A rare beast tonight! With The Governess still unwell and me struggling away at the helm, we’re going to go straight to the recipe without a moment of delay. Enjoy!

This makes enough sticky sesame chicken for four people. This is known as General Tso’s chicken in America, if you’re curious. You can leave off the sesame seeds at the end if you absolutely must but they add a nice crunch!

to make instant pot sticky sesame chicken you will need:

• 4 big chicken breasts
• 6 tbsp rice vinegar
• 6 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp hoisin sauce (3 syns)
• 1 tbsp honey (2½ syns)
• 1 tbsp cornflour (1 syn)
• ¼ tsp ginger, minced
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• ¼ tsp red chilli flakes
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds (3 syns)
• 1 spring onion, thinly sliced

top tips for instant pot sticky sesame chicken:

• we used Musclefood chicken for this and you really can’t beat it – big, juicy and it doesn’t shrivel up when you cook it! We’ve got loads of deals for any budget on our special page
• we had this with noodles but you can use rice, or chips, or whatever!
• we used an Instant Pot but any pressure cooker will do the job
• quickly mince the garlic and ginger with a Microplane grater – you’ll wonder how you ever got on without one!

to make instant pot sticky sesame chicken you should:

• cut the chicken into bitesized chunks
• spray the bottom of the instant pot bowl with a little oil and press ‘Saute’
• add the chicken and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the chicken is white all over (don’t worry if it isn’t cooked all the way through)
• in a jug mix together the rice vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, chilli flakes, hoisin sauce and honey
• pour the sauce over the chicken, put the lid on and switch to ‘Manual’ mode
• programme the machine for ‘high pressure’ for ten minutes and leave to cook
• once finished, use the quick release method
• in a bowl mix together the cornflour with one tbsp cold water to get a thick sauce
• switch the instant pot back to ‘saute’ mode and pour in the cornflour
• stir gently until the mixture thickens, and serve
• sprinkle over the spring onion and sesame seeds

If you don’t have a pressure cooker, don’t fret – you can make this on the hob by cooking off the chicken, adding the sauce and letting it bubble and take its time!

Want more Instant Pot or pressure cooker recipes? Natch!

• pork and sweet potato chilli (syn free)
• instant pot spaghetti bolognese (syn free)
• lentil and vegetable soup (syn free)
• split pea and ham soup (syn free)
• slimming world sandwich fillings (1 syn or less)
• leek, potato and cheddar soup (less than 1 syn)
• lazy cabbage bowls (1 syn)
• lemon and garlic chicken (0.5 syns)
• spicy carrot and coconut soup (2 syns)
• the best bbq pork sandwiches you’ll ever have (2 syns)
• chicken caesar wraps (3 syns)

J