Description
This easy Rice Cooker Hainanese Chicken Rice recipe delivers tender, flavorful chicken and perfectly cooked, fragrant rice with minimal effort. Using simple ingredients like ginger, garlic, and chicken broth, this one-pot meal is both comforting and satisfying. Ideal for busy weeknights, it’s a foolproof way to enjoy this classic dish at home with no fuss.
Ingredients
Units
For the Chicken
- 4 (675 g) skin-on chicken thighs, bone-in or boneless
- 1 tsp salt, for rubbing
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
For the Rice
- 1 1/2 tbsp chicken fat or oil
- 1-2 shallots, minced
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cups (300 g) Jasmine rice
- 1 1/3 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp (350-400 ml) chicken broth
- 1 inch ginger, thinly sliced
- 2 scallions, sliced in half
Ginger Scallion Sauce
- 2 tbsp (20 g) ginger, minced
- 2 scallions (30 g)
- 1/4 cup neutral oil
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp msg
For Serving
- Chili sauce
- Sweet dark soy sauce
- Tomatoes
- Cucumbers
- Cilantro
Instructions
- Prepare the Chicken: Remove any excess fat from the chicken thighs and set it aside. Rub the chicken with salt, rinse in water and pat dry. Then, season the chicken with salt and white pepper, and set it aside.
- Cook the Chicken Skin: Heat the chicken fat (or oil) in a pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, render the fat from the chicken skin until it becomes crispy, then remove the chicken skin and set it aside on a paper towel. Add the minced shallot and minced garlic to the pan and cook until browned and fragrant.
- Prepare the Rice: While the shallot and garlic are cooking, rinse the rice under cold water until it is mostly clear, then drain it well. If you have a scale, weigh the rice to ensure it is about 320-350 g, with 20-50 ml of excess water. Add chicken broth so the total amount of liquid in the rice cooker is 400 ml (so the total weight in the rice cooker pot is 700 grams). If you don’t have a scale, add 350 ml of water. Add the fried shallot and garlic, sliced ginger, and the halved scallions to the rice. Place the seasoned chicken on top of the rice and set the rice cooker to cook on the white rice mode.
- Make the Ginger Scallion Sauce: While the rice is cooking, prepare the ginger scallion sauce. Heat the neutral oil in a pan to 170°C. Once hot, pour the oil over the ginger and scallions, making sure it hits mostly the ginger. Stir the mixture together and then add sesame oil, salt, and MSG. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking.
- Assemble and Serve: When the rice cooker’s timer goes off, remove the chicken from the rice cooker. You can slice the chicken or serve it whole with the rice. Drizzle the ginger scallion sauce over the chicken and rice, and serve with crispy chicken skin, chili sauce, sweet dark soy sauce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and cilantro if desired.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Category: Main dish
- Method: Rice cooker
- Cuisine: Chinese
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 845
- Sugar: 1.5 g
- Sodium: 1393 mg
- Fat: 47 g
- Saturated Fat: 11 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 36 g
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 65 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 42 g
- Cholesterol: 1393 mg