Asian Braised Chicken Legs -- Pressure Cooker

Very tasty! 9.5/10, will make again for sure.  Next time, however, I will be removing the meat from the chicken legs before serving it with the sauce and rice, as it was tricky to eat around the tiny bones with everything mixed together.  

Link to original recipe: https://www.finecooking.com/recipe/braised-chicken-legs-black-vinegar-ginger-shiitake

Ingredients:

~2 1/2 lb. whole chicken legs (bone-in, skin-on; took just 2 legs for mine to weigh in at this amount)

kosher salt and coarse ground black pepper

2 T. peanut oil

2 cups of thinly sliced (stems removed) shiitake mushrooms

1 c. celery, finely chopped (I measured out a heaping cup of around 1" chunks of celery)

2 medium shallots, finely chopped

2 T. fresh ginger, minced

1 c. chicken stock

1/2 c. Chinese black vinegar (*note to self: bought this as 'distilled black vinegar' at Fresh International Market, but also saw it available at Tony's)

1/2 of a medium red or orange bell pepper, sliced in thin strips

3 oz (or more) bok choy leaves, cut into thin ribbons (original recipe calls for 8 oz (!), but I found that 3 oz was more than enough for us)

1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper

1/2 T. Asian sesame oil

for serving--cooked rice (I chose Basmati; original recipe calls for Jasmine)

Directions:

1. Season chicken liberally with salt and pepper (yes, go heavy on the salt).  Heat 1 T. of the peanut oil in a large skillet over med-high heat.  Add chicken to skillet and brown well on both sides (around 4 min per side).  Transfer chicken to the pot of a pressure cooker. (Alternatively, you could use the sauté function of the pressure cooker, but in this case, I didn't opt for it.)

2. Reduce heat to medium, then add the shiitake, celery, shallots, and ginger to the skillet.  Stir occasionally, cooking until celery begins to soften (around 3 min).  Stir in the chicken stock and black vinegar, then let mixture come to a low boil.  Remove from heat and pour mixture over chicken in the pressure cooker. (Note to self: I used the food processor to chop the celery, shallots, and ginger together, which is the first photo below.)

3. Close and lock lid onto the pressure cooker, making sure that the valve is in the closed position.  Set on 'poultry' for 15 minutes of pressurized cooking.  When the pressurized cooking has finished, press cancel, unplug, and let the pressure release naturally, completely.  

4. Meanwhile, heat remaining 1 T. of the peanut oil over medium heat, in a large skillet.  Add the bell pepper and cook for 2 minutes.  Stir in the bok choy, a pinch of salt, and the red pepper flakes.  Cook until bok choy has wilted and reduced (around 1-2 min).  Remove from heat and pour into pot with the chicken.  Drizzle with the sesame oil, then serve with rice and enjoy!  (Again, next time, I plan to de-bone the chicken legs prior to adding to the rice to serve.)