This Pressure Cooker Thai Coconut Chicken, which first marinates in a Lemongrass, Coconut, Cilantro marinade is very tender, fragrant and delicious.
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Pressure Cooker Thai Coconut Chicken
Pressure Cooker Thai Coconut Chicken
I’m pretty sure you guys already know that chicken is not my favorite thing to eat, so I have had to figure out really good recipes, as the hubs loves chicken and I want to enjoy it with him.
Several years ago, I found this recipe for Thai Coconut Chicken on a bottle of Stubbs Marinade, I think. It was written for the grill. Oh my gosh, you guys, the chicken was actually delicious, yes, you heard right, it was delicious.
The white meat was actually juicy (and you know I prefer the dark) and so full of flavor. I was floored. The aroma of the marinade itself is enough to make you want to make a huge vat and take a plunge, head first.
This recipe is one of the things hubs and I liked to bring with us to cook on the open grill, when we would spend the day fishing in Lake Worth, Florida, at our favorite spot, next to the bridge.
I’ve converted this recipe to use in the Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker, so that on rainy days, I can still have this wonderful chicken.
Cast of Ingredients for Pressure Cooker Thai Coconut Chicken
Prepare the marinade the night before, to give the marinade a chance to really permeate the chicken.
Extra Marinade
I generally make a double batch of the sauce.
This way I can use up the whole can of coconut milk at once.
You can even package up the Chicken and the Marinade in your Foodsaver and put it in the freezer for a later date.
I also like to make extra Marinade for use on Skirt Steak.
Reditainer Extreme Freezer Containers work well for storing Marinade.
Use a Microplane to Zest the Lemon
Use a microplane and zest all the lemon peel from one lemon, making sure not to get any of the white pith into your bowl.
Toss out the Green Parts of the Lemongrass
Peel and cut the ginger into chunks. If you like ginger, use the full three inches, otherwise, just use the two inches.
I love ginger and use the full amount, sometimes more.
Get rid of the Green Parts of the Lemongrass. I dumped them into the bowl instead of the garbage. 🙂 Didn’t realize until later.
Process the Marinade Ingredients
Use a food processor to chop and mix the ingredients. I only used my VitaMix 7500 here because my husband won’t eat this chicken if he sees cilantro (and I used the entire big bunch!), so, the next picture won’t be pretty.
I’ve been cooking this exact recipe for him for years and it is one of his favorites, but if I tell the old geezer that there is cilantro in the marinade, he won’t touch it. Yeah, I know.
We really don’t hide things from each other, I just don’t come right out and say hey babe, you know there is cilantro in here. He picked up the cilantro for me at the market, so he knows there is was cilantro in the house.
The Aroma is Delicious
See, not so pretty. Yours will be beautiful when you use a VitaMix 7500 or food processor and you will see pieces of cilantro and ginger.
Okay, by now the aroma of the marinade has overcome you, and is filling the kitchen with that wonderful smell, so, grab a spoon stick it in, use your finger, whatever you like and take a taste the marinade. I’ll wait.
Are you back? You’re welcome. Try your best not to drink this straight from the container. Okay, okay, one more taste.
Best to Marinate Overnight
Place the chicken and marinade into a bag or a container and put in the refrigerator overnight for best results. The marinade needs to penetrate the chicken and because of the lemon, it will.
Turn the bag/container over, every so often to make sure all the chicken is immersed in the marinade.
Dump it all into the Pot
I used bone in/skin on chicken thighs this time, but this is best made with boneless/skinless chicken breasts or thighs (I will change some pictures after I make this again with the boneless/skinless). Dump the chicken and the liquid into the Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker, cooking pot.
I used the steamer basket that came with my GoWise USA 8 Quart Pressure Cooker, so that I could just lift out the chicken and leave the liquid behind.
Place the Chicken Under the Broiler
There is no need to crisp up the chicken unless you have used chicken with skin, which I did here. I’ve been so tired lately and forgot that we use boneless/skinless for this recipe, so, I was forced to crisp up the skin under the broiler or Mealthy CrispLid and guess what? It came out really good. If you want more flavor, dip the chicken pieces into the sauce and then put them back under the broiler or Mealthy CrispLid to crisp.
