Hainanese Chicken Rice is a very popular dish in Singapore and Malaysia. In fact, Singapore has claimed this as their national dish! The chicken is served either roasted, poached, or steamed.
The flavor of the rice is out of this world! It's not just plain white rice. Normally, the uncooked rice is stir-fried in ginger and garlic, then cooked in chicken broth. Yumm, right??
For this particular recipe, I toss everything in the rice cooker and let it do its magic!
I used to save this dish for weekends because it was a bit of work, but using a rice cooker, I now can enjoy chicken rice even on the busiest weeknights!
First, rub 2 teaspoons of sesame oil on to 6 chicken drumsticks. I like using chicken drumsticks for this, but you can use chicken breast or chicken thighs (skin on). Just make sure that the pieces are small enough so that it's cooked all the way through. Let it marinate for about 20 minutes.
After washing and draining the rice (2 cups), put the uncooked rice straight into the rice cooker
. Instead of filling the rice cooker with water, fill it with chicken stock to the "2-cup" line. It should be approximately 3 cups of chicken stock.
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Next, add 3 cloves of garlic (finely chopped), and about 1 inch of ginger (thinly sliced, then cut into thin strips).
Arrange the chicken drumsticks over the rice.
Finally, add 3 pandan leaves, tied into a knot. If you're not able to find pandan leaves, feel free to leave it out. It's optional but it does add a very subtle fragrance to the dish. In the States, I was only able to find pandan leaves in the freezer section at the Asian supermarkets.
Just let the rice cooker do its thing and by the time the rice is cooked, the chicken will be perfectly cooked as well. Tender, flavorful, and juicy.
The rice, of course, extremely flavorful with the chicken stock, ginger and garlic. Garnish with chopped scallions, then serve with your favorite chili sauce on the side.
The best part about this dish is that there's hardly any cleanup since everything was cooked in the rice cooker 🙂
Rice Cooker Hainanese Chicken Rice
Ingredients
- 6 chicken drumsticks approx 1 ½ pounds
- 1 dash ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 cups rice uncooked - use the measuring cup that came with your rice cooker!
- 3 cups chicken stock
- ½ inch of ginger cut into thin strips
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 3 pandan leaves tied into a knot (optional)
- scallions for garnish
- hot sauce recommended: sriracha or sambal oelek for serving
Instructions
- Rub sesame oil on chicken drumsticks. Top with a pinch of black pepper. Let marinade for about 20 minutes.
- Wash and drain rice. Put in rice cooker.
- Add chicken stock, ginger, garlic and pandan leaves (Fill chicken stock to the 2-cup line in your rice cooker).
- Arrange the chicken drumsticks over the rice.
- Turn on the rice cooker and let it cook.
- When rice cooker shuts off, remove the lid and let it sit for about 10 more minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the rice cooker.
- Fluff the rice with a fork or a pair of chopsticks.
- Serve rice with chicken and hot sauce.
- Garnish with scallions.
Nutrition
vishaalini says
i tried the recipe! it was simple and so good!
Char says
Hi Vishaalini! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Rosemary says
I am going to try it tonight. Hope it turns out out. I love to follow easy recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Char says
Hi Rosemary! Thanks for visiting my blog and for trying out this recipe! I hope you enjoy it. Take care!
Rosemary Lee says
Hi Char
I tried the recipes. Is good. Just wondering your recipe asked for 3 cups of chicken stock. Should I put in 3 cups or chicken stock for 2 cups of rice? My drum is a hit under cooked. I steamed it after that. I put in my drum too. Maybe part of the reason too.
Char says
Hi Rosemary! Sorry to hear that it was undercooked! Just wanted to confirm that you used the cup that came with the rice cooker, correct? Instead of measuring the chicken stock, always make sure that you add enough chicken stock and/or water to reach the marker in your rice cooker. Was the rice undercooked as well, or just the chicken?
Rosemary Lee says
Just the chicken. It is my fault. I over crowded the chicken. Thanks for your input and recipe. It is a hit over here in Canada. Thanks for sharing. I love easy cook meal.
Monica says
Can you use dried pandan leaves?
Char says
Hi Monica! Yes, you can! Just soak it in warm water to rehydrate it.
Jeami says
I really love this chicken rice recipe. SO easy and tasty. Thank you for sharing this article.
Char says
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try! I'm so glad you enjoy it 🙂
Karen says
Best one pot dish I’ve ever made. Easy. Minimal ingredients. Delicious. And the best thing is: dishwashing was a breeze. I even simplify the preparation by using garlic powder and minced ginger. Superb!
Char says
I'm so happy to hear this, Karen!! So glad that you enjoyed this dish. Cleanup is definitely a breeze with this one!
Sam says
Thanks for this recipe, it looks great and I can’t wait to try it! Have a question though, me and my husband don’t really eat that much rice. If I use 3/4 cup of rice, how much chicken stock should I use? And should I cook it with the normal mode on my rice cooker? Thanks in advance!
Char says
Hi Sam! Yes, you can use the normal mode on your rice cooker. If you use 3/4 cup of rice, you would fill the rice cooker with chicken stock to just below the 1 cup line in your rice cooker.
Keep in mind that if you reduce the amount of rice to 3/4, you will also need to reduce the amount of chicken to 2 pieces. Otherwise, the chicken will not cook all the way through. I hope this helps!
Dave says
Can't wait to try this. It sounds so good. Do you think it would work with brown rice and the brown rice setting on the rice cooker?
Char says
Hi Dave! Hmmm, honestly, I have not tried this recipe with brown rice before but it does sound interesting! I'm sure it would work and I imagine the flavor profile would be quite different. Please let me know if you give this a try!
Misty says
I don’t have a rice cooker but this sounds delish. Are there any wizards out there who have suggestions on converting this to an Instapot recipe? Thanks in advance!
Char says
Hi Misty! Oooh, I have not thought of making this dish in the Instant Pot but it is a great idea! I will give this a try..thank you!!
Nurulain Rafiel says
Hi there! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I just made it for lunch today (substituted the drumstick to chicken breast) and it still taste superrrr good!! Once again, thank you!
Char says
Hi Nuralain! Thanks so much for trying this recipe! I'm so glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Linda says
Is there any replacement for sesame oil? My son is allergic, thanks!
Char says
Hi Linda! You can use any regular light-flavored cooking oil in place of sesame oil.
Ange says
Is the 3 cups of chicken stock the cup that comes with the rice cooker or a normal cup. Thank you
Char says
Hi Ange! You would first use the cup that came with your rice cooker to measure 2 cups of rice. When measuring the chicken stock, you would use a normal measuring cup instead. It will take approximately 3 cups of chicken stock to fill your rice cooker up to the 2-cup line. I hope this helps to clarify!
Gillian says
Can I use the instant pot and use the default rice button for this recipe?
Char says
Hi Gillian! Yes, you can do that. I also have an Instant Pot version of this recipe here at this link: https://www.wokandskillet.com/instant-pot-hainanese-chicken-rice/
Ann says
I am using organic no salt added chicken broth, should i add some salt to the recipe & how much?
Char says
Hi Ann! Yes I do recommend adding some salt to taste. Around 1 tablespoon should do.