Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Hoisin Chicken

Pressure Cooker hoisin chicken with thighs and a sweet sauce is an easy meal your whole family will love! In just 5 minutes you too can have this perfect dinner ready to serve in your Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Crock Pot Express tonight! 

Ninja Foodi Hoisin Chicken Recipe

We’ve made this pressure cooker Asian chicken in our Ninja Foodi too. With that pot you use the lid that is not attached to get it tender. It doesn’t matter what brand you have, Crock Pot Express machines would the same as well. As long as yours has the high pressure function it won’t matter at all.

If you have had this at your local Asian restaurant, it is quite easy to make it at home as well. You just need a bottle of hoisin which you can find at your local grocery store, or online, and the rest you likely have right at home. We will walk you thru step by step below. 😉

What is hoisin sauce made of?

It’s composed of starches such as sweet potato, wheat and rice. Some sugar, soybeans, white vinegar, salt and garlic are in it too.

What does hoisin taste like?

For the most part it is a sweet, thick, sticky sauce that is delicious no matter what you put it on. A bit like teriyaki and soy sauce combined. Seriously. Here’s a peek at what I had on hand and threw in the pot. 

Instant Pot Hoisin Chicken

1. Pressure cooker
   1. If you have an Instant Pot I HIGHLY suggest you get a non stick pot
2. Chicken – I used boneless, skinless, chicken thighs – you could use chicken breasts as well but thighs are cheaper and more tender
3. Hoisin sauce – duhhhh
4. Brown sugar bring a rich sweetness to the meat
5. Soy sauce or amino acids can be used
6. Onion diced up gives it flavor and texture
7. Minced garlic is used for all the things
8. Green onions are optional but traditionally used
9. Worcestershire sauce brings a savory element to it
10. Honey will make it sweeter and sticky
11. 1/2 cup Chicken broth is better than water
12. Cornstarch is used to thicken the sauce at the end, arrowroot is a gluten-free option

You could make this with thighs left whole in a few extra minutes. I like to cut into small chunks though instead like our Instant Pot black pepper chicken because it allows the meat to cook more quickly and evenly. Also there isn’t any slicing when done.

with frozen chicken thighs

If you wanted to start with meat that was right out of your freezer you could. You would need to use the cook time in our Instant Pot frozen chicken thighs post but use the sauce combination explained here instead of just water or broth.

This is a great recipe because you can serve it over Instant Pot white rice, brown rice or put it inside small tortillas with some cabbage and white sauce.

What can I substitute for hoisin sauce?

Try this:

• If you don’t have this non stick pot yet and you have an Instant Pot I suggest that you do.
  • It will avoid any false burn notices from appearing with all recipes.
• 1 c. thick barbecue sauce
• 3 tbsp. molasses
• 4 tsp soy sauce
• 4 tsp yeast extract
• 2 1/2 tsp Chinese five-spice powder

Here’s how to make this:

Easy Hoisin Chicken Recipe

1. First, cut up your chicken into bite size pieces. I prefer to use thighs but you could use boneless skinless breasts if you prefer. I feel like chicken thighs come out more moist but it is personal preference really.
2. Whisk together your sauce in a bowl. It will not be smooth because of the minced garlic but just ensure that the brown sugar dissolves and the honey isn’t one big clump.
3. Slice your onion into thick pieces. They will soften quite a bit so if you dice them small they may disappear once you cook it all together.
4. Put your chicken, onions, and sauce into your pot.  Adding green onions now is optional.
5. Use pressure cooker function to cook chicken in just 3 minutes!
6. Do a quick release. Do not naturally release as chicken will overcook and become a bit dry. Turn your pot off so it doesn’t overheat. Then press the saute button so the sauce begins to boil.

How to thicken the sauce – After 3 minutes just do a quick release and turn the pot off. Then you can press the saute button. You can serve it as is but I prefer to thicken up the sauce. You can do this by sauteeing at the end so everything bubbles. Then whisk some of your hot liquid with your cornstarch until smooth and pour it in, stirring.

Just a few minutes after adding this it will thicken up nicely. Serve immediately over rice for best taste! I prefer dark meat when it comes to Instant Pot chicken recipes. This is why I say that.

Tips

I like to use dark meat because it comes out extra tender with them every time. Chicken thighs are SO cheap too. If you’re really on a budget this helps also since they aren’t as “desirable” to most. Purchasing them with the bone-in are even cheaper. Since you’re dicing it up you can buy either type.

The cooking time is literally 3 minutes once it reaches pressure! You don’t need to pre cook the chicken at all. It will cook perfectly tender in that short cook time using high pressure. Don’t add more time as the meat will dry out and that’s no good.

I know there isn’t a lot of liquid per say when you look at the ingredients. DON’T WORRY. When the chicken cooks it will release more chicken broth of sorts and it will be just fine.

Like I said, I would really recommend that you get this non stick pot. You can see mine here. Not only will it prevent the burn message from showing up, but it’s SO much easier to clean. It’s $20 well spent!

Pour this mixture in and in about 2 minutes it will thicken up nicely. Then serve over rice with some green onions on top! Pressure cooking makes it all happen in 30 minutes including prep time and all. We love it!!

What else can you use hoisin sauce for?

• We use it in our spicy teriyaki chicken thighs and if you love heat this is a winner
• Our Instant Pot sesame chicken is always a huge hit
• Or make our pressure cooker cashew chicken with it.

Make this easy Instant Pot teriyaki chicken. It is super easy with only a few simple ingredients.

• This stir fry is a great dinner choice too.
• This and others are listed on our Instant Pot kids recipes roundup
• Our pressure cooker chicken and rice is very popular
• Cheesy chili mac is a favorite amongst us
• Asian chicken wings and all other Ninja Foodi chicken recipes are great too

Here are some more easy Ninja Foodi chicken recipes?

You can make this in any pressure cooker brand including the 3 I have as well as the Mealthy.