmer for 8-10 minutes until the mixture is reduced to desired thickness.
So, that’s it for the filling. Let’s put together our quesadillas.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Lightly grease a baking sheet. Depending on the size of your tortillas, get out two or three of them (however many will fit on the baking sheet folded in half. If making a lot at once, use two baking sheets.
On one half of each tortilla, put one or two large spoons of the chicken mixture. Put a generous amount of cheese on each one as well.
Fold each quesadilla in half and put the baking sheets in the oven.
Set timer for 5 minutes.
When time is up, remove the baking sheets from the oven and let cool for a few minutes.
Cut into wedges with knife or pizza cutter and top with your favorite toppings.
A Super Fast And Zesty Chicken and White Bean Chili
Yes, I know, another chili recipe. But even here in SoCal the weather has been cooler, or as I call it, Chili Weather, although I’m sure many of your who reside in other places would make sport of me for calling 69 degrees “cool”.
I came really close to not posting this. I made this chili a few times and thought it would be a good one to post, but in looking around on the interwebs, I noticed that pretty much everybody, and I mean everybody, has a recipe for White Bean and Chicken Chile. Rachel – Check. Emeril – Check. Pioneer ladies, ladies and their sons, shoeless contessas, paleo people, everybody. What can I do with these ingredients that hasn’t already been done, I thought to myself (which is my favorite way)? Well, after making this recipe several times and doing some tweaking, it has become one of my quickest recipes to prepare, yet is still quite tasty. In fact, if you use boneless skinless chicken tenders as I did, you don’t even have to cut up the chicken.
Put the pressure cooker pot over medium heat, or put your electric PC on “brown” or “saute” set to medium.
In a couple tablespoons of oil of your choice, brown the chicken a bit. I bought skinless boneless chicken tenders (sure, I grabbed them by accident, but they worked perfectly for this recipe). You can use 1-1/2 pounds of boneless skinless breasts and just cut them into couple-inch strips.
Remove the chicken to a plate and put the chopped onions in the pot. Sauté for a few minutes until they start to soften. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or two.
Add 2 teaspoons oregano, 1 tablespoon cumin and 1 tablespoon chili powder and stir into the onion mixture. Cook for another minute.
Now pour in just a splash of the chicken stock to deglaze, scraping any stuck chicken bits off the bottom.
Pour in the Salsa Verde. Make sure to use 16 ounces. I tried it with a 12-ounce jar and it just didn’t have enough flavor. If you can only find 12 ounce jars, buy 2. With the extra 8 ounces you can serve on the side with tortilla chips. And while you’re selecting your salsa, make sure it is made with tomatillos, not just green tomatoes. I think the tomatillos are what gives it a unique flavor, and I wouldn’t want to deprive you of that now, would I? No, I would not.
Add in 2 cans of drained and rinsed white beans. I have tried it with both Great Northern beans and with Cannelini Beans, and I prefer the Great Northern, but I will leave it to your discretion.
Now is the time to pour in the rest of the chicken stock.
Add a little salt and pepper and toss in the bay leaves.
Cover the pressure cooker and set to high pressure.
When pressure is reached, set timer for 8 minutes.
When time is up, do a quick release then remove the lid.
Put the pressure cooker pot over medium heat.
Make a slurry with 2 tablespoons of the Masa and about 1/4 cup water, and stir it into the chili. Note: If you like more of a soup consistency you can skip this step, but I like it thicker. Plus I think the masa adds a little flavor. If you cannot find masa, or don’t want to buy it just to use a couple tablespoons for this, you can substitute fine grind cornmeal. Or you can try the Alton Brown method for thickening chili. I haven’t tried it myself, but in one of his recipes for pressure cooker chili, he substitutes crushed tortilla chips for the masa. And since tortilla chips are basically masa harina in chip form, it makes sense. It is also something that you may already have on hand. So, I say go for it, and let me know how it works!
Simmer for another 3-4 minutes until thickened, then remove from heat. Adjust salt and pepper to your liking.
Add a squeeze of lime to each bowl.
You can serve it over rice, or with tortilla chips or bread on the side. I served it with rice this time.
You can top it with shredded cheese, or with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt. I went for the yogurt this times (mostly because I didn’t have sour cream of cheese).
A quick and zesty chicken chili, perfect for a weeknight
Ingredients
1-1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken (I used chicken breast tenders this time) Cut in around 1 x 2 inch chunks
2 cans white beans (Great Northern or Cannellini beans work well)
½ large or 1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed with press
2 teaspoons oregano
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 bay leaves
1 16 oz. jar salsa verde (made with tomatillos)
2 cups low sodium chicken stock
2 tablespoons Masa Harina dissolved in ¼ cup water (You can substitute fine-grind cornmeal for this, or even crushed tortilla chips).
