Instant Pot Orange Chicken

We enjoyed the Chicken and Broccoli from Life Made Sweeter, so we decided to try the Orange Chicken as well.  Her recipe is for 1.5 pounds of chicken, I doubled it so I could have leftovers and use a full bag of thawed frozen chicken breasts.

Instant Pot Orange Chicken

1 bag chicken breasts - thawed, cut into 1" pieces
4 T cornstarch
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4-1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cup chicken broth
2/3 cup soy sauce
1 1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup orange juice fresh squeezed from 2 large oranges
4 T orange zest from 2 large oranges
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
4 cloves garlic minced
4 tsp minced ginger
dash red pepper chili flakes
1 tsp sesame oil
dash salt & pepper to taste
3 T cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water

In a gallon ziplock bag, toss the first 4 ingredients: chicken with the cornstarch, salt, and pepper.  Heat instant pot on Saute function and add 1/4-1/2 cup vegetable oil and fry coated chicken pieces in batches for 3-4 minutes on each side, then setting them on a paper towel lined plate.  Meanwhile mix up the sauce in a bowl: chicken broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, orange juice, orange zest, apple cider vinegar, garlic, ginger, pepper flakes, sesame oil, and salt & pepper.  Return the chicken to the pot and cover with the sauce.  Cook on high pressure for 3 minutes, then let the pressure release naturally for 15-20 minutes.  In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and water, then add to the pot and cook on saute for a few minutes until the sauce thickens.  Serve with rice.