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Kind of spicy, kind of sweet and a whole lot of sticky in all the best ways are what these Instant Pot Korean Gochujang Sticky Chicken Breasts are all about! This is absolutely perfect for weekly meal prep as it’s so versatile!
One of the best things a blogger/chef can give their readers (or TKW Family in my case) are recipes that are versatile. When I look at other blogs, I want to see how I can make one recipe and then transform that cooked dish into various ways. Sadly not many do that. I do that but one thing I didn’t do was give up follow-up recipes for those transformations. Oh sure I’d tell you at the end of the post how else you could use it but I never gave you a full recipe post of those other dishes.
Truth be told I actually thought I was offending folks when I did that. Meaning if I gave you a recipe on how to make homemade peanut butter, I thought it was well, too basic to write up a post on how to make the best peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
But when I was planning out my goals for 2019 for here I asked you guys what other things you’d like to see recipe-wise. I was honestly surprised that many of you asked for those follow-on recipes. So that’s what I’m doing from now on. I’ll give you a killer base recipe (like my IP pulled pork) and then I’ll give you a few follow-on recipes (like my Tots & Pulled Pork Sandwich, stuffed pulled pork mushrooms and pulled pork nachos).
Another thing I will not do is tell you to buy an ingredient that you’ll use one and then store it away. No, I know none of us have Oprah-money (if you do though I’m looking for an investor for my cookbook and bistro), so I’m try to be conscious of the “special” ingredients I use in recipes. Like for this recipe, gochujang is a newer ingredient on the blog but I’ve already posted a few recipes using it and will be posting more in the near future.
So if you recall, the first Gochujang recipe I shared with us was for my Korean Sticky Wings (hence the images of wings in the images). Wings, breasts and thighs are the 3 most popular cuts of chicken when it comes to using the instant pot. So I wanted to test out at least 2 of those 3 items in the IP with this recipe. I’ve tried bone-in as well as boneless and the only real difference is the cooking time.
This recipe is a lifesaver for me right now as standing in the kitchen to cook right now is time I do not have. For those that aren’t aware, Mr. Fantabulous had major surgery on Monday and he’s needing pretty much round the clock care. I’m sleeping maybe 3 hours total a day and doing everything for him. I’m not complaining as he’s my husband and I’d do everything for him but when he also owns his own company (and I work a FT job and also own my own company) I have to do all 3 jobs – plus take care of everything else he needs.
I can get this dish together and marinating in under 5 minutes and then it takes what, maybe 2 minutes to put it in the instant pot and set it. While its cooking I can grab his meds, refill his ice brace and help him out of the recliner or put his socks on. Like I said… everything. FYI…. unless you’re a dentist or dental hygienist, flossing someone else is damn near impossible! HOWEVER those single floss picks are a godsend!!! So if you or someone ever has an arm out of commission – get the floss picks!
So full transparency, I had every intention of posting this Monday night after I brought him home from surgery. I figured he’d still have all of that anesthesia in him plus the nerve block and the pain meds that he’d sleep a good bit.
WRONG! That man was up until 3am Tuesday morning as the nerve block lasted maybe 6 hours and the pain meds weren’t helping at all. From then on it’s been non-stop “Honey can you help me out of the chair? Honey can you fluff my pillow? Honey can you ….” The man actually now uses the intercom on our phones (which I have to carry with me throughout the house at all times) to page me when he needs me.
Fortunately today he managed to take a 45 minute cat nap which allowed me to finish editing these photos and start typing up the post. However he woke up and needed me again. A few hours passed and again he started napping (now). So I’m hoping he naps a good while for 2 reasons:
- He can heal and get the much-needed rest he needs; and
- I can finish and send this post. Selfish I know but I’m trying to make sure I don’t forget about you guys either.
Speaking of not forgetting about you guys, see the picture above? Yeah, that’s a sneak peek of a follow-on recipe I have done and is waiting in the wings to post. It’s an amazing rice bowl dish that can be made with rice, quinoa or riced cauliflower! It’s just another versatile way to use this base recipe.
So how else can you use this chicken? Sandwiches, wraps and pizza – yes pizza. But I will be sharing these recipes in the future and tying them all together.
Until then… enjoy!
Korean Gochujang Sticky Chicken Breasts (Instant Pot)
Kind of spicy, kind of sweet and a whole lot of sticky in all the best ways are what these Instant Pot Korean Gochujang Sticky Chicken Breasts are all about! This is absolutely perfect for weekly meal prep as it’s so versatile!
Ingredients
- 3 pounds boneless, skinless, chicken breasts thawed
- 3/4 cup light soy sauce, low sodium
- 2 Tbl sesame oil
- 2 tsp rice vinegar
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 3/4 tsp red chili flakes
- 4–5 Tbl Gochujang (red chili paste) *go with 3 if you don’t like spicy
- 1/3 cup plus 2 Tbl honey
- 1 Tbl minced garlic (about 2–3 large cloves)
- One -1” piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced
- Minced green onions
- White sesame seeds
Instructions
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and place a cooling rack inside; set aside. Place your oven rack to the upper third tray.
- In a large bowl whisk together the soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, chili flakes, Gochujang, honey, garlic, and ginger. Place your breasts in the bowl and gently toss/stir to coat all of the chicken. Allow to rest for 10 minutes. If you’re in a hurry you can skip this part and dump it all into the Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker.
- Close the lid on your IP, set the cooking time to 11 minutes/High pressure. If your breasts are frozen or really big set it to 12 minutes/High pressure. When the time is up, carefully do a quick release.
- With tongs, remove the breasts to the rimmed baking sheet and set the IP to sauté or brown function as you’ll need to thicken up the sauce. Depending on how watery your breasts were your sauce can take 10-25 minutes to get to a thickened state. Just stir often to not burn. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. Once it gets to that state, remove it from the pot and place in a container to use for basting.
- Slather the bottom side of the breasts with the thickened sauce and broil just for a minute as you want to slightly char the sauce but not burn it. Remove from the oven, flip, baste and return to the broiler for another minute.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions. Store the remaining sauce in the fridge for up to a week.
Notes
Can you use boneless thighs and drumsticks. For bone-in thighs and breasts, add another minute or two to the cooking time.
This was excellent! Sauce is SOOO Good!
★★★★★