Pressure Cooker Thai Coconut Chicken
If you have made your Pressure Cooker Thai Coconut Chicken with bone in/skin on chicken, try putting it in your Air Fryer or under the broiler or Mealthy CrispLid to crisp up.
If you prefer to cook the chicken on the grill, please see my BBQ Grilled Thai Chicken Coconut recipe (coming soon). Serve with Pressure Cooker Thai Triple Coconut Rice, or Ghee Rice and a green vegetable.
Kitchen Equipment and Essentials
- GoWise 8 Quart Pressure Cooker
- J.A. Henckels Classic 7-inch Hollow Edge Santoku Knife
- Amco Advanced Performance 18/10 Stainless Steel Measuring Spoons
- Simply Gourmet (Dry) Stainless Steel Measuring Cups
- Anchor Hocking Glass (Liquid) Measuring Cups
- Alton Brown Salt Box
- OXO Good Grips Cutting Board
- GoWise Steamer Basket
- Microplane Stainless Steel Zester
- Reditainer Extreme Freezer Containers
- Freezer Labels
- VitaMix Creations
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Here is your handy printable recipe:
Pressure Cooker Thai Coconut Chicken
Ingredients
- 2-3 pounds Chicken Thighs
- 1/4 cup Fresh Ginger Root peeled
- 1 stalk Lemongrass
- 3/4 cup Coconut Milk shake well before opening
- 3/4 cup Stubb’s Pork Marinade
- 1/4 cup Dark Brown Sugar (tight packed)
- 3 Cloves Fresh Garlic
- 1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce, Low Sodium
- 1 Scallion green and white parts
- 1 fresh Fresh Lemons washed
- 1 cup Fresh Cilantro Leaves packed
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
Instructions
- Peel and cut the ginger. Cut scallion and lemon grass into a few pieces.
- Use a microplane or vegetable peeler to remove all the zest from the lemon. Be careful not to remove the pith (white part). Cut the lemon in half and squeeze all the juice into the food processor bowl.
- Add the ginger, scallion, lemon grass, lemon zest, garlic, cilantro, coconut milk, Stubb’s Pork Marinade, soy sauce, brown sugar and salt to the food processor and pulse a few times to combine.
- Place chicken in a container or bag and pour marinade over. Seal tightly and place in refrigerator overnight (or at least three hours). Turn the container over, every so often, until ready to use.
- Add the chicken and marinade to the Pressure Cooker cooking pot.
- Lock on lid and close Pressure Valve. Cook on High Pressure for 7 minutes.
- Allow a 10 minute natural release. Crisp chicken with skin under the broiler.
Notes
If using bone in breasts with skin, cook 6 minutes and crisp under the broiler.
If using boneless/skinless breasts, cook 5.
Make a double batch and freeze half of it with raw chicken for another meal.
PIN this Pressure Cooker Thai Coconut Chicken
Pressure Cooker Thai Coconut Chicken (Instant Pot)
Hi If I made double the amount of the marinade (because I notice I only have 1/2 the chicken) could I freeze it and use it later or if not, how long might it keep in the fridge, do you think?
Jill, this sounds fabulous, and I Have ordered and received the Stubbs. My questionis, will my coconut hating hubs be able to discern that particular flavor when this is all cooked? I might just present it to him; without knowing, he sometimes enjoys things he thought he didn’t like (like yours with cilantro….)
Thanks for all you do and say-I am such a groupie!
Linda
Hi Linda. The coconut flavor is not overpowering, but I don’t know how sensitive your husband is with food. Mine hates coconut too. Jill
No idea where one would get lemongrass, I live in Montana & so many of the ingredients used just are not available to me. Any idea what to substitute? This looks so good!
What can I use to replace stubbs pork marinade as i live in Canada and dont have this marinade
I’ve been searching and searching for how to substitute this marinade because I cannot find it locally but I’m not having success. Any chance you know the measurements yet?
