Instant Pot. Multi-function cooker (Part 2)

[Deryn]

Welcome to the eGullet IP 'club', Tere. I am sure you are going to love your new purchase!

[blue_dolphin]

A small disappointment.  A while back, I made this Lemon, Artichoke and Shrimp Risotto in the IP and it came out perfectly.  I decided to try it again, but scaling the recipe down by half.  The flavors were still good but it really should have had more liquid.  Last time, after releasing the pressure, there was still some liquid remaining to be absorbed, as the recipe said.  This time, it was not the case.  I didn't have more stock handy and I was hungry so I served it as is - lovely sweet shrimp, bright lemon zest, creamy rice  but as you can see in the photo, too thick for a proper risotto:

 

I was disappointed as my previous experiments cooking various amounts of rice with a constant rice:water ratio yielded good results.  However, when cooking the smaller volumes of rice, I used the pot-in-pot method and put the rice and water into a smaller dish inside the IP.  Since I needed to use the sauté function for a risotto, I couldn't do that so maybe the larger surface area:volume ratio had an effect.  Or maybe I just screwed up in measuring something!  

[Shelby]

Looks delicious to me, Blue_dolphin!

[palo]

CDNs : Amazon.ca Instantpot Deal: $99.99

 

http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0073GIN08?ref_=gbps_tit_s-3_7282_52e73fd3&smid=A3DWYIK6Y9EEQB

 

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[Anna N]

 

New England style clam chowder made in the Instant Pot (recipe on the hip pressure cooking site-- I cut the recipe in half). 

[Tere]

I, uh, got it out of its box and did the water test thingie?

 

I also realised that my old pressure cooker had been broken in forever, probably since I got it 25 years ago. I suppose that teaches me for only digging it out for the occasional soup! *ashamed*

 

I have lots of tarragon so was thinking of some kind of braised partridge and tarragon on Friday night. I have leeks to use up and was thinking some mushrooms would be nice. I don't know whether to use the slow cook function or the pressure cook function. I did find a recipe for braised quail on the hip cooking site that looked vaguely adaptable.

 

 

[Deryn]

That chowdah recipe looks delicious, Anna. Just the thing for a cold winter's day. Wish I could run right over to 'borrow a cup'. I could use the variety today.

 

I am trying to eat up a sort of chicken soup concoction I made 3 days ago in the IP ... which now looks more like a stew - and getting more than a bit bored with it. The only good thing about this 'soup' of mine is that it doesn't contain a bit of salt (other than what might have been in the meat or otherwise naturally occurring in the vegetables I guess) but I can't tell at all. It started out as a sort of thai dish - but the store was out of ground pork so I tried to use ground (dark meat) turkey - and the taste was awful. So I loaded part of that back in the IP and tried to drown it in chicken broth (along with adding a bit of chicken breast meat) and kept adding more and more ingredients (baby bok choy, carrots, garlic, red and thai peppers, ginger, stalks of lemongrass, black vinegar, green onions, fish sauce, mushrooms, sriracha, even a bit of turmeric - for the health giving qualities - and black pepper - because of the turmeric mostly) and a bit of rice. Hit the soup button and voila, soup I found palatable - and it still is, 3 days later - but it is time for a change, even though I do feel virtuous.

Edited February 15, 2016 by Deryn (log)

[Tere]

I resurrected massaman with a hearty glug of umami and a lot of fish sauce, good luck!

[Shelby]

13 minutes ago, Tere said:

I resurrected massaman with a hearty glug of umami and a lot of fish sauce, good luck!

I had to google massaman.  It's a curry?  I'm sure you did a great job  

[kayb]

Reason No. 1,032 why I love my Instant Pot: I decided I wanted vegetable soup at 4:45 p.m., and less than an hour later, I had vegetable soup.

