Notes about Recipes in this book

• Chicken shawarma

  • jenmacgregor18 on May 04, 2020

    A keeper. I omitted cinnamon & doubled the allspice. The chicken was fragrant and delicious. Lots of brothy onion sauce left over--to serve with rice.

• Chicken adobo

  • jenmacgregor18 on May 04, 2020

    Another low time & effort investment recipe, with excellent results. Love it.

• Garlic chicken

  • jenmacgregor18 on May 04, 2020

    The garlic is noticeable, but not raw or harsh. Might want to garnish with some chopped parsley. Gravy and chicken are lovely. I served with basmati & green beans.

  • Skamper on May 14, 2026

    I've made this several times and love it. Serve over noodles or grains for the delicious sauce. I usually serve with couscous.

• Beef & vegetables in cilantro broth (Caldo de res)

  • jenmacgregor18 on September 22, 2020

    I omitted cabbage for D's preference. Added extra carrot & corn and used frozen corn kernels. I'm not a fan of cumin so I omitted and replaced with Goya's Total Sazon. The broth was surprisingly good, considering you're not adding bouillon or broth- just water. I really enjoyed this & will be making again.

• Gochujang spiced pork (Dae ji bulgogi)

  • jenmacgregor18 on May 04, 2020

    Used 1 t of Korean ground pepper. Also, I missed instruction & sliced pork instead of cubing... This is wonderful! Sweet, but not overly so, and spice & saucy. And the pork was so tender. One of my favorite IP recipes so far.

  • Skamper on January 19, 2021

    This didn't really work for me. There was so much sauce that even using a slotted spoon to get the meat and not the sauce, the meat didn't caramelize in the pan. Flavor was decent but the pork became a bit mealy due to overcooking.

• Ground lamb kheema

  • jenmacgregor18 on May 04, 2020

    I omitted cinnamon & added a little bit of ground allspice--and used 80/20 ground beef. Fragrant and lovely.

• Hamburger stew

  • Kiyah on December 31, 2021

    This is a simple unfussy recipe, but quick and tasty, just the thing for a worknight when you're too tired to make anything more complex. It could stand an onion or some garlic sautéed with the meat but is ok without. I like to make a small pasta, chili mac or elbow and throw it in when done.

• Kimchi beef stew (Kimchi jjigae)

  • jenmacgregor18 on November 03, 2020

    I really didn't like the texture of the mushrooms--bordering on slimy for me. And I didn't care for the flavor at all either. It was too sour. I added a little more sweetener but just didn't work for me at all. Maybe if there was some starch, rice or noodles, to balance it out better.

• Korean short rib stew (Galbijjim)

  • aceedubs on April 10, 2025

    The marinade is fantastic. I absolutely bought the wrong cut of short rib, so the 10 minute cooking time was way off. Will try again with the flanken cut, now that I know what that is.

• Mexican pulled pork (Carnitas)

  • jenmacgregor18 on May 04, 2020

    The pork needs 30 minutes in dry rub before cooking. My only change was to add 1 packet of Goya Sazon and reduce salt to 1/2 tsp. Very good.

• Pork & hominy stew

  • jenmacgregor18 on January 31, 2023

    I added the whole 3 chipotle chiles and a couple of spoons of adobo. The heat level was fine but was far too smoky for our taste. The pork was tender and the hominy wasn't overdone. So, the methodology was good. I might try it again with just 1 chipotle chile.

• Pork chile verde

  • jenmacgregor18 on May 04, 2020

    I've made this twice now with changes based on what I have on hand. 1st time, I subbed 3T tomatillo salsa for tomatillos, canned hatch chiles for jalapenos and 2 anaheim for the poblano--and soy instead of fish sauce. I threw in some cooked diced sweet potatoes when done. 2nd time I used regular tomatillos. I think I prefer the tomatillo salsa over the regular tomatillos. And I removed most of the fat from the pork shoulder and ended up with very tender chunks of pork. Another keeper.

• Pork chops with scallion rice

  • Kiyah on December 31, 2021

    This recipe has entered the regular rotation. I use slightly thicker chops. The skinny ones get too dry. The rice with the scallions is so delicious.

• Chinese steamed ribs

  • PinchOfSalt on January 29, 2022

    While it's palatable, definitely does not compare with the traditional steamed Cantonese version. The sauce was thin and did not cling very much at all to the ribs. It was underflavored - much less flavor from the black beans than one would hope for. On the other hand, the ribs were nicely cooked. I'm left wondering if, after some tinkering, one could make a better version of this in a steamer basket in the Instant Pot. The tinkering would include more black bean, more garlic, more ginger, no added water, and a thickening agent such as tapioca flour or cornstarch to get the flavoring agents to cling to the ribs while steaming.

• Cajun dirty rice

  • jenmacgregor18 on September 07, 2020

    Another very quick, delicious dinner for us from this book. I added some chopped green onion after cooking for some color.

• Ground beef shawarma rice

  • jenmacgregor18 on August 25, 2020

    I used pre-shredded coleslaw mix. This was very quick 5 min pressure cook, 5 minute natural pressure release & then vent. It was not the most vibrant dish; but it had good flavor & was satisfying. I served with hot sauce. Maybe I'll have enough energy to make a salad next time.

• Pea & paneer curry

  • jenmacgregor18 on February 17, 2022

    I got a burn notice. I would just add the full amount of water to the pot before putting it under pressure next time. And I would use the cream over coconut milk. I think it would balance out the spicy tomato sauce a bit better. I used 3/4 tsp of cayenne. There is no salt specified. I added 1/2 tsp. It still needed a bit more. But overall, it was pretty good. it's a very quick version of a favorite dish. I think with the adjustments I would like it even better.

• Pinto bean stew (Frijoles charros)

  • Skamper on June 26, 2020

    These were tasty, but a bit soupier than I expected, even after using my immersion blender. Next time reduce the water? They were good over Mexican rice. They would also be good with chorizo or other meat added.