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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
Lisa M says
My ovens broiler is kaput. Could they just be baked or would it be better to grill them some?
TKWAdmin says
Oh no!!! Yes you can grill them to get a great char. Just don’t let them dry out. It should only take a few minutes.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Tracy Mulroy says
These are sooooo amazing! The first time I did it as called for in the directions for the Instant Pot and I found it to be time consuming. Would it work to throw all of the ingredients into the Instant Pot together or would the sauce not get thick enough? Thanks so much and thanks for this amazing recipe.
TKWAdmin says
Hi Tracy!
Correct, if you threw everything in the pressure cooker at the same time, the sauce would not be thick enough. And I’m so happy you loved it!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Gail says
Made this tonight and it was easy and terrific. The instructions to use foil were especially helpful since the sauce becomes sticky in the broiler. Served over jasmine rice. One thing to keep in mind is that the boneless chicken thighs become fragile in pressure cooker.
This recipe is a keeper!
TKWAdmin says
Hi Gail!
Thank you so much! Yes the thighs are delicate. I tried reducing the cooking time by a minute but the chicken wasn’t fully done. You can use this same recipe with chicken breasts as well.
So happy you loved it!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Jessica says
Hi there how much longer would I increase the time for bone in chicken thighs? I have the instant pot pressure cooker.
TKWAdmin says
Hi Jessica!
It should still only be about 10 minutes. Bone-in meat tends to cook just slightly faster.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Lynnore Bayless says
Sounds delicious. Can’t wait to try this recipe. Also, you probably already know this, but there is a mistake in your recipe. At one point you say wings instead of thighs. Obviously it will work for either 🙂
TKWAdmin says
Hey Lynnore!
Oh thank you for that! I just fixed that. And yep, it works for pretty much any part of the chicken!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Catherine Margaronis says
I made this dish last night–the first recipe i made in my new pressure cooker!! I didn’t have any fresh ginger so I substituted with two tsp of powdered ginger spice, and I prefer Tamari to soy sauce, so I did make that swap. Also, my Sriracha seems to have disappeared (?!?) so I just shook several shakes of Cholula into the thigh marinade and several into the BBQ sauce in the sauce pan, and I was really happy with the flavor. Poor hubs is a baby about anything with much zippiness, so I would’ve halved the amount of Sriracha had I had it.
I’ll admit I was lazy as well as a bit short on prep time, so I didn’t baste the thighs and broil them in the oven. Instead I cooked them in my pressure cooker for about 13-14 minutes instead of the 10 minutes the recipe calls for. They came out perfect! I served the thighs over white rice, drizzled the homemade BBQ sauce over the thighs and rice, and liberally sprinkled lots of chopped green onions over the top of it all. Oh my stars…sooooo tasty! Hubs was super impressed and gobbled up a large serving. Just as something to share….I often serve a small bowl of cottage cheese with chilled canned mandarin oranges with Asian food and I did do that last night. It was a great pairing with this dish. I will definitely make this recipe again, thank you so much for sharing it!
The only thing I might change is to marinate the thighs in the marinade for a few hours ahead of pressure cooking them. I think it would just add to the fabulous flavor.
PS I have tried to click on the 5th star below to give this a 5 star rating but it won’t allow me to select any of the stars. It’s for sure a 5 star recipe!
TKWAdmin says
Hi Catherine,
Thank you so much!!! You can most definitely marinate them as well for more flavor. Love the cottage cheese with mandarin oranges too! I’m so happy that you guys loved it! 🙂
Best Kitchen Wishes!
KarenB says
I am making these right now. Everything is going so fast. I’m used to throwing things in an oven or slow cooker and relaxing. Lol. I have rice in my rice cooker now, and will do asparagus on the side also. I got the InstantPot 7 in 1 from the Amazon Santa lol. I will have you know, this is the first recipe I am making in my pressure cooker! Now don’t you feel proud? Lol. Question, how come I have to discard this liquid the thighs are pressure cooking in, and why can’t I use that and thicken with cornstarch on top the stove? Is it bacteria filled? Also, I didn’t believe these thighs were done in 10 min so I took their temp. Lol. Yup. They were 165!
TKWAdmin says
Hi Karen,
Amazon Santa rocks! That’s awesome you loved this1 Okay so you can totally keep the cooking liquid – just reduce it down and then thicken it with a slurry to get more of a gravy/sauce. I only have you discard it in this recipe as you’re making that sticky ginger sauce to glaze it with. However if you thicken the cooking liquid you could perhaps use that as a dipping sauce?
Aren’t kitchen gadgets the best now?! And thank you so much for having my recipe be your first pressure cooker recipe! I’m so honored!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
KarenB says
Lori, do I HAVE to thaw my chicken thighs to make this? If I don’t HAVE to, would I need to increase the time? Also, can I leave the skin on? And then broil to make the skin crispy?
TKWAdmin says
Hi Karen,
Nope, just bump up the time by 2-3 minutes. And yes you can keep the skin on and broil those suckers to get the crispy skin.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Not easily confused says
I’m a seasoned cooked – but this is super hard to follow . The ingredients list chicken broth but then don’t explain where to add. I’m assuming that’s part of the sauce ? Add in the beginning ? Or slowly once sauce has thickened ?
Shirley Randall says
My husband just bought me a pressure cooker for my birthday. I’m so excited to learn how to use it and your site is amazing!
TKWAdmin says
Aw thank you so much Shirley! That really means so much to me! If you ever have any questions on pressure cooking, send me an email – lori@thekitchenwhisperer.net and I can help you. Plus if you ever find a recipe on here that doesn’t have pressure cooker instructions email me and I can walk you through how to cook it in the PC.
Best Kitchen Wishes!