Thai-Inspired Mango-Chicken Salad – Instant Pot
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
I made this Thai-Inspired Mango Chicken Salad in the Instant Pot, after seeing mangoes at the Asian market. You can cook this chicken and dressing on the stove-top, too if you don’t own an Instant Pot or multi-cooker yet. Fortunately, my good friend, author Kristy Bernardo, sent me her newest cookbook Cooking from Frozen in Your Instant Pot.
Inspired by the success of her first cookbook Weeknight Cooking with Your Instant Pot, Kristy went a step further to provide more cooking convenience to home cooks like you and me. I never knew I could cook frozen meats in an Instant Pot, get immediate, fast results and achieve a delicious, wholesome meal in nearly half the time it would take. In her new cookbook, Kristy explained she knew how we all struggle with defrosting and cooking from frozen meat and vegetables and hope to have dinner on the table on time before the children start whining.
“Planning ahead to thaw something that morning or the night before doesn’t happen as often as we’d like. But the Instant Pot changes that.” Kristy was right. I myself have forgotten on many occasions to take out the meat before leaving for work so that I could cook right away as soon as I got home. This only happens in a perfect world.
Aside from being able to cook frozen chicken straight into the Instant Pot, I was attracted to the mango in the ingredients. If you know me, you know mangoes are my favorite fruit. It is the national fruit of the Philippines. I am delighted that mangoes are now available nearly all year long – whether fresh or frozen here in America. In the Philippines, mangoes are available longer than what used to be mango season from May to July. I plan to make this salad again which will go well with the range of flavors in Filipino food.
I found fresh, ripe mangoes at the Asian market this week. These were labeled Mexican mangoes and had a sweet, ripe tropical flavor. Inside, the mango was soft and golden yellow in color. I sliced the mangoes right away while the chicken was cooking in the Instant Pot. The boneless chicken breasts cooked fast. Once plated with the rest of the crisp salad vegetables and the fresh mango slices, the bowl looked like a magnificent torrent of colors. The rich, tangy and slightly spicy thick dressing of coconut milk and peanut butter plus seasonings completed the superb combination.
There are 100 recipes in this new cookbook which covers all the bases including juicy chicken, tender beef and succulent seafood. The author shares helpful tips with using an Instant Pot for frozen meals. I bookmarked several easy recipes which I plan to make soon here on this blog or share on my Instagram posts. Meanwhile, with this unique cookbook, let the author show you how you can pull meat directly from the freezer, pop it into your multi-cooker, press a button and sit down to an incredible homemade dinner in half the time it used to take.
Thai-Inspired Mango-Chicken Salad - Instant Pot
Equipment
- Instant Pot multi-cooker, 6 or 8 quart
Ingredients
- 2 whole large, fresh, ripe mangoes peeled, seeded, sliced in strips
- 1 pound boneless chicken breast about 2 large pieces, frozen
- 1 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk
- 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 Tablespoon yellow curry powder
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 Tablespoon juice of 1 whole piece fresh lime
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 cups thinly-shredded cabbage
- 1 whole red bell pepper, seeded, sliced in strips
- 1 large carrot, peeled, sliced
- 1/2 cup chopped peanuts, preferably unsalted
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 cup mango juice, canned, for water in the Instant Pot
Instructions
- Peel and slice fresh mangoes. Discard the pit. Keep the slices covered, set aside in the refrigerator till ready to add to salad. *Note: If uncovered, the ripe mango slices can turn brown.
- Mix the canned mango juice with 1 cup of water. Pour this in the inside pot of the Instant Pot.
- Place the frozen chicken breasts directly on the mango-water liquid in the inside pot.
- Close the lid of the Instant Pot. Lock it well. Set the valve to Sealing.
- Check the cooking pressure is on High.
- Press the Manual button on the keypad. Adjust the timer to 15 minutes.
- When cooking is done, do a Quick Release Pressure. Click Cancel to turn off the Instant Pot.
