Red Cooking is the Chinese technique of braising meat in soy sauce with rock sugar, spices, and aromatics. Traditionally, the meat was simmered for hours in a sand pot – which is actually made out of clay. But I’m going to speed things up by pressure cooking in my Instant Pot.

I substitute American grocery “international aisle” ingredients for their traditional Chinese counterparts. The traditional ingredients are in the notes section of the recipe. (Why? Because it’s fun to shop at an Asian market – I love making the trip. And, if I’m already there, why not pick up the authentic ingredients?)

That said, the “international aisle” version of this recipe is very close to the real thing, and I don’t make a special trip just for these red cooked chicken thighs.

Video: Pressure Cooker Chinese Red Cooked Chicken Thighs (2:59)



Video: Pressure Coker Chinese Red Cooked Chicken Thighs [YouTube.com]

clock clock icon cutlery cutlery icon flag flag icon folder folder icon instagram instagram icon pinterest pinterest icon print print icon squares squares icon Pressure Cooker Chinese Red Cooked Chicken Thighs ★★★★★ 5 from 2 reviews Author: Mike Vrobel

Mike Vrobel Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 55 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Yield: 8 chicken thighs 1 x Print Recipe Pin Recipe Description Pressure Cooker Chinese Red Cooked Chicken Thighs. Chicken thighs simmered in soy sauce, sped up by my pressure cooker. Scale 1x 2x 3x Ingredients 1/2 cup soy sauce

soy sauce 1/4 cup water

water 1/4 cup raw sugar or brown sugar

raw sugar or brown sugar 1 tablespoon dry sherry

dry sherry 1/2 teaspoon five-spice powder

five-spice powder 2 cloves garlic, crushed

cloves garlic, crushed 1 -inch piece of ginger, crushed

-inch piece of ginger, crushed White part of 2 scallions, roots trimmed, crushed

8 chicken thighs (about 3 pounds)

chicken thighs (about pounds) 2 tablespoons cornstarch

cornstarch 1/4 cup water

water Green part of 2 scallions, sliced Instructions Make the sauce: In a small bowl, whisk the soy sauce, 1/4 cup water, raw sugar, dry sherry, and five-spice powder until the sugar starts to dissolve. Stir in the crushed garlic, ginger, and scallions. Peel the skin from the chicken thighs: Remove the skin from the chicken thighs. It will stick on one side – pull hard, or use a knife to cut it away from the meat. Everything in the pot: Put the chicken thighs in the pot, and pour the sauce over them. Turn the thighs to coat with sauce, then pack them down to submerge them in the sauce as much as possible. Lock the lid on the pressure cooker. Pressure cook for 25 minutes with a natural pressure release: Pressure cook on high pressure for 25 minutes in an electric PC or 20 minutes in a stovetop PC, then let the pressure come down naturally, about 20 minutes more. Thicken the sauce and serve: Scoop the chicken thighs to a platter with a slotted spoon, leaving as much of the sauce behind as possible. With the lid off of the pot, set the pressure cooker to sauté mode (medium heat on the stovetop). Scoop the solid pieces of garlic, ginger, and scallion out of the sauce with a slotted spoon, then wait for the sauce to start to simmer. Whisk the cornstarch and 1/4 cup water to make a cornstarch slurry. Whisk the cornstarch slurry into the simmering sauce, then remove from the heat. Ladle some sauce over the platter of chicken, sprinkle with the sliced green onion, and serve. Notes Raw sugar is also known as turbinado sugar, or demerra sugar.

For a more traditional version of the recipe: replace 2 tablespoons of the soy sauce with dark soy sauce, substitute Shaoxing wine (Chinese cooking wine) for the dry sherry, and rock sugar for the raw sugar. Tools 6 quart or larger pressure cooker (I love my Instant Pot electric pressure cooker)

Flat edged wooden spoon Category: Weeknight Dinner

Method: Pressure Cooker

Cuisine: Chinese

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

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