This delicious Asian Sesame Instant Pot Chicken recipe is made in the pressure cooker for only 5 minutes. Perfect for a quick weeknight dinner idea.
Asian Sesame Instant Pot Chicken
Ever since I bought my instant pot, my life has changed. I can now literally whip up protein-rich dinners in minutes. I can eat tender beans without having them soak overnight, and when the oven is busy, it bakes some pretty mean cakes too.
This Asian Sesame Instant Pot Chicken will become your go-to weeknight meal because it takes minutes to make and all you need to serve it with is some white rice and a nice green salad. No browning before, no 1000 pans to clean, just one pot and that’s it.
The thick sweet and sour ginger sauce is what makes this chicken dish a winner. That’s the great thing about using Asian ingredients. Combine a few liquids and in seconds you achieve complex flavors.
If you’re not serving this to kids, add a few spoonfuls of Sriracha. The kick of spice would take the chicken to the next level. Also, if you’re not a fan or rice, some sesame noodles would go great with this chicken.
I don’t what it is, but serving dinner inside bowls makes them super comforting. A bowl of rice, chicken and chopsticks. What kid doesn’t love that? My girls have rigged ones with an elastic band on top.
Ever since school started, my life has been crazy with common core math, long homework assignments, and shlepping the kids to their after-school activities 4 days a week. Aside from work and home, who was time to come home and whip up a whole meal in minutes?
My pressure cooker is a life saver. I can’t say enough nice things about it. It even makes risotto super easy and quickly. What can I say? I’m sold.
I hope you can try this delicious Asian Sesame Instant Pot Chicken at home. If you do, please upload a pic on Instagram and tag me @Livingsweetmoments or use the hashtag #LivingSweet. I promise to repost it.
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 Teaspoon rice wine vinegar
- 1 Teaspoon minced ginger
- 2 chicken breasts diced
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 3 Tablespoons water
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combine all ingredients together in a bowl
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Place chicken inside pressure cooker
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Pour sauce over chicken
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Mix to combine
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Pressure cook for 5 minutes
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Release the pressure and press the saute button
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In a small bowl mix water and cornstarch together
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Add to the chicken
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Cook for 1-2 minutes or until sauce thickens
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Remove from pot and serve
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OPTIONAL: Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds
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Instant Pot Honey Balsamic Drumsticks
Looks delicious ! Great photos, too ! Thank you for solving one after work dinner !
Thank you so much!
Is this a quick release or NPR?
it’s quick release Jeri.
what setting do you cook at while thickening the sauce?
saute Krista
I just made this and it turned out delicious! It was super quick and easy. I used chicken thighs because that is what we had. There was plenty of sauce. (I wish I had added more thighs, but I only put in 4.) Served over rice. My husband and 15 month old both enjoyed it!
Thank you for you feedback Rachel! glad you and your family liked it!
I want to try this!
let me know how it comes out Nancy!
I thot that it wasn’t a good idea to put just sauce in the pot due to possibility of burning. Can this be done PIP?
Hi Diana! The sauce doesn’t burn don’t worry! I’ve made it many times before and it comes out great!
Is the cook time 5 minutes or 15 minutes?
Kaylee the cooking time is 5 minutes.Check step 6. Let me know how it comes out
Well, my picky 4 1/2 year old lived this. She asked for thirds…in her size serving that is. I also enjoyed it but my picky husband took 2 bites and was done. I am not sure what kind of Asian recipes he will like but I will keep looking. Thanks for a good recipe for 2 out of 3 of us!
Hi Kaylee! Thanks for your feedback! Glad your daughter liked it!
Do you use the manual setting or the poultry setting? And would I have to increase the time if I wanted to double or triple the recipe?
I always use the MANUAL setting Robyn. You do not need to increase the time when you double or triple a recipe. It will simply take longer for the IP to come to pressure. Cheers!
Has anyone tried this using the Poultry setting vs the manual setting? I can’T wait to try this!
Hi Tiffany! honestly, I’ve never used that button, I’ve always used manual. But I am sure it’ll work!
Is it okay to put the raw chicken in the sauce and leave in fridge until ready to cook later? I will make a second batch of sauce if I need to but I would rather not.
I wouldn’t recommend that Elena. Save them separately
I’m surfing recipes trying to decide if I should get one of these IP’s or not. My question is I thought everything could go in one pot but you don’t have the rice in it. Are you supposed to cook it separately?
