One-pot Hainanese chicken rice

Name: One-pot Hainanese chicken rice
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 22 min
Total time: 47 min
Yield: 4 serving
Ingredients: 4 pieces chicken thighs, skin on; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 pinch ground white pepper; 1 ½ cup jasmine rice, or short grain white rice; 2 tablespoon neutral cooking oil; 4 stalk scallions, finely chopped; 1 tablespoon minced ginger; 1 tablespoon minced garlic; ¼ teaspoon salt; 2 tablespoon light soy sauce; 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice; 1 teaspoon sesame oil; Fresh chilli, finely chopped; cucumber, sliced

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5.0

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Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Rest
10 mins
Total Time
47 mins
Servings
4
Calories
642 kcal
Course
Main Course
Cuisine
Chinese

One-pot Hainanese chicken rice

Iris Warren

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An easy version of the classic Hainanese chicken rice, this one-pot recipe is very simple to make. You can cook it in a regular pot, an instant pot or a rice cooker.

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Ingredients

Servings

For the chicken

4 pieces chicken thighs, skin on about 180g/6.3oz each (see note 1)
1 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground white pepper

For the rice

1 ½ cup jasmine rice, or short grain white rice about 310g
2 tablespoon neutral cooking oil
4 stalk scallions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
¼ teaspoon salt

For the sauce

2 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Fresh chilli, finely chopped optional

You also need

cucumber, sliced or blanched green vegetables, such as Bok Choy, spinach, etc.

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Instructions

Marinate the chicken

Put the chicken thighs into a bowl then sprinkle with salt and white pepper. Rub to evenly distribute. Leave to marinate for 10 minutes or so.

Cook the rice and chicken

Rinse the rice with cold water then drain well. Set aside.
Heat oil in a pot over medium heat on a stove (see note 2 & 3 if using an Instant Pot or a ice cooker). Add chopped scallions, minced ginger and minced garlic. Fry until fragrant (do not burn). Scoop out about ⅔ of the aromatic to a small bowl for later use.
Put in the drained rice and fry for 30 seconds or so. Add 2 cups of water and ¼ teaspoon of salt (see note 4). Use a spatula to scrape the bottom to loosen any grains stuck to the pot. Place the marinated chicken pieces on top of the rice without overlapping.
Leave to cook uncovered until the water starts boiling very gently. Put on a tight lid and turn the heat to the lowest. Leave to cook for 20 minutes.
Turn off the heat when the time is up. Let it sit for another 10 minutes (see note 1). Remember not to open the lid during the cooking and resting process.

Serve the dish

Take out the chicken thighs. Remove the centre bones. Then slice them into bite-sized strips.
Put the rice onto individual serving plates. Place the chicken on the side, along with cucumber slices.
Add light soy sauce, lime juice, sesame oil and fresh chilli (optional) to the fried aromatics you saved earlier. Serve it as a dipping sauce or pour it over the chicken.

Notes

The chicken thighs I use for this recipe measure around 180g/6.3oz for each piece. If your ones are bigger, or if you wish to cook more than 4 pieces at a time, you’d need to add another 2 tablespoons of water and extend the cooking time to 23 minutes (remain the same resting time).
Cook in an Instant Pot:
Temporarily turn off the Instant Pot and remove the inner pot. Let the appliance cool for about 3 minutes before putting the inner pot back inside.
Cook in a rice cooker:
Please be aware that the water needed for the regular pot method may vary slightly depending on the heat power and the quality of the pot. Adjust if necessary.
Marinate the chicken as usual. Use the “Sauté” function to fry scallions, ginger, garlic and rice following the same instructions explained above.
Add 1½ cup of water (the same volume of the rice). Stir and scrap off any bits stuck to the bottom before.
Temporarily turn off the Instant Pot and remove the inner pot. Let the appliance cool for about 3 minutes before putting the inner pot back inside.
Lay the chicken over the rice. Put the lid on and turn the valve to “Seal”. Choose to cook on high pressure for 5 minutes (turn off the “keep warm” button if it’s on automatically).
After the cooking is done, allow 10 minutes for the natural release of the pressure. Then, manually let off the remaining pressure.
Follow the same instructions above to marinate the chicken and fry the aromatics and rice in a regular pan/skillet.
Then transfer everything into the rice cooker. Add water following the same rice-to-water ratio you normally use when cooking rice.
Place in the chicken and close the lid. Use the usual rice cooking program to cook.
When it’s done, wait for 10 minutes then uncover and serve.