Mongolian Chicken in the Instant Pot

Mongolian chicken is a quick and easy Instant Pot recipe with a sweet and savory sauce that is best served over rice or cauliflower rice. The finished dish can be as spicy or as mild as you like, and it is suitable for paleo, keto, gluten-free, and low carb diets.

What is Mongolian chicken?

The restaurant chain PF Chang's sells a famous Mongolian beef recipe that is sweet, salty, spicy, and smothered in a delicious sauce that's amazing over rice. I don't eat much beef these days, and the closest PF Chang's is an hour from me, so I recreated the recipe with chicken and made it at home.

The original dish is fried crispy. Obviously, it's hard to fry the meat crispy and simultaneously make it a quick and easy and healthy weeknight meal, so I recreated the sauce with a sugar substitute and sautéed the chicken right in the Instant Pot to crisp it up a bit (although it's not going to be as crispy as the original which is fried in oil).

What is the Instant Pot?

I don't think you could be a living, breathing, internet-browsing human and not know what the Instant Pot is, but just in case you've somehow missed it, let me explain it to you.

The Instant Pot is an electronic pressure cooker that allows home cooks to prepare meals in a fraction of the time it would take to bake or broil the same foods. The chicken for this curry, for example, is done in less than 10 minutes plus an additional 10 to thicken the sauce. The whole thing is done right in the Instant Pot, so it's a simple and easy one-pot meal.

In addition to being a pressure cooker, the Instant Pot has other functions, like sauté, slow cooker, yogurt, chili, and rice. Some, like the one I linked above, can also bake cakes and keep foods warm. Instant Pots are pretty much the fairy godmothers of the kitchen.

Mongolian Chicken in the Instant Pot

Mongolian chicken is a quick and easy Instant Pot recipe with a sweet and savory sauce that is best served over rice or cauliflower rice. The finished dish can be as spicy or as mild as you like, and it is suitable for paleo, keto, gluten-free, and low carb diets.

5 from 2 votes

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Course Gluten-free, Main Course, Main Dish

Cuisine Chinese

Servings 8 people

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs cut into small pieces
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ cup Splenda or Stevia or use an equal amount of sugar
• 4 cloves garlic pressed with a garlic press
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger minced
• ¼ cup soy sauce We use La Choy brand Low Sodium because it's gluten free and cuts down on the saltiness factor. (I don't like very salty foods.)
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

To thicken the sauce

• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• ¼ cup water

Instructions

 

• Add oil to pot. Use the sauté function to brown the chicken until golden. Deglaze the pot by adding 1 cup water and scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon to dislodge all the flavorful brown bits.
• Add the remaining ingredients except thickener and stir until well combined.
• Cook at high pressure for 10 to 15 minutes then do a natural release. (Breasts need a little less time, and thighs need a little more time.)
• Select the sauté function on low.
• In a medium bowl, combine cornstarch with ¼ cup of water. Add this to the pot and gently stir to combine. Cook a few minutes until the sauce thickens.

Notes

I serve this chicken with steamed or sautéed snow peas. It would also be delicious with broccoli or asparagus. PF Chang's serves the original with long slices of green onion tops as well.

The sugar or sugar substitute balances the saltiness of the soy sauce. If you adjust the amount of sugar, you will probably also need to adjust the soy sauce similarly to avoid one or the other flavor from becoming overwhelming.

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