Huli Today Gone To Maui (Instant Pot Huli Huli Chicken)

So excited, going to Maui next week! Just a quick jaunt for a friend’s big birthday (I won’t divulge which big B-day). I have not been to Maui in a very long time. I was about to graduate from pharmacy school the last time I visited, a lifetime ago.  Needless to say, there was a lot of plate-lunch and MacDonald’s Saimin on that trip. Won’t be doing that this time. Nope.  Well, maybe for nostalgia’s sake…maybe just one 2-scoop plate lunch.

With Hawaii on the brain, I was looking for a quick easy meal one night after a long, frustrating, commute home from work. (2 hours to drive 25 miles,  auugh). Wes had pulled out some chicken thighs and it was up to me to figure out what to do with them. Too cold and too late to barbecue, I was stymied when, “Look! On the Counter! It’s a Coffeemaker! It’s a toaster-oven!

No, it’s an INSTANT POT!”
A quick perusal online and what should pop-up? Huli Huli Chicken. I don’t think Hawaiian was one of my Google words but I’m going with it. Normally Huli Huli Chicken is grilled, but that calls for marinating the chicken for a couple of hours and then firing up the grill. We would be eating at midnight.  I opted for the Instant Pot recipe.

STUPID EASY

That’s all I can say. Soy sauce, pineapple juice, catsup, fresh grated ginger and garlic, brown sugar, and broth. Throw it into the pot, submerge the chicken thighs in all that deliciousness and set it for 10 minutes. Then, let the pot do its thang and use natural release for 10 minutes.

Remove the chicken and pop it under the broiler to crisp up the outside. While the chicken is getting a Hawaiian tan ok, char, in the oven, add a cornstarch slurry to the sauce in the IP to thicken, DONE. Dinner is served.  You could spice up the marinade by adding a touch of Siracha Sauce or lemon juice for a bit of tartness.  Your call.

The Instant Pot version is an adaptation.  Huli Huli chicken is a barbecue recipe.  Skip the broth and use the remaining ingredients to marinade the chicken for a minimum of several hours. Then throw the chicken on the grill. Reserve some marinade to make the sauce and use the rest to brush on the chicken while grilling. Which you could definitely do….if you had time.  Instead, by cooking the chicken in the sauce a la Instant Pot you have dinner on the table in a fraction of the time!  HOW cool is that?

A glass of wine, a side of rice, and a salad, and my commute fading from memory.  My mood definitely took an upswing.  I took my first bite of chicken, pineapple-ly sweet, balanced with the saltiness of the soy, and finished with a garlicky-ginger bite.  Jumped up and did a short hula-hip check on the hubs.  Ono-licious.