Cooking Gluten-Free on Your Boat
Better ways, better tastes
using the gluten-free Instant Pot Cookbook

 

By: Linda Kissam
Photo credit: Kristin Teig (except as indicated)

 

 

Do you love using your pressure cooker in your home, but never tried it on your boat? Well, it’s easier than ever to accomplish quick meals on your boat with a new kind of pressure cooker.  Think Instant Pot as the perfect culinary travel companion on the high seas.

To get inspired, you might want to first read Jane Bonacci & Sara De Leeuw’s extraordinary cookbook, the gluten-free Instant Pot Cookbook to see how the magic happens. Think 100 fast to fix, yummy for the tummy, gluten-free recipes you’ll love to make, taste and share. The recipes are good. Doesn’t make any difference if you are living a gluten-free life or just love excellent food done fast and fabulous.

About Instant Pot Cooking

 

If you didn’t know, you can cook lots of things in an Instant Pot, but realistically, not EVERYTHING. This cookbook is a guide to “all the things” you can do. An Instant Pot is used for convenience. It cooks fast and can cook things that a stove top can’t. On the other hand, you might want to keep that BBQ ready on your deck for cooking steaks.

 

The Instant Pot is sort of a hybrid tool. It’s a single appliance that does the job of seven different kitchen appliances or tools. The name “Instant Pot” is a brand name pressure cooker that can sauté meats, steam vegetables, cook rice and make homemade yogurt. It can do more, but that’s the basics.  It’s about $80 on Amazon.

Using your Instant Pot on your boat makes quick delectable. Meals fast and easy. You will get consistent results, and you don’t have to babysit your food while it cooks.

 

A lot of people assume that the small space in a boat means they have to use the 3 quart Instant Pot Mini. While the Mini is a good choice for your boat, you’ll probably want to upgrade after  one year to the 6-quart pressure cooker.

The 3-quart can cook everything a 6-quart can because but you will need to down size your recipes to cook for two. Using a 6-quart gives you the flexibility to make a big dish for a boat club event, dock side get-together or to have leftovers to eat later on your trip.  Most pressure cooking accessories—like a steamer basket or silicone trivet—are more readily available in a 6-quart size. Plus, most pressure cooker recipes are written for 6-quart size, so it’s less likely you’ll need to change anything.

THE POWER REQUIREMENTS

In order to use your Instant Pot/pressure cooker on your boat, you’ll need to be connected to power or use a generator. Electrical outlets in your boat will not work unless you are connected to power or are running your generator.

If you’re wondering about the wattage of each pot, most 6-quart Instant Pots are around 1000 watts, while the 3 quarts average about 700 watts and the 8 quarts average 1200 watts. Your pressure cooker/Instant Pot needs an electrical outlet, just like at home, to cook. If you’re concerned about overloading a circuit, limit the number of appliances you have running at the same time.

About Instant Pot Cooking

If you didn’t know, you can cook lots of things in an Instant Pot, but realistically, not EVERYTHING. This cookbook is a guide to “all the things” you can do. An Instant Pot is used for convenience. It cooks fast and can cook things that a stovetop can’t. On the other hand, you might want to keep that BBQ ready on your deck for cooking steaks.

The Instant Pot is sort of a hybrid tool. It’s a single appliance that does the job of seven different kitchen appliances or tools. The name “Instant Pot” is a brand name pressure cooker that can sauté meats, steam vegetables, cook rice and make homemade yogurt. It can do more, but that’s the basics.  It’s about $80 on Amazon.

Here’s some basics for you. Depending on what you’re cooking, add a cup or so of broth or water to the pot. Lock the lid in place, making sure the valve is in the sealing/pressure cooking position. Select a pressure cooking button and you are ready to cook.  Once it beeps that it’s done cooking, do nothing. It will do a natural release and when the silver knob drops down, you’re ready to open and serve.

