EAT + DRINK

My Instant Pot has changed the way I cook

For the longest time I have been meaning to post again about my Instant Pot, but I use it at night and the pictures I take in the kitchen are so crap!

So I’m totally cheating here by showing you some helluva moreish food pics from Delish – but guess what – every single one of these dishes was made in an instant pot! Can you believe it?!

So my go-to recipe lately is the chicken ramen (minus the egg).
I was obsessed with Wagamama when I lived in London and crave ramen soup so often it’s crazy, so when I discovered this instant pot recipe on the Number 2 Pencil blog, I tried it.

And voila, dream come true.

I ‘ve adapted it a bit – can’t be assed to shred the chicken once it’s cooked, so I just use sliced chicken breasts from the get-go. My adapted recipe is below, but what this post is really about is the Instant Pot – it’s a total game changer HONESTLY – and has made cooking so much easier.

If you’ve wondered about buying one, do so and this week is the best time to do so as they are on special on Takealot (no I wasn’t paid to say so)

I do want to try the salted caramel cheesecake – has anyone baked in their instant pot yet? What were the results like? I can just imagine a total mess doing this myself 😂

HERE’S THE RECIPE FOR CHICKEN RAMEN USING AN INSTANT POT:

Ramen Soup
Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 20 mins
Total Time 45 mins
Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 TBSP sesame oil
1 tsp ginger
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 big punnet of fresh mushrooms sliced
4 chicken breasts, sliced
2 TBSP soy sauce
8 cups water
Salt & freshly ground pepper
2 packets of Woolies ramen or rice vermicelli noodles
1 carrot, peeled & grated
1 handful baby spinach, shredded
Soft boiled egg – optional to garnish
Black or plain sesame seeds

Method:

To prepare soft boiled eggs:

Place trivet in Instant Pot and add 1/2 cup of water.

Place eggs in Instant Pot, locking lid in place and making sure pressure valve is set to sealing. Using Manual setting, set Instant Pot to High Pressure for 3 minutes.

Once 3 minutes is completed and Instant Pot beeps, Quick Release pressure and remove eggs as soon as the pressure pin drops.Place eggs in ice water bath until cooled.

To prepare soup:

Set Instant Pot to Saute function on normal heat. Heat sesame oil, garlic and ginger, for 1-2 minutes. Add sliced mushrooms, water, soy sauce, salt and pepper and then the chicken fillets to the pot.

Turn off Saute function, lock Instant Pot lid, set pressure valve to sealing and set Instant Pot to High Pressure for 20 minutes, via manual mode.

Instant Pot will take 15-20 minutes to come to pressure, then will countdown from 20 minutes. After 20 minutes at high pressure, Instant Pot will beep and switch to keep warm mode. Turn pressure release valve to Quick Release pressure.

Carefully open Instant Pot, keeping lid angled away from you to avoid very hot steam. Turn Instant Pot back to Saute function and let chicken broth come to a boil. Stir in noodles and let cook for about according to package directions.

Once noodles are cooked, stir in carrots and spinach. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with soft boiled egg and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.