1-2 limes (optional)
Instructions
Over medium-high heat (or medium sauté setting on your electric pressure cooker), brown chicken pieces in a couple tablespoons oil (you will probably need to do this in a couple batches.
Remove chicken to a plate
Add onions to the pot (you may need to add a little more oil) and sauté until they start to soften
Add in the garlic and cook for a couple minutes longer
Stir in the oregano, cumin and chili powder and cook for about a minute
Pour just a splash of the chicken broth into the pot to deglaze, scraping up any bits that are on the bottom
Add the tomatillo salsa
Add the chicken stock
Turn heat to high (if using an electric pressure cooker, switch from sauté to pressure cook mode)
Place top on pressure cooker and bring to high pressure
Set time to 8 minutes
When time is up, remove from heat and do a quick release
Remove top
Put pot back on medium heat and stir in Masa-water mixture
Let simmer for about 5 minutes
Remove from heat and serve with bread, tortilla chips or over rice
When I realized that Fat Tuesday was almost upon us, I knew I needed to come up with something to honor the day. After all, it is the last day before lent, which means I will not be able to indulge in this type of thing again until Easter. …BAZINGA! I had you going there for a minute, didn’t I? But even if I don’t stop eating meat for a month doesn’t mean I can’t have an overindulgent meal to celebrate. The recipe may seem a little involved, but fortunately both the roux and the chicken can be prepared ahead of time, so by the time you are ready to put the gumbo together, the entire thing can be done in less than an hour.
THE ROUX
I admit that I was pretty stressed out about the Roux. That mysterious substance upon which good gumbo is built. Yes, I read all the the horror stories and heard all the warnings. “You can’t make roux, you dang yankee!”, “You’re gonna burn it hundreds of times before you finally get it to turn out right!”, “you can only make a roux if your mama made roux, and her mama before her, and her mama before her, and her mama before her and the ape that she evolved from made roux.” And “you cannot make gumbo unless you are in possession of The One Ring To Roux Them All. But I managed to put that out of my mind, steeled my nerves and did what any red-blooded American boy would do… I cheated! Well, only a little. Rather than stand over a hot stove, stirring for up to 90 minutes until my arm is ready to fall off, I used this method (just the roux part, not the entire recipe) popularized by Alton Brown, and made it mostly in the oven. I made the roux a couple days in advance. It keeps fine in the fridge for a few days. And making it in advance gives you plenty of time to do it over on the off chance that something does go awry. Since this was a special recipe for Fat Tuesday, I went all out and used lard, but you can use vegetable oil if you like. When making a dark roux, it is best not to use butter, as the milk solids can burn and ruin the roux. If using oil, you just need to combine the oil and flour and pop it in the oven. Since I was using lard, I started it on the stovetop over medium-low heat until the lard was melted, then I put it in the oven.
The Chicken
I like to cook the chicken and make the stock at the same time. Starting with a 3.5-4 lb. chicken, throw it in the pressure cooker along with some carrots, celery and onion plus a little salt. Add about six cups of water. You can add a little more water if there is room in your pressure cooker. Bring to high pressure for 25 minutes, do a quick release and carefully remove the chicken to a plate. It may come apart some, but you are going to pull the meat off anyway so that is fine. After the chicken is removed, strain the liquid and save for the gumbo. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones.
The Gumbo
If you made the roux and chicken ahead of time, take them out of the fridge and hour or so before starting the gumbo. Now that the stressful stuff is out of the way, you can relax and get going on your gumbo. Chop up a couple green peppers, a large onion and some celery (known as “the trinity” in Louisiana cooking) and some garlic.
Slice a package of Andouille sausage into approximately 1/2″ slices. In a tablespoon or so of fat, in the pressure cooker pot, brown the sausage, then remove to a plate. Sauté the onion, green pepper and celery in the sausage oil until it starts to soften. Add the garlic and continue to sauté for a couple minutes more. Add in a couple tablespoons of the roux.
At this point, the roux is just for flavoring so don’t add too much. If it is too thick, you will have a problem getting it to reach pressure. Mix with vegetables and cook for a couple minutes. Add the sausage and all the chicken to the vegetable mixture. Add in the spices and stir for a couple minutes. Add four cups of the stock (more or less depending on how liquid it looks. You don’t want it to be too watery. In my 6 quart electric pressure cooker, 4 cups was perfect. Add 1 tablespoon better than bouillon chicken flavor (this is optional, I like the extra flavor it ads, but it would be fine without). Toss in the bay leaves Turn heat to high, place top on pressure cooker and bring to high pressure.
When high pressure is reached, adjust heat to maintain high pressure (if using an electric pressure cooker, it will do this step for you). Set timer for seven minutes. When the time is up, do a quick release. Lower heat to medium to maintain low boil. Add in four or five tablespoons of the roux (depending on how thick you like it, I used five) while stirring to help avoid lumps. Serve it over rice with some crusty bread, or the traditional potato salad. Or both! It is Fat Tuesday, after all. I know, I am using Fat Tuesday as an excuse to break all the rules, but it’s as good an excuse as any. Some people even put the potato salad right into the gumbo. I may be a bit “northern” to try that.
