Instant Pot sesame chicken

5 from 62 votes

Dump and start Instant Pot sesame chicken cooked in a rich honey soy sauce. This Chinese-American classic is made so easy in the Instant Pot, perfect for a busy mid-week dinner and definitely much better than a take-out!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Chinese

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

For the IP to come to pressure 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings

Calories 418kcal

Author Diana

Equipment

Instant Pot

Ingredients

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-size or 1-inch pieces
½ cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 cloves garlic minced
1 inch ginger peeled and grated
¼ cup ketchup
1 teaspoon hot sauce or sriracha
¼ cup honey or brown sugar
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon sesame seeds to garnish
chopped green onion to garnish

Instructions

Add the chicken to the Instant Pot, followed by soy sauce, garlic, ginger, ketchup, and hot sauce or sriracha. Give everything a quick stir.
Cover the pot with the lid, and make sure that the valve is in sealing position. Press on MANUAL or PRESSURE COOK (this depends on which Instant Pot do you have), and cook on high for 3 minutes.
Allow the Instant Pot to come to pressure, and count down to when it beeps, quickly release the steam by turning the vent to RELEASE position and make sure that it's not close to your face as the steam will be really hot.
Carefully remove the lid, and press on the SAUTE setting. Add the honey (or brown sugar), sesame oil, and make the cornstarch slurry.
To make the slurry, combine 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water. Add it to the sauce, and stir with a wooden spoon until the sauce thickens. Switch off the saute setting.
Serve over rice, and garnish with chopped green onions and toasted sesame seeds.

Video

Notes

It's important to use low-sodium soy sauce in this recipe, as otherwise, your sauce might be too salty. If you only have regular soy sauce, use ¼ cup of soy sauce or tamari, and ¼ cup of water.
Nutrition values are calculated per 1 portion of sesame chicken without rice (rough estimate). If you're following a specific diet or have a health condition, please make your own calculations and don't rely on our data.

Nutrition