Lynn
Hi Lynn, you can cook them together using the PIP method (pot in pot) – I dont since I cook a lot of rice once a week and leave it on the fridge to use during weekdays
If the chicken is frozen do you add more time?
Hi Clare! you don’t need to add time, it’ll simply take the IP longer to come to pressure
I thought you were always supposed to npr meat to avoid taking out the juices?
That would apply for big roasts and things like that. For cubed chicken and sauce there’s no need for NPR
I made this tonight and it was yummy! I cooked jasmine rice with it, pot in pot. It took 15 minutes to come to pressure and I cooked on manual for 6 minutes and did a 5 minute NPR since I was doing rice too. It was a tad bit too “tomato-ey” according to my husband so I’ll probably reduce the ketchup a little bit next time, but overall it was delicious!
Glad you liked it Kimberly! And thanks for the tip on the PIP Jasmine Rice – I’ll definitely try it next time!
Hi! I jusy got an Instant Pot for Christmas and want to try this recipe. Is the diced chicken raw or already cooked separately? Thank you!
Hi Cassidy! Welcome to the IP World! chicken is raw! it cooks right in the pot
I just got the IP and chose to make this as my first meal in it.
My 20 year old son said it was horrible, so horrible that he will just have to eat my portion to keep me safe! That was his humorous way of telling me it was soooo good.
My husband also liked it but I do think I will put in a bit less ketchup nec=xt time. It made a ton of sauce which we all loved! Thanks for sharing this recipe. This is going in my new IP recipe box!
Thanks so much for your feedback brandy! Glad your family liked it! I got scared for a minute when your son told you it was horrible 🙂
ketchup?
I don’t like ketchup, but I do like Asian Chicken…
Can you reassure me that this doesn’t end up tasting like ketchup?
also, I’ve never tried PNP… does the rice taste okay?
It doesn’t taste like ketchup promise! The ketchup just gives it a bit of sweetness and color.
For the rice I didn’t use the PNP. I just cook a big batch a week and save in the fridge to serve everyday.
I have a bag of frozen (steamable) Asian veggies, could I add that to the IP or just steam and then add at the end?
Jessica I recommend to add them AFTER you do the QPR. When the sauce thickens, add your frozen veggies, stir, cover and let it hang out (with the machine off) for about 3-4 minutes. Then remove the lid and stir.
My chicken is frozen whole. Can I cook the whole breast and dice after or do I need to thaw and dice before?
You can Sandra. Te texture is going to be a bit different
Made this last night. It was good and so quick and easy. I felt like it was a little salty after cooking so I added some sliced raw almonds to take away some of the saltiness. I also added some crushed red pepper. I will also add garlic next time.. I made white rice in the pot after the chicken and threw some frozen peas in with the rice after cooking for some color and texture. Thanks for the recipe! It’s so easily adaptable to personal preference . I’m a few weeks in with my new instant pot and every new recipe helps me learn more about my new favorite tool! 😊
Hi Nancy! thanks for your comment! Glad you liked the recipe and great suggestions to try in the future. Raw almonds and garlic would make a great addition
Prepping the chx now…wish me luck! 😊
let me know how it comes out Bruce!
I just made this for my weekly meal prep. It was so yummy! I added red peppers and snow peas on top. For some crunch.
Great additions Tamara! Broccoli would go well with the red pepper and snow peas. Thanks for your feedback
Just made this for a quick weeknight dinner and it is a new family fav! I think I’ll add cashews and some bell peppers next time to give it a little something extra.
Great idea on the cashews and bell peppers! thanks for your feedback!
Wondering if I could double it? If so how much do you think I should increase the time? TIA
No need to increase time for double quantity. It’ll simply take the IP longer to come to pressure
I always get confused when I see “2 chicken breasts” because people use the term differently. What some people call a chicken breast (the breast from just one side of the chicken) is what other people call a “half breast” (for them, “a chicken breast” means the whole breast from both sides of the body — which the other group would call “2 breasts.”)
Confusing! Could you let us know which version you mean? Or maybe give us a weight estimate?
Thanks. Looks delicious. Can’t wait to try.
Hi Robert. I completely understand. By chicken breast I mean a full breast, so 2 chicken breasts would be from both sides of the chicken, where it would feed 4 people. Hope that helps!
I made this last night and it was just ok. The sauce was good, but the chicken pieces had absolutely no flavor. I will need to season the chicken next time. I added broccoli at the end, cooked separately.
Thanks for your feedback Daniela. Input always helps to improve in future recipes. Have a great weekend!