[Tere]

8 hours ago, Shelby said:

I had to google massaman.  It's a curry?  I'm sure you did a great job  

 

Yeah, it's a slow cook Thai / Malay thing. I was using the recipe from our local Thai restaurant. Even when I get the coconut proportions right (I had creamed coconut but not coconut cream and had to improvise) it's a bit too peanutty and coconutty for me really. But my husband loves it. There's a nice looking recipe for it in the eGullet archives if you are interested

[Deryn]

I am not a big massaman curry fan myself. For some reason, aside from the fact it is often a bit sweet for my tastes, I don't care for potatoes with coconut. Not sure why but I have never found a massaman that tickled my tastebuds.

 

Now, beef rendang is a different story - and I have been scouring the internet trying to figure out if I could adapt a recipe to use in the IP (when/if I am lucky enough to have all the right ingredients at my fingertips at the same time). It is a 'dry curry' however - and requires long slow cooking - so I guess, if I use the IP, I should use its slow cook function. I hope I have the patience to wait that long - I have been so spoiled lately by fast cooking almost everything. I have made a version (which I know is not 'authentic' but it is delicious) in my Thermomix - but that is hardly 'instant' either.

Edited February 16, 2016 by Deryn (log)

[Tere]

OK, I think I know what I'm doing with it this weekend.

 

Partridge with lemon and tarragon loosely based on this https://www.facebook.com/groups/InstantPotCommunity/search/?query=%22Mark%20Johnson%22%20tarragon%20chicken but with the cooking time similar to this quail recipe but probably a minute or two longer? http://www.hippressurecooking.com/braised-quail-on-fennel-carrot-salad-nest-pressure-cooker-recipe/

 

Then probably a chili on Sunday. I think I will try this recipe http://www.hippressurecooking.com/book-review-pressure-cooker-by-australian-womens-weekly/ but possibly put in a touch of cocoa powder, I like that idea from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/192357/pressure-cooker-chili/. I might also try the quick-soaking bean method from http://www.hippressurecooking.com/cannellini-and-mint-bean-salad-lesson-4-quick-soaking-beans/. It's been ages since I've made chili con carne and that seems to be a reasonable workout

[kbjesq]

This IP really has my respect.  I use it so much that it never has time to go back into the cupboard.  Yesterday, I made soft boiled eggs for breakfast, made rice for dog food, took a whole frozen chicken and cooked it from frozen for the dog food (saved the breast meat for chicken salad, used broth and everything else for the dog food), threw this week's miscellaneous vegetable remnants into the pot with some canned tomatoes for @Shelby 's "cabbage soup"-- all before lunchtime.  Late in the afternoon, I cooked some lentils for "meatless meatballs", made a mixture of cooked multi-color peppers, onions, garlic, black beans, corn etc. for burrito filling, made some applesauce, and finally ended up steaming some fresh broccoli for dinner.  I've got yogurt working in it now.  

 

ETA:  I forgot that I also steamed potatoes yesterday afternoon for potato salad.

 

It really is a remarkable product and unlike so many other "gadgets" that I've purchased over the years, I use it several times per day.  It's so easy to use as well as easy to clean. Maybe I can get a job as a paid spokesperson?

Edited February 17, 2016 by kbjesq
add more details (log)

[kayb]

RG alubia blanco beans in ham stock, through with the pressure cook and over to low on the slow cooker side, as we speak. Need to make some cornbread.

[Deryn]

9 hours ago, kbjesq said:

This IP really has my respect.  I use it so much that it never has time to go back into the cupboard.  Yesterday, I made soft boiled eggs for breakfast, made rice for dog food, took a whole frozen chicken and cooked it from frozen for the dog food (saved the breast meat for chicken salad, used broth and everything else for the dog food), threw this week's miscellaneous vegetable remnants into the pot with some canned tomatoes for @Shelby 's "cabbage soup"-- all before lunchtime.  Late in the afternoon, I cooked some lentils for "meatless meatballs", made a mixture of cooked multi-color peppers, onions, garlic, black beans, corn etc. for burrito filling, made some applesauce, and finally ended up steaming some fresh broccoli for dinner.  I've got yogurt working in it now.  

