Print Recipe

Moo Goo Gai Pan

The famous Chinese base.... You guessed it... In an Instapot
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time6 mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Chinese
Keyword: chicken, Chinese
Servings: 4 people

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, sliced or cubed. (I use breasts)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • ¾ cup chicken stock split in half
  • 1.5 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp dry sherry (or cooking sherry)
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 inch fresh ginger peeled and grated
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 large carrot peeled and thinly sliced
  • 8 oz button mushrooms (gross!) sliced
  • 1 cup snow peas
  • 8 oz bamboo shoots canned
  • 8 oz water chestnuts canned

Instructions

  • First, prepare the chicken thighs or breasts by cutting into chunks or sliced about 1/4 inch, chop all the vegetables, garlic and ginger as directed so everything is prepped. This cooks fast and we don't want your ass lagging behind.
  • Turn on the saute/browning function in your Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker and add the tbsp of olive oil to coat the bottom, use the 'adjust' button to turn it to the medium saute heat. When it reads HOT, saute the chicken pieces for ONLY 1 minute, then turn off the saute function.
  • Add HALF of the chicken stock (reserve the rest) to the inner pot along with the chicken pieces.
  • Lock the lid, turn the steam release vent to 'sealing' and using the manual setting, adjust it to cook for 1 minute at High Pressure.
  • While the chicken is cooking, mix together the remaining chicken broth, soy sauce, dry sherry and cornstarch. Keep it mixed, cornstarch is annoying and settles.
  • When the cook time time is up, allow the Instapot to reduce pressure on its own without opening the steam release vent (Natural Pressure Release) for about 7 minutes, then you can gently release the rest of the pressure by opening the vent.
  • Add the garlic and ginger, and the liquid into the pot and cook (use saute function) for 1 minute.
  • Add mushrooms (Icky) and carrots to the pot, cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Now, add the remaining vegetables and cook for 1 minute, serve hot over rice. (Typically I let it sit a few minutes and then turn it off and let it sit another few mins to thicken but that's me, do whatever the hell you want.) :)

Notes

This is a Chinese staple at American Chinese restaurants everywhere. This is the dish where all those fools steal gobs of chicken and piss off the cook. It's a great dish by itself but it is not full of spice. It's more or less Chinese comfort food. You can add pretty much whatever you want to it and it will work. I personally do not add mushrooms because as I mentioned, gross. I'm not your daddy, do what you want!