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Packed with flavor these thighs are done in minutes thanks to the Instant Pot!
Oh pressure cooker let me give thanks to you for not letting us starve during this kitchen remodel. I honestly don’t know what I’d do without you. You’ve kept me sane, fed and most importantly given me some really cool topics of conversation. I mean how many people prep food in their bedroom? Yes, I actually have a pressure cooker and hot plate in my bedroom right now. I have a card table set up to do all of my prep work and a huge plastic tub I put all of the dirty stuff in that I then lug out to the pool house when the dishes need to be washed.
I had every intention of calling this dish “Bedroom Thighs” but I decided against it as lord only knows what kind of search my recipe would end up in. Again I love kitchen and food porn but yeah, ‘bedroom porn’ is not something this blog is about.
And before you see this recipe and go “Aw man, there she goes again with another pressure cooker recipe. What am I supposed to do if I don’t own one?” Fear not loved family – read the notes section of this recipe as I also tell you how you can bake these! So now you have no excuse not to make this!
Chicken thighs are one of those indulgences for me as I don’t buy them often. They taste amazing but then they should, dark meat always has a better richer taste but that also means they are higher in fat and calories. So for me, these are deemed a ‘cheat’ meal. It’s funny though as they are ridiculously cheap here. What are they in your area? Like my butcher typically sells the boneless, skinless ones for 49 cents a pound! I know, right?! That’s insane! So I’ll buy up a big batch of them, portion them out, and freeze them.
Now full disclosure this sauce took me a few tries to get right. The first time I made it, it was way too hot (i.e., too much Sriracha). The second time, too much ginger – and I love ginger but this was HOT ginger. The third time I burnt the sauce – cause I forgot about it because Mr. Fantabulous needed my help in the garage. FYI.. don’t burn the sauce as it’s a PITA to get out of the pan. It gets uber thick and sticky – like candy sticky. Finally, about the fifth try, I nailed it.
That sauce was so incredible that I could have eaten just that and forgot about the chicken. But hey, this was a cheat day, and I did not forget that rich dark meat. So into the pressure cooker, the chicken went and once it was done a few minutes under the broiler and I was golden… er should I say caramelized as I had sauce from chin to elbow and could not care one iota!
When it comes to chicken, Mr. Fantabulous is so not a dark meat fan. I think it stems from his days as a bodybuilder (when he was hardcore into it) – it was white plain chicken only. Then I come into the picture with my “Honey try this!”, “Honey taste this fattening thing.” and let’s just say he loosened up quite a bit. So once these came out of the oven seriously they just LOOKED delicious! You could smell that sauce and honestly made me start to drool a bit. I plate this along with a few sides and wait… let me share which sides rock with this dish…
Shaved Brussels Sprouts salad – because at least you are eating healthy, right?!
and of course, you need herb roasted baby potatoes!
So anyway as I was saying, I create the plates and set this in front of him. He kinda shook his head, muttered “bbq…again” and sighed. I smirked because I knew this was going to blow his mind. Folks when he took that first bite… no seriously that FIRST BITE and tasted that sauce his eyes lit up.
IMMEDIATELY the fork and knife went into super ninja slicing mode and he devoured that chicken. He raved over and over about this chicken and about the sauce. He could have cared less that it was thighs instead of white meat. He loved it so much that he asked for more – which he had never done with thighs.
So yeah you will LOOOOOOOOOOOVE this recipe and this sauce. WAIT until you see how I mix it up for other recipes *pizza…* WHA?!?
PrintPressure Cooker Sticky Hoisin Ginger Sesame Thighs
Packed with flavor these thighs are done in minutes thanks to the Instant Pot!
Ingredients
- 2–3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, thawed
- 1 3/4 cups chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon minced garlic, divided
- 3 teaspoons grated ginger, divided
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce, divided
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons hoisin, divided
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 4 tablespoons Sriracha, divided
- 5 tablespoons brown sugar, divided
- 3 green onions, white and green parts sliced
Instructions
- Pat dry the thighs. Add the thighs to the pressure cooker.
- In a bowl whisk together the stock, 1 teaspoon garlic, 1 teaspoon ginger. 2 tablespoon soy sauce, 2 tablespoon hoisin, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, and 1 tablespoon Sriracha. Pour over the thighs.
- Lock the lid down and set it to High pressure, for 10 minutes. If using a Gas Pressure Cooker, place over high heat and once the pressure cooker is up to temperature, reduce the heat to low to maintain a high pressure and set the timer for 10 minutes. If using an Electric Pressure Cooker, set it to high with a timer of 10 minutes.
- While the thighs are cooking place a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon garlic, 2 teaspoons ginger, honey, 2 teaspoons, 2 grated ginger, 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce, 1/2 cup hoisin, 2 tablespoons sesame oil, 3 tablespoons Sriracha, 4 tablespoons brown sugar and whisk.
- Bring the mixture to a slight boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook until slightly thickened like bbq sauce. ~10-15 minutes.
- When the 10 minutes is up do a quick release. While the quick release is relieving pressure, place the oven to broil with a rack in the middle.
- Line a rimmed pan with foil and place a cooling rack on top. Lightly spray the rack. Gently remove the thighs from the pressure cooker with tongs and place them on the rack; discard the cooking liquid. Place the thighs in the oven and broil for 5-7 minutes on each side.