I know I have said this before, but it bears repeating: Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez!
8 oz. by weight fat (I used lard. Vegetable oil will also work.)
8 oz. by weight flour
For The Chicken
1 3.5-4 lb. Chicken
2 carrots, cut in 2 inch pieces
2 stalks celery, cut in 2 in pieces
½ large onion, cut into 2 pieces
1 teaspoon salt
6 cups water
For The Gumbo
7 Tablespoons Roux
2 Green Bell Peppers, chopped
3 stalks celery, sliced about ¼-inch thick
1 large onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, crushed with a garlic press
1 tablespoon cajun or creole seasoning
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon salt to start (then to taste)
½ teaspoon black pepper to start (then to taste)
File Gumbo for serving
4 cups chicken stock (made with the chicken)
1 tablespoon Better Than Bouillon Chicken Flavor (optional)
2 Bay Leaves
Meat from a 3.5-4 pound chicken, removed from bones
1 package (12-16 oz.) andouille sausage, cut into ½-inch slices
Instructions
For The Roux
(Adapted from Alton Brown)
This is best when made a couple days in advance
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Over medium-high heat, in an iron skillet or dutch oven, put fat in pan
When fat is liquid, add flour and stir until combined
Put into oven
Stir every 20 minutes until desired color is reached (I left it in oven for about an hour, stirring every 20 minutes until it reached a dark brown color). Dark brown gives it a very smoky taste. If you prefer a bit milder, just cook until approximately the color of peanut butter
Keep in oven until slightly lighter than desired color, it will continue darken some after removing from oven
If saving for later, let it cool then put in a container and refrigerate
For The Chicken
Put chicken, carrot, celery, onion and salt in pressure cooker
Turn heat to high and cover pressure cooker
When high pressure is reached, turn heat down to maintain high pressure
Set timer for 25 minutes
When time is up, do a quick release of the pressure
Carefully remove chicken to plate
The chicken may not still be in one piece, so carefully remove all pieces to the plate
Strain the stock in another pot
If doing this ahead of time, wait until cool enough, then put in container and refrigerate until needed
When cool enough, remove chicken from bones, discarding skin
Put into a container and put in refrigerator until needed
For The Gumbo
In 1 tablespoon fat or oil, brown sausage over medium-high heat
Remove sausage to plate
In sausage fat, sauté "the trinity" (Onion, Celery, Green Pepper)
When it starts to soften, add in the garlic
Sauté for another couple minutes
Add two tablespoons roux and stir
Add the cajun/creole seasoning, thyme, cayenne pepper
Add the sausage back in
Add the chicken to the pot
Add 4 cups broth
Add salt and pepper
Add 1 tablespoon Better Than Bouillon Chicken (Optional)
Toss in Bay Leaves
Place cover on pressure cooker and turn heat to high
Bring to high pressure
When high pressure is reached, adjust heat to maintain high pressure (electric pressure cookers will do this automatically)
Set time for seven minutes
When time is up, do a quick release
Adjust heat to maintain a low boil
Add in 4-5 tablespoons roux depending on thickness desired, stirring constantly
Cook for an additional 5 minutes
Sprinkle with File Gumbo when serving
Serve in bowls, with rice or potato salad and warm bread
The National Dish of Singapore Gets The Pressure Cooker Treatment
Hainanese Chicken Rice is not only the unofficial national dish of Singapore, but is also very popular in parts of Malaysia and Thailand as well as in a few other Asian countries.
I have a co-worker from Malaysia who is always raving about this dish, so I figured I would check it out. I didn’t have any leftovers to give him a sample, but he did say it looked really authentic in the pictures. And since I had never had it before this, I don’t know if it is authentic either. But I do know that it was darn tasty.
The recipe might seem a bit confusing at first because it is composed of several components, but what we are basically doing is cooking a chicken then using the broth as the base for the other components.
It probably takes around 90 minutes in all to make this, but you really are making an entire meal, not just an entree.
I would highly recommend getting a high-quality free range chicken for this. I got a 3.5 pound one from our local butcher shop and it was delicious. A 3.5 pound chicken is only enough for 2-3 people. If you need to make more, you can use chicken pieces since a much larger chicken will not fit in a lot of pressure cookers. It should work fine.
In addition to the chicken, we are also making rice, chili sauce and a soup.
First, let’s make the chicken:
Clean the chicken and cut off any excess fat and the neck, if attached. These can be thrown into the broth and removed later.
