After having the Instant Pot for a few days, I decided I’d try my hand at coming up with something on my own. I like chicken, and it’s a natural for the IP. The 2 attempts we’ve made with rice in the menu ended up with the rice a bit “mushy” for my taste, so I decided that chicken and rice would be a good choice to experiment and see if I can get the “rice added to food” process right.
Please Note – this being my very first “do it yourself” recipe, there’s a good chance it will change if I discover something didn’t work quite the way I wanted it to. For instance, both the other rice dishes we’ve done ended up with “mushy” rice, so I used 3/4 cup of liquid (for 1 cup of rice) on the first try with this. The rice was still a bit too mushy for me, so I changed it to 1/2 cup. My working theory is that the celery, carrots, and mushrooms add enough extra liquid to the mix to make up that other 1/2 cup. If you use the recipe with modified quantities, remember the Instant Pot requires at least 1/2vcup of liquid.
For the coating on the chicken, I used 2 packages (for 4 breasts) of Hidden Valley Original Ranch Salad Dressing & Mix. Over my wife’s strong objection, I added a very small amount of curry to the dressing, but Gini said she had to admit that it was great with the curry in it. Score one for the guy of the house!
I had planned to use jasmine rice, but my wife and I both like Zatarain’s Cilantro Lime Rice with other dishes. She asked me to use that, and it sounded good to me. If you choose plain rice instead, you may want to add some other herbs and spices to it.
I’m not a big vinegar fan, but I added a small amount of rice vinegar to the chicken broth to give it a all a little extra zing, and soy sauce instead of just using salt. I never use much salt, so you may decide to add a little.
As I said, this is subject to change as I experiment around. Please feel free to leave comments or suggestions if you see something that needs improvement.
Cashew Chicken & Rice W/Mushrooms
Equipment
- 1 Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
- 4 count Chicken Breast
- 1 cup Seasoned Rice I use Zatarain's Cilantro Lime Rice. If you use a plan rice, you will likely want to add other spices and flavorings.
- 1 cup Carrots Sliced I prefer to use baby carrots.
- 1 cup Celery Diced
- 1 cup Cashews Unsalted Be sure to use unsalted – Can substitute peanuts, almonds, walnuts, pecans, etc according to taste
- 1 cup Mushrooms Sliced
- 1 tbsp Oil I prefer olive oil
Coating Mix
- 2 oz Dry Ranch Dressing Mix I use Hidden Valley Original Ranch Salad Dressing & Mix. To spice things up, you may want to try their "Spicy Ranch"
- 1 tsp Curry
Liquid
- 4 tbsp Rice Vinegar
- 4 tbsp Soy Sauce
- ¼ cup Chicken Broth Use enough to bring total measured liquid to 1/2 cup for 4 chicken breasts
Instructions
Mix the Liquid
- In a measuring cup, add the soy sauce and rice vinegar. Add enough chicken broth to bring the mix to 1/2 cup per 4 chicken breasts (1/8 cup per breast).
Prep the Chicken
- Set your Instant Pot to Saute, if you're a purist (I prefer to saute in a separate pan)
- While it's heating, mix the curry and ranch mix on a shallow plate. Coat the chicken breasts on each side with the mix.
- Saute both sides to sear the outside of the chicken.
- Set the chicken aside, and pour a small amount of the liquid mix in the bottom of the pot liner. Deglaze the bottom of the liner by using a flat wooden (or bamboo) spatula to scrape the cooked on pieces of coating. (This is important if you sauted the chicken in the InstantPot pan)
Mix the Rice and Veggies
- When the bottom is completely clear, add the rice, carrots, celery, cashews, and mushrooms. Mix thoroughly, and pour on the remaining liquid.
Add the Chicken
- Lay the chicken breasts on top of the rice and veggie mix.
Set the Instant Pot
- Cover with lid and set the lever to sealing position. Cook on manual high pressure 10 minutes with manual pressure release.