- Remove the pan from the oven and slather on some sauce. Return to the broiler for 5 minutes.
- Flip the thighs over, cover with more sauce, and broil for 5 more minutes or until they are nicely charred. Place the sauce in a container for serving. Garnish with green onions. Store any leftovers in the fridge.
Notes
For oven baking:
1. Preheat oven to 425F, rack in the middle.
2. Line a baking sheet with foil and top with a cooling rack.
3. Spray the cooling rack with non-stick spray and set aside.
4. Pat dry with paper towels.
5. Place a medium sauce pan over medium heat. 5. Place a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Add in 1 tablespoon garlic, 2 teaspoon ginger, 1/2 cup honey, 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/2 cup hoisin, 2 tablespoon sesame oil, 2 tablespoon Sriracha and 4 tablespoon brown sugar and whisk.
6. Bring the mixture to a slight boil, reduce the heat to medium low and cook until slightly thickened like bbq sauce. ~10-15 minutes.
7. Place the thighs on the cooling rack and brush on part of the sauce.
8. Bake for 15 minutes, flip, brush with a bit more sauce and bake for another 15 minutes or until the internal temp is 165F.
9. Remove from the oven, brush with more sauce and let rest for a few minutes before serving.
And yes I know I’m repeating myself here but if you looking for the BEST Gas Pressure cooker out there then I HIGHLY recommend the All-Clad PC8! It’s INCREDIBLE!!!
If you’re looking for an Electric Pressure Cooker I recommend one of these 2 as they both are awesome:
Emeril by T-fal CY4000 Nonstick Dishwasher Safe Electric Pressure Cooker
or the Instant Pot IP-DUO60 7-in-1 Multi-Functional Pressure Cooker
This is amazing. I admit I had to read the instructions a few times to figure out what the “rest of the ingredients” were to put in the sauce, LOL! But it’s worth it. We love asian food and this one is a keeper.
Hi Jackie!
So happy you loved it! And thank you for letting me know about the recipe. I’ll clear up the directions so it’s less confusing. I appreciate the feedback!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
This looks amazing. We’ll have to try it.
★★★★★
Hey Lori. Making this AGAIN. This time I had thighs, legs, and wings thawed out. Thought that was boring. So I made the Asian Ginger Sticky chicken! I only pressure cooked chicken for 6 min using ALL the sauce (cuz I was lazy) and placed them on a rack at 375 with my bacon brussels sprouts on the lower rack. Then I added 2 tbsp (or thereabouts) corn starch to some cold water and poured that in the Instantpot pan. Stirred with a whisk and it thickened up nicely. Took a ladle and filled a 2 cup measure with the sauce and poured on the chicken pieces and back in the oven. Sometimes I throw all the chicken in the sauce so it’s well coated and place it back on the rack (see? I’m lazy Lol) sauce tastes amazing and will flip and sauce again and subsequently broil for that lovely char when the brussels sprouts are done. Be good. Stay safe. Hugs!
Hey Karen!
So happy you love the recipe! Agreed, that sauce is amazing. I love that you added different cuts of chicken too! I do that too! And those sprouts sounded divine!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Is there a substitute for hoisin sauce? I’m pretty sure I don’t have that in my pantry! These look delicious, can’t wait to try!!
Oh wow, I’m not sure. You could google to make your own or add it to your next trip. It’s relatively inexpensive.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Just made this tonight. Wow ! It’s amazing. Served it with sticky rice and Chinese chicken salad ( without the chicken). This will go right into my recipe file . Thank you so much.
★★★★★
Thank you so much Marla! I love the idea of adding it with sticky rice too! YUM!!!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Hey Lori. Cant tell you how many times I have made these or the chicken wings. Look no further everyone. They are A M A Z I N G!!!!
★★★★★
Aw thank you so much Karen!!! That means so much to me!!!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Absolutely the best. Husband does not like thighs…. Lol…. Now he asks for these.
Thank you so much!!! Same with Mr. Fantabulous. He hated thighs until this recipe!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Made these on Wednesday(my husband likes PLAIN food usually), delicious, 10/10 from my husband!
High praise indeed! I’m making again this evening, by request 👏
★★★★★
That’s so awesome, thank you so much for the feedback!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Awesome recipe. I did it with bone-in split breasts and thighs in the same go. Followed the instructions exactly but left out the sriracha (feeding 4 kids). I grew up partially in Hawaii, so I used to have chicken like this quite often. Everyone in my home loved it and we will definitely be making this again. Thank you!
★★★★★
Thank you so much Dan! That really means a lot to me!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
I made these tonight in my Ninja Foodi, and we loved them! I’m still figuring out all the tricks to the Foodi, so I made a couple mistakes. After pressure cooking, I removed the thighs, washed the pot, and put the broiling rack and the pot back in the Foodi, then heated the broiler for about 8 minutes. I broiled the thighs 4 minutes each side, then brushed on the glaze and did another 4 minutes each side. That was a little too much time and the thighs varied from charred to burnt. Next time, I will use the rack on the lower position and only broil 3 minutes each side. My husband said the flavor was restaurant-quality and that they would be perfect the next time.
★★★★★