Cut 3 of the green onions into one-inch pieces
Smash 6 cloves of the garlic with the side of a chef’s knife
Cut one of the shallots into thin slices
Wash a one inch piece of ginger and slice thinly (you don’t need to peel this)
Take the green onions, garlic, shallots and ginger and put half in the chicken cavity and half in the pressure cooker pot
Place the chicken in the pot
Add two cups no salt chicken stock and 4 cups water to the pressure cooker (there should be enough to almost cover the chicken, leaving an inch or two of the chicken above the liquid
Add in about a teaspoon of salt
Turn heat to high, place top on pressure cooker and bring to high pressure
When pressure is reached, set the timer for 20 minutes
While the chicken is cooking, you can prepare the rest of the vegetables
Finely chop the other shallot
Finely chop the remaining four cloves of garlic
Take another 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled this time, and finely chop it
When the timer sounds, remove pressure cooker from heat and let pressure come down on its own
Carefully remove chicken to platter or carving board to let cool
With a slotted spoon, take out any large pieces of vegetables, fat, etc. that may be in the broth.
Now for the rice:
If you are going to be using the same pressure cooker for the rice, transfer broth to another pot. If you are using a second pressure cooker, move along, nothing to see here.
In the pressure cooker pot heat 1 tablespoon cooking oil
Add about a heaping teaspoon each of the ginger, garlic and shallot
Sauté until it starts to soften a little, do not brown.
Add in the rice and continue to sauté until rice just starts to become translucent
Add three cups of the broth
Turn heat to high, stir, then put top on pressure cooker
Cook at high pressure for four minutes
When time is up, let the pressure come down for ten minutes, then do a quick release
Take top off pressure cooker and let sit
Let’s make some hot sauce:
I cheated a bit on the sauce. It would usually be made from fresh red peppers, but I didn’t find any red peppers at the store, everything they had was green, so I started with Sriracha Sauce.
Depending on how much heat you are comfortable with, put 1/4 to 1/2 cup Sriracha in blender jar. Add 1/2 cup of the broth, the juice of 1 lime, 1 teaspoon of the ginger, 1 teaspoon of garlic and 1 tablespoon honey. Blend until smooth.
Last but not least, the soup:
Thinly slice two green onions (white and light green parts) and place in two small soup bowls.
Divide the broth that is left between the two bowls.
And there you have it!
Slice the white meat from the chicken, and remove legs and wings, leaving on the bone
The Asian Classic Made Easier In The Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
1 3-3.5 pound chicken
1 chunk of ginger
10 cloves garlic
5 green onions
2 shallots
2 cups unsalted chicken stock
4 cups water
1 teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
1 tablespoon cooking oil
2 cups basmati rice
½ cup Sriracha Sauce
1 lime
1 tablespoon honey
1 Cucumber, sliced
2 tomatoes, sliced
Fresh cilantro, for garnish
Instructions
For The Chicken
Clean the chicken and cut off any excess fat and the neck, if attached. These can be thrown into the broth and removed later.
Cut 3 of the green onions into one-inch pieces
Smash 6 cloves of the garlic with the side of a chef's knife
Cut one of the shallots into thin slices
Wash a one inch piece of ginger and slice thinly (you don't need to peel this)
Take the green onions, garlic, shallots and ginger and put half in the chicken cavity and half in the pressure cooker pot
Place the chicken in the pot
Add two cups no salt chicken stock and 4 cups water to the pressure cooker (there should be enough liquid to almost cover the chicken, leaving an inch or two of the chicken above the liquid
Add in about a teaspoon of salt (adjust to taste)
Turn heat to high, place top on pressure cooker and bring to high pressure
When pressure is reached, set the timer for 20 minutes
While the chicken is cooking, you can prepare the rest of the vegetables
Finely dice the other shallot
Finely dice the remaining four cloves of garlic
Take another 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled this time, and finely chop it
When the timer sounds, remove pressure cooker from heat and let pressure come down on its own
Carefully remove chicken to platter or carving board to let cool
For The Rice
In the pressure cooker pot heat 1 tablespoon cooking oil
Add about a heaping teaspoon each of the ginger, garlic and shallot
Sauté until it starts to soften a little, do not brown.
Add in the rice and continue to sauté until rice just starts to become translucent
Add three cups of the broth
Turn heat to high, stir, then put top on pressure cooker
Cook at high pressure for four minutes
When time is up, let the pressure come down for ten minutes, then do a quick release
Take top off pressure cooker
For the hot sauce
in blender, combine ¼-1/2 cup Sriracha Sauce (to taste) and ½ Cup of the Chicken Broth
Add juice of 1 lime
Add1 teaspoon of crushed garlic
Add 1 teaspoon of minced ginger
Add 1 tablespoon honey
Blend until smooth
For the soup
Thinly slice two green onions
Put slices in two soup bowls
Divide whatever chicken broth is left into the two bowls
Serve with cucumber and tomato slices, with cilantro for garnish