About the Cookbook and why you should buy it

1. The 100 creative and colorful recipes focus on dishes that are problematic for gluten-sensitive readers … BUT it’s important to note that the authors give regular and gluten-free options. There are 10 chapters in this book featuring recipes that range from breakfasts to appetizers, soups, pasta, main dishes, side dishes and (whoopee!) desserts. A big shout out to chapter 7 featuring Asian Favorites.
2. I appreciated the Instant Pot lessons and being able to cook so many things using with this one cooking device. Who knew? Better ways, better tastes.
3. The photography is great. I would have liked more as I like to see what success looks like with every dish, but overall, there are enough colorful pixs to make a beautiful and educational edition. I like smaller cookbooks.  At 224 pages, you can easily work from this cookbook right on your counter.
4. Seriously, if you can’t find something you’d love to cook from this book, you’re just not trying.
5. I’ve included one of their recipes at the end of this review so you can see what a great “find” and resource this book is for your culinary needs. I personally have a definite preoccupation with all kinds of Pad Thai. The recipe below is for Vegetable Pad Thai. It is OMG magnificent.

About the Authors

Jane Bonacci of Pleasanton, CA is a longtime food writer and recipe developer with a popular food blog at The Heritage Cook. When she needed to go gluten-free in 2012, her cooking took a turn in that direction.

Bonacci partnered in this effort with culinary instructor Sara De Leeuw, founder of the food blog, “My Imperfect Kitchen,” who teaches classes on Instant Pot cooking.

The Recipe

1. 163 Vegetable Pad Thai

GLUTEN FREE  DAIRY FREE

 

Pad Thai is arguably one of the most popular Asian dishes in America. This is a vegetable pad Thai, but you can add precooked chicken, beef, or pork. It’s important to do a quick release as soon as the cook time is finished or the noodles will overcook and turn to mush. This flavorful and simple one-pot dinner goes together in no time, making it perfect for a quick weeknight meal.

You can find sweetened radish and dried shrimp in most Asian markets. If you can’t find it, just omit it. It will still taste great.

Yield 4 servings

½ cup (120 ml) f­ish sauce

2 tablespoons (30 ml) fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons (30 ml) rice wine vinegar

3 tablespoons (45 ml) coconut aminos

⅓ cup (65 g) sugar

1 tablespoon (15 ml) vegetable oil

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

4 large cloves garlic, minced

10 ounces (280 g) pad Thai rice noodles

12 ounces (340 g) extra firm tofu, sliced

2 cups (470 ml) vegetable stock (page 214)

2 tablespoons (14 g) shredded sweetened radish

1 teaspoon dried shrimp

1 cup (50 g) bean sprouts

1 medium carrot, peeled and shaved into ribbons

2 large eggs

¼ cup (38 g) chopped unsalted roasted peanuts

3 scallions, trimmed and cut into

3-inch (7.5 cm) julienne strips

1 medium lime, cut into 8 wedges

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the fish sauce, lime juice, vinegar, coconut aminos, and sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved. Set aside.
2. Press Sauté on your electric pressure cooker. When the inner pot is hot, add the oil. Sauté the onion until just translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook an additional 30 seconds, until fragrant.
3. Pour the fish sauce mixture over the onions and garlic. Add the rice noodles and tofu to the pot. Add the stock, radishes, and shrimp, but do not stir.  Submerge the noodles as much as possible.
4. Close and lock the lid, making sure the steam release handle is in the sealing position. Cook on high pressure for 3 minutes. When the cook time is finished, use the quick release method by opening the release handle and venting all the steam. When the float pin drops, unlock the lid and open it carefully.
5. Add the bean sprouts and carrots to the pot. Replace the lid and let the vegetables warm through, 5 minutes.
6. While the vegetables are warming, whisk the eggs in a small bowl and scramble in a small frying pan. Stir the warm eggs into the pad Thai.
7. Serve in big bowls garnished with the peanuts, scallions, and lime wedges.

 

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the gluten-free Instant Pot Cookbook : $24.99, 224 pages

Author’s Note: The decision to read this book is entirely my choice and any reviews given are obligation free.

 

Photography and recipe printed with permission from “The Gluten-Free Instant Pot® Cookbook: 100 Fast to Fix and Nourishing Recipes for All Kinds of Electric Pressure Cookers” by Jane Bonacci and Sara De Leeuw, published by Quarto Publishing Group.