 

ETA:  I forgot that I also steamed potatoes yesterday afternoon for potato salad.

 

It really is a remarkable product and unlike so many other "gadgets" that I've purchased over the years, I use it several times per day.  It's so easy to use as well as easy to clean. Maybe I can get a job as a paid spokesperson?

 

 

I agree wholeheartedly, kbjesq. Even though I am alone, it also gets an inordinate amount of use in this house too - usually at least once a day. And it has saved my hide a few times when I didn't get to the store for fresh chickens for my dog (who eats a whole one, minus the bones, a day) - and had to dig into the freezer for a whole frozen one and quickly make a dog's dinner in a hurry.

 

I have a kitchen full of gadgets and this is the first time I have seriously considered intentionally buying more than one of the same kind (or at the very least, another insert so I can use it sequentially without having to clean out in between uses).

[kbjesq]

19 minutes ago, Deryn said:

 

I agree wholeheartedly, kbjesq. Even though I am alone, it also gets an inordinate amount of use in this house too - usually at least once a day. And it has saved my hide a few times when I didn't get to the store for fresh chickens for my dog (who eats a whole one, minus the bones, a day) - and had to dig into the freezer for a whole frozen one and quickly make a dog's dinner in a hurry.

 

I have a kitchen full of gadgets and this is the first time I have seriously considered intentionally buying more than one of the same kind (or at the very least, another insert so I can use it sequentially without having to clean out in between uses).

Getting a second stainless liner sounds like a great idea. Although if they go on sale again at Amazon, I would be sorely tempted to buy a second IP. I'm in the mood to place an order for Rancho Gordo dried beans, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the IP works with those. 

This evening I made macaroni and cheese from an online recipe and it worked very well. It's renewed my enthusiasm for exploring new recipes and cooking techniques. 

[Tere]

I will hold my hand up and say I bought every kind of dried bean, split pea and lentil in the world in my online shop today

 

[kbjesq]

17 hours ago, Tere said:

I will hold my hand up and say I bought every kind of dried bean, split pea and lentil in the world in my online shop today

 

 

@Tere please let us know what you ordered and when you cook them in the IP, tell us which setting that you used and for how long, etc.  I'm asking this because although the "soup" button is pure magic, the "poultry" button waaaaaaay overcooks poultry (in my experience).  I haven't tried the "bean/stew" function but I did cook plain, brown lentils with great success using low pressure and 7 minutes of cooking time, quick release.  I cooked them in a salted vegetable broth and they came out perfectly.  Tender but still intact -- they were not all blown out (which is how my lentils usually end up).  Looking online for cooking method/times for dried beans and the IP, I have found a wide range of recommendations.  

 

 

[kayb]

I did RG alubia Blanco in ham stock last night. 45 minutes, then let it switch over to slow cook for a couple of hours until it was time to eat. I'd soaked them for about 6 hours. Perfect.

[AnneN]

I've done Rancho Gordo pinto beans for 36 minutes on manual, unsoaked with NPR. They come out firm and hold their shape. I like the texture.

[Anna N]

Butter beans soaked for eight hours then 3 cups water to 1 cup beans and three minutes high-pressure with slow release. 

[Anna N]

Just made approx. 10 cups of cauliflower soup for my daughter.  Very simple prep, 15 mins cook time in Instant Pot.   No photo because cauliflower soup is just boring to look at.

 

 Washed out the liner and it is now filled with beets. 

[Anna N]

The beets were somewhere between racquetball and tennis ball size.  They were also not as fresh as one might wish (sort of elderly like me ).  I checked a few timing charts which suggested 15 minutes but at the 15 minute mark these were obviously not sufficiently cooked. I put the lid back on, added another 10 minutes  and they were fine.  Still 25 minutes is considerably faster then the one and a half to two hours I have faced in the past when doing them in a sauce pan on the stove.  

 

 

[lindag]

I also always cooks my beets in a PC.  It takes a bit of guesswork to determine the timing based on age and size but I l-o-v-e beets and have gotten pretty good at getting the timing right.