1. Place the rice in a strainer over a large bowl. Run cold water over the rice until the rinsed water in the bowl runs clear (the goal is to wash away all of the impurities and starch on the rice). Once your rice is thoroughly cleaned, use a 2 to 1 ratio for steaming the rice: 1 cup of rice to 2 cups of water. Follow the instructions right on your Instant Pot for preparing rice—it couldn’t be any easier!

2. Once your rice is cooked, remove it from the Instant Pot and set it aside at room temperature until ready to serve.

3. Set your Instant Pot to sauté and drizzle the bottom with oil, as you would when cooking in a wok. Lightly dust the cubed chicken in the cornstarch and season with salt and pepper to taste. Shake off any excess, then immediately transfer the chicken straight into the hot Instant Pot.

4. Let the chicken brown without moving it around much for about 1 minute, then stir the chicken to evenly brown it on all sides. It’s OK and expected if the chicken is sticking a little bit—this helps create fond on the bottom of the pot that will add more flavor to the dish later.

5. When the chicken is about 80% cooked through, remove it from the Instant Pot and set it aside. Add the onion, carrot, and bell pepper to the pot. Sauté, allowing the moisture from the vegetables to help deglaze the bottom of the pot.

6. Add the chicken broth and broccoli to the pot. Cook, allowing everything to steam, until the liquid begins to reduce and the broccoli is slightly tender, 1-2 minutes. At this time, you can use a microplane or cheese grater to finely grate or mince the garlic and the ginger straight into the pot if you haven’t already done so for ultimate freshness.

7. While everything cooks, in a separate large bowl, mix together the soy sauce, honey, vinegar, and sesame oil to create a slightly viscous, syrupy sauce.

8. Once the garlic and ginger have cooked for about 1 minute, add the sauce to the pot. This will help prevent any browned bits on the bottom of the pot from burning. Cook, stirring, until the liquid begins to bubble and thicken, about 2 minutes.

9. Return the chicken to the pot, stir everything together, and cook until the chicken is completely cooked through and the sauce is thickened and coats everything.

10. To serve, pile the warm rice into bowls, then top with as much of the stir-fry as you’d like. Spoon over extra sauce from the pot and sprinkle with some of the toasted sesame seeds and green onions. Enjoy!

Pasta Fagioli

Ingredients

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