Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Instant Pot HK Tomato Pork Chops

Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Servings4
Calories314kcal
AuthorAmy + Jacky

Ingredients

  • 4 boneless pork chops (1.25 inches thick)

Marinade

  • 1/2 teaspoon (2.3g) white sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon (1.5g) salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon (1.25ml) sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon (15ml) light soy sauce (not low sodium soy sauce)
  • 1/2 tablespoon (7.5ml) dark soy sauce

Other Ingredients

  • 1 medium onion , sliced
  • 4 garlic cloves , minced
  • 1 small shallot , diced
  • 8 mushrooms , sliced (optional)
  • 1 large tomato, diced
  • 50 ml tomato paste (roughly 1/5 cup)
  • 2 tablespoons (30ml) ketchup
  • 1 tablespoon (15ml) peanut oil
  • 1 tablespoon (14g) white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon (5ml) Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 cup (250ml) water
  • Kosher salt and ground black pepper
  • 1 ½ tablespoon (12g) cornstarch mixed with 2 (30ml) tablespoons water

Instructions

  • Tenderize Pork Chops: Use the back-end of a heavy knife, pound both sides of pork chops to tenderize the meat.
  • Marinate Pork Chops: Marinate tenderized pork chops for 20 minutes with ½ tsp (2.3g) sugar, ¼ tsp (1.5g) salt, ¼ tsp (1.25ml) sesame oil, 1 tbsp (15ml) light soy sauce, and ½ tbsp (7.5ml) dark soy sauce.
  • Prepare Pressure Cooker: Heat up your pressure cooker (Instant Pot: press Sauté). Make sure your pot is as hot as it can be when you place the pork chops in the pot (Instant Pot: wait until the indicator says HOT). This will prevent the pork chops from sticking to the pot.
  • Prepare Other Ingredients: Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel and prepare remaining ingredients as listed.
  • Sauté Pork Chops: Add peanut oil in the pot. Ensure to coat oil over the whole bottom of the pot. Add in marinated pork chops, then let it brown for roughly 1 – 1 ½ minute on each side (don’t need to constantly flip the pork chops). Do not let it burn. Remove and set aside.
  • Brown Onion, Shallot, Garlic, and Mushrooms: Add in sliced onions, diced shallot and stir. Add a pinch of kosher salt and ground black pepper to season if you like. Cook onions and shallot for roughly 1 minute until softened. Then, add garlic and stir for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add in mushrooms and cook for another minute. Taste seasoning and adjust with more kosher salt and ground black pepper if necessary.
  • Deglaze: Add ¼ cup (63ml) water and fully deglaze the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon.
  • Create Tomato Sauce: Add in ¾ cup (188ml) water, 2 tbsp (30ml) ketchup, 1 tbsp (14g) sugar, 1 tsp (5ml) Worcestershire sauce, and 50ml tomato paste (See Tips). Mix well.
  • Pressure Cook Pork Chops: Place pork chops back with all the meat juice in the pot. Close lid and pressure cook at High Pressure for 1 minute. Turn off the heat and Full Natural Release (roughly 10 minutes). Open the lid carefully.
  • Taste & Thicken Tomato Sauce: Remove pork chops and set aside. Turn heat to medium (Instant Pot: Press sauté button). Taste the seasoning one more time. Add more salt and pepper if desired. Add in diced tomato. Mix cornstarch with water and mix it into the tomato sauce one third at a time until desired thickness.
  • Serve: Drizzle the tomato sauce over the pork chops and serve immediately with side dishes!

Notes

Tenderize Pork Chops: Make sure to tenderize the pork chops before marinating them. This is an important step.
Mixing in the Tomato Paste: Mixing in 50 ml tomato paste to 250 ml of water should not cause scorching. If you are unsure, just let the tomato paste sit on top of all the other ingredients unmixed. Avoid mixing in the tomato paste if you exceed the 1 cup of tomato paste to 5 cups of water ratio.
*The Total Cooking Time does not include idle/inactive time.

Instant Pot Beef Stew

  • Author: ifoodreal.com
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 7 (6 Qt.), 11 (8 Qt.) servings

Ingredients

8 Quart Instant Pot
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 3 large carrots, chopped
  • 4 small celery stalks, chopped
  • 4 large garlic cloves, grated & divided
  • 3 lbs potatoes, cubed
  • 2 lbs beef, cubed*
  • 6 oz can tomato paste
  • 2 bouillon cubes**
  • 3 cups water**
  • 1 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 1 1/2 tsp thyme
  • 1 1/4 tsp salt
  • Ground black pepper, to taste
  • 4 bay leaves
  • 7 peppercorns
  • 2 cups frozen peas
  • 1 cup dill, finely chopped

Instructions

  1. In Instant Pot, add onion, carrot, celery, 2 garlic cloves, potatoes and beef as you are cutting them. Then add tomato paste, bouillon + water or stock, oregano, thyme, salt, pepper, bay leaves and peppercorns. Stir.
  2. Close the lid, set pressure vent to Sealing and press Stew for 30 minutes. Display will say ON, Instant Pot will take about 20 minutes to come to pressure, you will see a bit of steam coming out from a valve, then float valve will rise and countdown from 30 minutes will begin.
  3. When display says OFF, stew is ready. Now your Instant Pot needs to bring pressure down before you can open it, which will be indicated by a dropped down float valve. You can let it do it on its own which will take about 15-20 minutes – Natural Release. OR you can do Quick Release by turning pressure valve to Venting position, which takes 2-3 minutes. I recommend doing so outside. Trust me, it’s a messy process and I usually do not have time to wait.
  4. Open the lid, add peas, remaining 2 cloves of garlic and dill. Stir and serve hot.
Store: Refrigerate in an airtight container or inner Instant Pot pot with a fitting glass lid for up to 5 days.
Freeze: Fully cook, cool completely and freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw on a stovetop covered on low.

