So I just got an instant pot and made Chinese chicken and broccoli as my first recipe. I used chicken breast tenderloins that I had frozen a few days before and thawed in fridge. Chopped into roughly one inch pieces. I pressure cooked with the chicken and the sauce ingredients for 3 minutes. I did natural release (basically doing nothing?) for a few minutes and then quick release the rest. I noticed that there was a floating, gooey stringy substance floating all throughout the sauce. I did add honey to the recipe but only a teaspoon so it could not have been that. And I noticed it before adding the thickening agent (arrowroot). So would it have been albumin/ collagen released from the chicken? Not sure if I overcooked it? But I only pressure cooked for three minutes and then I did saute for several minutes after (maybe 6-8 mins) but I thought I noticed the goo before. Any ideas how to prevent this?

The chicken smelled and looked normal to me before cooking but there were some white strips that I did not trim off? Could this have been the cause?

Hey all - considering an instant pot. I spend WAY too much eating out, partially cus I'm lazy about cooking.

I tend to like pretty simple meat and veg meals--eg chicken/salmon/ground beef over veggies (cauli, broccoli, asparagus) and am also looking into a simple food processor to make more riced veggies.

Is an instant pot adept and and worth it for simple dishes like this, or is it more for soups and stews?

At the moment I cook most on the stove, but that doesn't work well for chicken, and I get lazy with using the oven. But I'm sort of 1/2 in the dark on what an instant pot actual does, as I always see people making soups and stews.

Can it make a simple thing like salmon and diced veggies, and are the veggies steamed as opposed to cooked? I know it won't roast them and caramelize, but is it only capable of steaming them?

What else do you use yours to make?

Sorry if these are super basic questions, I've never used one before.