Bang Bang Chicken Tacos (Instant Pot)
Have you ever walked into the house after work aware your loving family expects you to whip up something tasty to sustain them for another few hours until they hit the hay, yet you’re drawing a complete blank as to what that might be? If you’re like me, what follows is often a quick trip to the nearest fast food drive-thru. We all know that stuff is unhealthy. Most of it isn’t even all that satisfying. Instead, check out this healthy recipe for bang bang chicken tacos that you can prepare in your Instant Pot. Your meal will go from fridge to table in 30 minutes or less!
Disclaimer – I haven’t worked outside the home for the past year so there is no excuse for my poor planning at present. I have great intentions but I may also have a little ADHD. My meal ideas sometimes end up being nixed because I’m missing ingredients or the meat is still frozen rock solid at 6pm when it’s time to fix supper. (I don’t like to defrost most meats in the microwave. It messes with their quality.)
I came across this recipe when Googling ideas after jumping on the Instant Pot band wagon several years ago and I’ve modified it since then (the original recipe was to be served over rice). Whether working outside the home or not (I did for decades), it’s a fantastic go-to when you don’t want to spend an hour in the kitchen.
I use frozen chicken tenderloins found in pretty much any grocery store’s freezer section. Mine generally come from Costco because I get the best price there but I like the Good & Gather brand from Target as well. It’s no problem if your chicken is frozen rock solid when you start. Just grab some out of that bag in your freezer and toss them directly into the Instant Pot. As log as you make sure your freezer stash doesn’t run low, you’re good to go!
Purple cabbage – this stuff lasts a LONG time in the refrigerator wrapped in aluminum foil. I’ve easily kept a head for a month. I use it for a few other things as well, but this recipe is in our bi-weekly rotation so I make sure to always have some on hand.
Tomatoes – I try to always keep a few tomatoes around the house for salads and various recipes. Granted, they don’t last as long as cabbage. And please don’t put them in your refrigerator! It makes them mealy and grainy. I have a wire basket on my countertop that holds my fresh onions, tomatoes and usually an avocado or two.
Green onions – these will last in your fridge for a good week. Again, we use them for a lot of recipes and I even use them on my breakfast savory oats, so we almost always have some on hand.
Fun fact about green onions: did you know you can also take the bulb end that you cut off (just leave a couple inches of stem), put them in a glass or jar with an inch of water, set them where they’ll get some sunlight and they’ll regrow tops in a few days?
The remaining ingredients will all store for long periods of time so they’re easy to keep on hand. Mayo, the vegetable soup base, sriracha – they’re all in my fridge. Seriously, this is the perfect no-brainer meal for when you lack the energy or creativity to do something impressive. And yet it’s really, really good!
Yes, I’m aware it’s not authentic Chinese bang-bang. Being a foodie I may try my hand at some in the future. I know it won’t be a meal I can just toss together in minutes to feed my hungry family, though. That’s what I love about this “non-authentic” bang bang chicken tacos recipe!
Bang Bang Chicken Tacos (Instant Pot)
Equipment
- 1 Instant Pot pressure cooker
Ingredients
- 1 lb. chicken breast tenderloins (I use frozen from Costco or Target)
- 2 tbsp sriracha
- 1 tbsp unseasoned rice vinegar
- 1 tsp Better Than Bouillon seasoned vegetable base (You could substitute chicken base)
- ¾ cup warm water
- 2-3 fresh tomatoes – chopped
- ½ bunch chopped green onions with tops
- ¼ – ⅓ head purple cabbage, finely sliced (I buy smaller heads so use closer to ⅓ head)
- 12 corn tortillas (either white or yellow are fine)
Bang Bang Sauce
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise (not Miracle Whip)
- 2 tbsp sriracha
- 1 tbsp unseasoned rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp sugar
Instructions
- Blend together all sauce ingredients and set aside. I use a fork or whisk because I'm in a hurry but a small immersion or stick blender would do a better job.
- In a liquid measuring cup, stir together the warm water, sriracha, soup base and rice vinegar.
- Place chicken breast tenderloins in instant pot in a single layer. It's okay to have a little overlap but you don't want pieces stacked on top of each other. Add the water/sriracha mixture and close the lid.
- Set to pressure cook. I use 8 minutes for frozen or 6 minutes for thawed. Once the cook time is finished, I generally do an 8 minute natural release and then quick release whatever steam remains. You may need to reduce this slightly depending on the size of your breast tenders.
- While the chicken is cooking, prep the toppings (tomatoes, green onions and cabbage)
- Once chicken is done, remove it to a plate and shred with a fork.
- Discard all but a tablespoon or so of the liquid in the Instant Pot, then return the shredded chicken to the pot so that it can soak up the remaining tasty liquid.
- Heat tortillas according to package directions (for simplicity we use a microwave but a skillet would be fine, too). Layer a mound of shredded chicken in the center of each tortilla then top with cabbage, tomato and green onion.
- Drizzle with Bang Bang Sauce
- Enjoy!