Notes

*You can use frozen cubed meat. Just add 10 minutes to cooking time.
**Replace with any stock.

Monday, November 12, 2018

THAI CHICKEN STEW/SOUP

SERVES: 8
PREP TIME: 12 mins
  
COOK TIME: 12 mins TOTAL TIME: 24 mins

INGREDIENTS:

3 pounds boneless chicken (thighs or breasts will work)
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (13.5-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
1/3 cup tomato paste
1/2 cup Thai red curry paste
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons coconut aminos
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons sea salt
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
4 cups mixed vegetables (frozen or fresh)
fresh cilantro, for garnish
rice, for serving

INSTRUCTIONS:

Place the chicken, onion, garlic, in the bowl of an electric pressure cooker (such as an InstantPot).
Pour in the coconut milk, tomato paste, curry paste, fish sauce, coconut aminos, lime juice, salt, and ginger and stir to coat the chicken.
Secure the lid and set the machine to Meat/Stew for 10 minutes, or 15 minutes if using frozen chicken. If using a different machine, use manual high pressure.
When the timer sounds, release the pressure immediately and remove the chicken with tongs. Give it a rough chop then return it to the pot. Add the vegetables to the top. Reseal the lid and set the machine again for 2 minutes. Release the pressure and stir the vegetables into the sauce. Serve garnished with cilantro.

https://againstallgrain.com/2017/10/02/pressure-cooker-thai-chicken-stew/

** If you add 6-8 cups of chicken broth (half with the first pressurization and the rest with the second pressurization), then it become thai chicken soup. Over vermicelli noodles, it's very similar to your thai chicken soup recipe!

Instant Pot Creamy Sausage & Spinach Tortellini Soup

Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
1 min
Total Time
11 mins
 
Instant Pot Creamy Sausage & Spinach Tortellini Soup is loaded with spinach, sausage, veggies, and tortellini! Even sweeter, all this soup only takes is a few minutes of prep, and a couple minutes of cooking time in the Instant Pot, to taste like you have been stewing it all day!
Course: Main Course, Soup
Cuisine: Italian
Servings5 people
Calories697 kcal
Ingredients
  • 1 lb ground Italian sausage
  • 1 medium yello onion chopped
  • 3 large carrots chopped
  • 2 stalks celery chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 4 cups beef stock
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 3 12 ounce cans evaporated milk
  • 1 10 ounce packet fresh three cheese tortellini found in the refrigerated section of your grocer
  • 2-1/2 cups fresh baby spinach
  • 1 cup regular milk whole, reduced fat, fat free, ect.
Instructions
  1. Turn Instant Pot onto saute. When hot, add sausage and garlic and cook until meat is browned.
  2. When sausage is browned, add carrots, onion, and celery, and cook until fragrant (about 3-4 minutes).
  3. Turn Instant Pot off and add salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, beef stock and tortellini. Turn Instant Pot on to manual high pressure for HALF the time it mentions on the back of the tortellini package. Mine said three minutes so I cooked it for 1 minute on manual high pressure.
  4. When timer is up, quick release the pressure.
  5. Turn Instant Pot off and then back onto saute.
  6. Add evaporated milk and regular milk, heat until boiling. While milk is heating, mix together cornstarch and water.
  7. When milk comes to a boil, add cornstarch mixture and stir well. Cook for another minute then turn Instant Pot off. Add the spinach and stir until wilted. Let soup sit for 2-3 minutes to thicken.
  8. Serve with crusty bread and enjoy!

Banana Muffins

Ingredients

  • 3 large ripe bananas
  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 cup oil (vegetable oil is best)
  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line your muffin tin with 12 paper muffin cups.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas with a fork until no large pieces remain.
  3. Add the sugar, egg and oil and mix with a wooden spoon until everything is incorporated.
  4. Measure the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a separate mixing bowl and stir them together with a fork. Once they’re mixed together, dump the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
  5. Using a wooden spoon, carefully mix the wet and the dry ingredients together. The danger here is over-mixing which will result in dense, flat and dry muffins. The best technique for mixing is to scoop underneath the mixture and pull up gently instead of stirring around in a circle (like you’d stir your coffee, for example). Continue mixing this way just until the dry ingredients have been incorporated. It’s fine if there are a few small streaks of flour in the batter; it’s the large pockets of flour you want to make sure are incorporated.
  6. Spoon the batter into 12 lined muffin cups. Try your best to ensure you fill the cups evenly. This will ensure each of the muffins is finished baking at the same time (you don’t want some over-baked and some raw in the middle!)
  7. Bake the muffins in the oven at 350 degrees for about 23 minutes (anywhere from 22-25 minutes, depending on your oven), or until they are golden brown.
  8. Let them cool in the tins for about 5 minutes and then turn them out of the tins to let them cool completely on a cooling rack. Or, enjoy one warm from the oven slathered in butter.