Hi Lisa. I’m sorry, I don’t know. Jill
You don’t have Stubbs? I have it in podunkville South Carolina! I would recommend Amazon…
This looks wonderful. I’m wondering if it would still work if I were to just dump everything in and toss in skinless/boneless thighs and make a kind of stew to serve over rice. What, if anything, would you change? I’m new to the IP world.
Thanks!
I couldn’t find the Stubbs pork, so I subbed the chicken marinade and it was still very good.
So. Where is this recipe? It is supposed to be good but where is it. Waste of time.
Listed above
The recipe is right above the comments. Really??
Hi there! This recipe sounds delicious and I’m going to make the marinade tonight but I have one question. The description says lemongrass but I don’t see that listed in the ingredients. Would I substitute the lemon rind for lemongrass and if so how much? TIA!
Hi Jill, I have made this recipe twice and wow! How tasty! My husband absolutely loves it and it is now on our permanent rotation. Your recipe is perfect, I used bone in thighs with skin cooked 15 minutes at high pressure and the chicken was done just right. I then crisped them in the broiler while reducing the sauce a bit and they were heavenly. This recipe is an absolute winner and we wanted to thank you for sharing!
Is the cooking time for boneless/skinless thighs 10 or 12 minutes? The actual recipe lists the ingredients as 3lbs of boneless/skinless thighs and says 10min…but then the notes say 10min for the same kind of meat. Can you clarify the cooking time? And do you really make 3lbs of boneless/skinless chicken thighs for 4 servings? Confused. Thanks.
edit: I meant to say “notes say 12 min for same kind of meat”
Cooked it tonight and it was delicious. Such a unique flavor. Next time I will let it set overnight. Just could not wait. Thank you!
Hi Nadine~
Thank you for your note. I am glad you enjoyed this recipe.
Jill
Can I double this and cook all in one batch in a 6 quart IP? Do I need to cook any differently? I made it for the 4 of us still at home but want to share it with all my chicks over the holidays. I think it’s my favorite thing I’ve made to date in my IP. Thanks
Hi Mel~
So glad you like this recipe. You can double it, no problem.
Jill
This recipe looks great but question about the times. In the recipe you say to do 10 minutes with boneless/skinless thighs…but then in the notes you say 12 min for boneless/skinless thighs. Do you mean 12 minutes for boneless/skinless breasts? Thanks!
Meredith~
Corrected, thank you so much!
Jill
The notes under the recipe are very confusing. How long should I cook bone in skin OFF thighs?
It looks like this was not corrected after all. The recipe still reads 3 lbs boneLESS/skinless thighs with the instructions to cook on high pressure for 10 minutes.
Then the notes still say boneless/skinless thighs (same meat) for 12 minutes
There also is no indication about boneless/skinless breasts at all in the recipe or the notes.
And is 3 lbs of boneless/skinless meat actually correct? (You indicated earlier that the 3 lbs was for bone-in meat but the instructions specifically say 3 lbs of boneless chicken!)
Sounds like a tasty recipe but I just wondered about the particulars of meats & cooking time.
Hi Jill, this recipe looks amazing. If I use boneless/skinless breasts would it be 3 pounds? Also, what would the cooking time be and what kind of pressure release?
I guess I have the same questions for boneless/skinless thighs, too.
Thanks for your help. I’m just getting started with my IP.
Hi, this looks amazing! But I have a stove top pressure cooker, not an electric one. Any idea how much time it may need to cook?
Hi Chelsea~
Thank you so much. I don’t know anything about stove top pressure cookers, other than I believe they cook at a higher PSI.
Jill
This looks great! I have a husband just like yours. I will also put it in the blender. He’ll never know! I’m confused on one point, though. The recipe says for 4 people but 3 lbs of boneless chicken? Should it be 1 lb of chicken?
Hi Marjorie~
Thanks for visiting. I use bone in chicken, so three pounds is correct.
Jill
Hi Jill, I am not familiar with Stubb’s Pork Marinade; what would be a good substitute? Looks delicious! Thanks.
Hi Karen~
Thanks for your message. I plan to pick a part that marinade and list the ingredients. In the meantime, if you cannot find it, use lemongrass, ginger, lime juice, granulated garlic, sugar.
Jill