This easy rice cooker Hainanese chicken rice is a great dish to make when you’re short on time. This one pot meal is made by cooking chicken and rice in a flavorful broth with the ease and convenience of a rice cooker. The result is tender and juicy chicken with flavorful rice that is infused with ginger, garlic, and other aromatics.
I love Hainanese chicken and rice, and so does my family, but on most days, I don’t have the time and patience for all the prep and steps that go into making it. My rice cooker helps me make a shortcut version of many meals like this rice cooker butter rice, rice cooker rice pilaf and this beloved chicken dish! The chicken and rice are cooked evenly and the flavors are infused into the rice, it’s so easy! My family loves it, and I know yours will too!
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Ingredients & notes
Chicken – I like to use chicken thighs with the skin, which cooks up tender and has more flavor than white meat.
Jasmine rice: This variety of rice is commonly used in Asian cuisine. It is perfect for Hainanese chicken because it absorbs the flavors of the chicken broth and aromatics, without being too dry or wet.
Chicken broth: This is the base of the dish and is essential for poaching the chicken and cooking the rice.
Garlic – A flavorful aromatic that is fragrant and adds depth and complexity to the dish.
Ginger: This spicy and fragrant root is an essential ingredient which adds a warm and slightly sweet flavor to the dish.
Green onion: Also known as scallions, green onions adds a fresh flavor to the broth. It’s also used as a garnish for the dish.
Kosher salt: This type of salt is coarse and flaky, and is less salty than finer grain table salt. Used in the right proportion, it enhances the flavor of the chicken and rice without overpowering the other ingredients.
Instructions
1). Rinse the rice and drain it well. Add the rice to the rice cooker.
2). Add the aromatics, salt and chicken broth to the pot.
3). Stir well to combine.
4). Place the chicken on top of the rice in the rice cooker. Close the lid and set the rice cooker to cook on the regular setting (not the quick cook or brown rice setting) and let it cook until done.
Serve immediately with sliced cucumbers along with your favorite dipping sauce, like soy sauce or chili sauce!
Equipment
Rice Cooker– I am using a Cuckoo 6 cup Micom Rice Cooker and it cooks the most fluffiest rice!
How to make the serving sauce
Hainanese chicken is served with a variety of sauces, keep it simple with soy sauce or make this scallion oil to drizzle over the rice!
You’ll need sliced scallions and some neutral cooking oil like canola.
Heat the oil in a pan until it’s hot, then add the scallions. Stir the scallions until they are soft, about 20-30 seconds. Take it off the heat immediately and spoon some onto the rice!
Pro Tips
- Use chicken thighs: Since we are doing a no fuss, rice cooker method where the chicken cooks at the same time with the rice, using chicken thighs will ensure that the cooked meat won’t come out too dry.
- Use boneless chicken to ensure that the rice cooker will cook the meat all the way through.
- Adjust the water ratio: The amount of water you add to the rice cooker can affect the texture of the rice. Adjust the water ratio based on the type of rice you are using and the instructions that came with your rice cooker.
- After rinsing the rice, make sure to drain the rice very well in a strainer. Too much excess liquid will result in mushy rice.
- Your cooking time may vary depending on the size of the chicken and the rice cooker. It’s important to follow the instructions that came with your rice cooker and check the chicken for doneness before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
The dish is best served hot.
Dip a piece of the chicken meat in the dipping sauce, eat it with a spoonful of the fragrant rice.
Eat with sliced cucumbers for a refreshing bite.
Hainanese chicken rice is a classic Chinese dish. It consists of poached or boil chicken that’s served with fragrant rice cooked in chicken broth flavored with garlic, ginger and other aromatics. It is usually served with a variety of dipping sauces.
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One Pot Rice Cooker Hainanese Chicken Rice
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup Jasmine rice use US measuring cup
- 2 boneless, chicken thighs, skin on
- 1 ½ cup chicken broth
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoon ginger, minced
- 1 stalk green onions, cut in thirds
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt additional salt for chicken
Optional scallion oil
- 2 stalks sliced scallion, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup canola oil
Instructions
- Rinse rice in a mesh strainer. Make sure to shake out excess water well.
- Add the rice, chicken broth, garlic, ginger, green onion and salt in the rice cooker pot, stir to combine.
- Salt the chicken to taste. Place chicken, skin side up, on top of the rice.
- Set the cooker to cook on the white rice cooking function.
- When done, remove the chicken and cut into 1 inch pieces, lengthwise.
- Fluff the rice with a spoon, and scoop the chicken rice onto a plate, arranging the chicken meat next to the rice.
- Garnish the rice with scallion oil or add a bit of soy sauce. Serve hot with sliced cucumbers along with your favorite dipping sauce, like soy sauce or chili sauce.
Optional scallion oil
- Heat the oil on medium heat.
- When hot, add the sliced scallion and stir for about 20 seconds.
- Remove from heat and spoon some over the rice.
Notes
- After rinsing the rice, make sure to drain the rice very well in a strainer. Too much excess liquid will result in mushy rice.
- Cooking time may vary depending on the size of the chicken and the rice cooker.
- Using chicken thighs will ensure that the cooked meat won’t come out too dry.
- Use boneless chicken to ensure that the rice cooker will cook the meat all the way through.