Perfect gift for a homecook: the Instant Pot
After months of eyeing and wishing for the Instant Pot, I finally became the proud owner at Christmas last year!
Due to various things happening in the family, I was not able to test the pot until a couple of months later. The verdict?
I LOVE it! And now I can understand why many people swear by cooking in the Pot.
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From many pots to one
I have always had a pressure cooker (because my mom did too?), but mine was a traditional stove-top pressure cooker that was no longer cooking my food evenly. The seal hardened and probably didn’t seal the lid properly, but I didn’t want to ditch it until I got a replacement. And not until I tested my brand new Instant Pot…
There are many things I like about my new Pot such as the timer or the option to sauté food in the same pot. I was super excited about the multiple functions of the ‘miracle’ pot with a slowcooker, ricecooker, pressure cooker, yoghurt maker in one! Some of the features may never be used, but as long as I use my Instant Pot a couple of times a month it is all good. Did I mention that I also like the speed of cooking without overcooking the food? Yeah, I’m really happy with my Instant Pot!
Instant Pot recipes galore
The Pot came with a mini recipe book, but I’ve also been browsing the web to find tasty recipes. Unfortunately I didn’t find a lot of variety online (maybe I didn’t look in the right places), so I may have to get another cookbook (oh oh!).
Here are a few available on Amazon.
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Mom’s recipe
I found a few Asian recipes, but I like experimenting with my own flavors too. Using the basic Instant Pot cooking instructions for meat, I decided to use my mom’s ginger marinade this time. What could be more Asian than the combination of garlic, ginger and soy sauce? I’m gladly sharing the recipe below.
The pork ribs were deliciously tender, almost falling off the bone and oh so tasty!
Instant Pot Garlic-Ginger Spare Ribs
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp minced ginger
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt optional
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 1.5 lb pork spareribs
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup chopped green onion
Instructions
- I just read an article that it's not necessary, but I like to rinse my meat with lemon or lime juice before cooking (a family tradition). Squeeze out excess water (or pat dry) after rinsing.
- Make a marinade of garlic, ginger, soy, sugar, salt and sesame oil. Pour over the ribs and let stand for at least 1 hour before cooking.
- Set the Instant Pot to sauté and add the oil to heat. Add the ribs and brown a few minutes on both sides.
- Turn off and then switch to Pressure Cooking, setting the timer to 20 minutes. Pour water in the pot, cover and lock the lid to cook the ribs while you're working on your side dishes.
- Once the timer goes off, cancel the program and release the pressure. (Follow the manufacturer's instructions)
- Move the ribs to a serving dish and sprinkle with green onions.
Serve with rice and veggies or in my case, with mashed potatoes, sautéed asparagus and mushrooms, to have one delicious dinner!
Instant Pot accessories
I need to get some of these accessories too!
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