- Carefully open the lid.
- With a fork, pierce the chicken to check if completely cooked. Discard the liquid. Place the chicken on a chopping board and slice into strips. Set chicken aside.
- Use paper towels to wipe the inside pot dry. Press Saute.
- After 1 to 2 minutes, when inside pot has heated up, add the coconut milk, peanut butter, curry powder, lime juice and Sriracha to the inside. Season with salt and black pepper.
- Let this mixture for the dressing boil then simmer till it is reduced and thick. This will take about 8 minutes. Remove the dressing from the inside pot and pour into a bowl. Set it aside to cool.
- Arrange the salad vegetables in a bowl. Place the shredded cabbage at the bottom and sides of a salad bowl. Place on top the following: cooked chicken slices, mangoes, carrots, red bell peppers,and cilantro. Serve the dressing on the side or pour on the salad at table side. Sprinkle the chopped peanuts on the salad.
- To cook the chicken and dressing stove-top: If you don't own an Instant Pot or multi-cooker, you can still make this recipe with the same amount of ingredients. 1) Thaw the frozen chicken breasts at room temperature or defrost in the microwave. 2) When chicken has thawed, place in a medium-sized stockpot with a cup of mango juice and a cup of water. 3) Cover the chicken and bring to a boil. Then simmer for 20 to 25 minutes till completely cooked. 4) Slice chicken and set aside to cool. 5) Discard liquid from cooking chicken. Use the same stockpot to simmer together the dressing ingredients for about 10 minutes till sauce is reduced to a thick consistency. 6) Serve according to directions above.
- Cook's comments: In the cookbook recipe, the author added kale to the salad ingredients. I did not have it at the time I made this salad. Feel free to add kale or other leafy greens you prefer. Also, the author used frozen mangoes in her cookbook recipe. You can use frozen fruit if fresh mangoes are not available.Sriracha sauce, which is one of the ingredients used for the salad dressing, is a type of hot sauce or chili sauce made from a paste of chili peppers, vinegar, garlic, sugar, and salt. You can adjust the spice level according to your liking by adding or decreasing the amount indicated in the ingredient list.
- Quick Release: This is when you release the pressure instantly. Press Cancel on your Instant Pot and turn the Steam release handle on the lid to a Venting position. (From "Instant Filipino Recipes: My Mother's Traditional Philippine Food In a Multicooker Pot").
- About the Author: Kristy Bernardo is the author of Weeknight Cooking with Your Instant Pot and founder of the blog The Wicked Noodle. She has worked as a personal chef, teaches cooking classes, speaks at conferences, and appears on television.
- Disclosure: I was not paid to review or mention these cookbooks. The cookbooks were a gift by the author. But I will gladly recommend the cookbook Cooking From Frozen In your Instant Pot by Kristy Bernardo to all those who want more recipes for the Instant Pot or any multi-cooker.
- Hello, Friends! All the images and content on this blog are COPYRIGHT PROTECTED and owned by my media company Besa-Quirino LLC. This means BY LAW you are NOT allowed to copy, scrape, lift, frame, plagiarize or use my photos and recipe content I wrote, on your website,books, films, television shows or videos without my permission. If you want to republish this recipe or content on another website, video, news article,or media outlets mentioned above please ASK my permission, re-write it in your own words and simply link back to this blog to give proper attribution. It’s the legal thing to do. Thank you. Email me at [email protected]
Nutrition
Notes on Nutrition: The nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.
Did you like this recipe? I have more Filipino Instant Pot recipes in my newest cookbook Instant Filipino Recipes: My Mother’s Traditional Philippine Cooking in A Multicooker Pot by Elizabeth Ann Besa-Quirino. Buy my cookbooks and books on Amazon.com – sold worldwide in paperback and Kindle format.
Disclosure: Instant Pot is a registered trademark of the Instant Pot Company which is not associated with this blog. I was not paid to review or endorse the brand and products used.
