More Instalove

So as I mentioned last time, I bought an InstaPot.  The thing is incredible.  And a tad scary, so I decided that I would make all of our meals in the InstaPot for the first two weeks, at least.

I am in love.

It's miraculous, truly.  I'm pretty good at planning meals but with the InstaPot, you really can throw a meal together in no time.  It's wild.  I made spaghetti and meatballs and the entire prep time, including making the meatballs and cooking the pasta and the sauce, was about 20 minutes.  Total.  You sear the meatballs then basically throw the raw pasta and the ingredients of spaghetti sauce in the pot and close the lid, set the timer and say a prayer then, voila, you have cooked pasta and a yummy sauce and meatballs 12 minutes later.

I've made pork fried rice, sweet potato and kale soup, sausage & peppers - all with a max prep time of 20 minutes.  Hard boiled eggs are perfect in 6 minutes - you just set the timer and walk away.  Sweet potatoes are glorious in 10 minutes.   Rice is a snap - there's a rice setting and you throw all the stuff in, set the lid and it is perfect. Every time.   It's bizarre.   How does it do that, exactly?

According to the website, Fastcooking.ca
Pressure-cooking is a cooking method that uses steam sealed in a pressure cooker, which is a special airtight cooking pot.  Sealing a liquid such as water, wine, stock or broth in a pressure cooker traps the vapour that rises from the liquid.  This in turn raises the pressure inside the pressure cooker along with the maximum temperature that the liquid can reach.  The increased temperature and pressure significantly speed up the cooking process.  The pressure infuses the hot steam into the food.  Pressure-cooking can cook foods in 1/3 the ordinary time on average and often over 10 times faster.  Compared to a microwave, the food tastes considerably better and compared to slow cooker, only takes a fraction of the time.

Ohhhhhhh.  I get it. Kinda.  It's a miracle!  At least a cooking miracle.  and I love it.

To try out a recipe my friend Margie sent to me, we invited some of our favorite family peeps over.  I figured they'd be polite if it sucked.  Plus, we love Cal & Rob. 

Cal is my first-cousin-once-removed.  IE, her mom Patti is my first cousin, and one of my favorite people on earth, AND a new grandmother!  Congrats, Mimi!!  But I digress. We are lucky enough to have Cal and her fantastic fella Rob over with some regularity.

Many Instapot recipes are awesome in their speed and simplicity - this is not one of those.  But we had a lovely night and what I, in no humility, thought was a killer meal.

Spicy Korean-style Pork Shoulder

This required some exotic ingredients, most of which I had on hand, some of which I had to buy.  Which is fine, because I want to make this meal every day for the rest of my life.  But I'll settle for weekly.

 

This is the rub for the pork:  garlic, brown sugar, chili flakes, salt & pepper.  Um, yum.

 

Smear it all over pork, then let it sit for a while. Then sear it in batches, then slow cook it for 7 hours or pressure cook it. For 90 minutes.  This is the miracle of the pressure cooker. 

While pork cooks, prepare barbecue sauce: In a small pot, warm peanut oil over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger, and sauté until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Cook until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Set sauce aside. (It can be made up to 1 week ahead and stored in the refrigerator.)

After you're done with the sauce, prepare your cucumber salad. 

 

Let it marinate for at least 30 minutes.

When the pork is done, let it cool then shred it and lay it on a lined baking sheet.

 Mix in the bbq sauce and a couple tablespoons of cooking liquid. 

Broil it for a couple minutes to crisp it up, then serve on slider buns w/ the cucumber salad &  chips.  Really yummy.

 

 And then? Invite your first cousin-once-removed and her adorable boyfriend and have yourselves a feast!

Pressure Cooker Spicy Pork Shoulder

by Melissa Clark

For the pork:

• 5 garlic cloves, grated on a Microplane or minced
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar or honey
• 1 tablespoon Korean chile flakes (gochugaru) or other chile flakes (Maras, Aleppo or crushed red pepper)
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt, more to taste
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 5 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into two or three pieces

For the sauce:

• 1 tablespoon peanut oil
• 4 garlic cloves, grated on a Microplane
• 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger root
• ⅓ cup gochujang (Korean chile paste) or other chile paste or sauce such as Sriracha
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 2 tablespoons mirin
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Asian fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

For the sesame pickled cucumbers:

• 6 Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced (or about 4 cups sliced cucumbers)
• 1 ½ tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ¼ cup thinly sliced red onion
• 2 teaspoons sesame seeds

For serving:

• Cooked rice or toasted slider rolls
• Kimchi (optional)

Preparation

1. To prepare pork, combine garlic, brown sugar, chile flakes, salt and pepper. Rub marinade all over pork. If you have time, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour to up to 24 hours. Otherwise, proceed with recipe.
2. Set electric pressure cooker to sauté (or use a large skillet). Add pork in batches and sear until browned all over, about 2 minutes per side. Add 3/4 cup water to pot (or to skillet to deglaze, then move to pot), cover, and set to cook for 90 minutes on high pressure. Or cook in a slow cooker for 5 to 7 hours until tender.
3. While pork cooks, prepare sauce: In a small pot, warm peanut oil over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger, and sauté until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Cook until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Set sauce aside. (It can be made up to 1 week ahead and stored in the refrigerator.)
4. Manually release steam. Let pork cool until you can handle it, then shred it into bite-size pieces. Pork can be made to this point up to 3 days ahead.
5. While pork cools, strain liquid from bottom of pot. Pour off fat (or chill liquid, then scoop off solidified fat with a spoon). Reserve.
6. Prepare cucumbers: In a small bowl, combine all ingredients except sesame seeds, and let sit, tossing one or twice, for at least 20 minutes. Stir in sesame seeds.
7. When ready to serve, heat broiler. Toss pork with sauce and 1 to 2 tablespoons cooking liquid — just enough so pork is evenly coated but not wet or runny. Spread mixture on a rimmed baking sheet, and broil until crisped on top, 2 to 3 minutes; it will char in places, and that’s fine.
8. Serve pork over rice or on slider rolls, with cucumbers and kimchi, if desired.