serves 4
Active time: 25 minutes – Start to finish: 1hr 15min
This recipe is from Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Fast and Slow. This was really, really really good. I served with jasmine rice and then wok’d baby bok choy with roasted peanut oil and fresh ginger.
note: this recipe is for a 6-quart Instant Pot.
Ingredients
- 2 TBL grapeseed or other neutral oil
- 4 medium shallots, halved and thinly sliced
- ground white pepper
- 3-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled, 1 tsp finely grated, the remainder cut into 3 pieces and smashed
- 8 medium garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
- 3 star anise pods
- 3 TBL packed brown sugar
- ⅓ cup low–sodium soy sauce ← this is key, must be low-sodium!
- 3 pounds boneless pork shoulder, trimmed and cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 TBL cornstarch
- Roughly chopped fresh cilantro, to serve
- serve with jasmine rice along with a steamed vegetable, such as baby bok choy
Directions
- To Start
- On a 6-quart Instant Pot, select Normal/Medium Sauté
- Add the oil and heat until shimmering
- Add the shallots and ½ tsp white pepper, then cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallots are golden brown, about 5 minutes
- Add the smashed ginger, garlic, star anise and sugar, then cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds
- Pour in the soy sauce and ⅓ cup water, scraping up any browned bits
- Add the pork, stir to combine, then distribute in an even layer
- Press Cancel, lock the lid of your Instant Pot in place and move the pressure valve to Sealing (my model auto-seals).
- Select Pressure Cook or Manual; make sure the pressure level is set to High.
- Set the cooking time for 25 minutes
- When pressure cooking is complete, let the pressure to reduce naturally for 15 minutes, then release the remaining steam by moving the pressure valve to Venting (my model has a steam release button)
- Press Cancel, then carefully open the pot.
- To Finish
- Using a large spoon, skim off and discard the fat from the surface of the cooking liquid, then remove and discard the star anise and ginger (I couldn’t find the ginger so I let it be)
- In a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch with ¼ cup of the cooking liquid until combined, then stir into the pot
- Select More/High Sauté and bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring constantly, then cook, stirring, until lightly thickened, about 1 minute
- Press Cancel to turn off the pot, then stir in the grated ginger
- Taste and season with white pepper ← IMO it didn’t need any
- Serve sprinkled with cilantro
| Recommended products | |
  | Here’s a link for ordering Milk Street Fast and Slow on Amazon. I gave the book a complete read through the day it arrived. Christopher does a fantastic job at explaining all the tricks to using an Instant Pot that I have yet to read anywhere else. |
  | I purchased the Instant Pot Duo Plus from Amazon in early December 2020. With all the cooking I’m doing now, I was looking for ways to create yummy meals that didn’t require as much supervision so that I could chill more in the evenings. |
  | The brand of roasted peanut oil that I had been using forever, stopped production during COVID. I discovered this brand on Amazon; it has a five star rating from over 900 consumers. |