This is a one-pot meal that I’ve been enjoying quite a bit recently, since I don’t want to go all the way out to Elmhurst for Hainan chicken. It’s not the most authentic recipe - as with almost everything I make it’s improvised, but I think the flavors are pretty close.

Cooking the chicken with the rice this way makes delicious and flavorful chicken rice, while the chicken stays tender and juicy. Bone-in skin-on chicken thighs and drumsticks are some of the cheapest cuts of fresh chicken you can get at most supermarkets, and they’re pretty easy to cook, making this dish both budget-friendly and beginner-friendly.

Rice Cooker Hainan Chicken #

• Prep time: 5 min
• Cook time: 20 min

Note: recipe assumes a 6-cup automatic rice cooker.

Ingredients (Serves 2) #

• 2 chicken thighs, bone in, skin on
• 0.5 dry cups of jasmine rice (80ml)
• 0.5 dry cups of basmati rice (80ml)
• chicken boullion OR chicken stock
• minced ginger
• optional: 1 carrot and 1 cucumber
• scallions

Directions #

1. Wash and drain the rice.
2. If using chicken stock, fill up to the rice cooker’s measuring line for 1 cup of rice. If using boullion, fill up to the line with water and mix in the boullion.
3. Add in the minced ginger
4. Using a knife, make some cuts into the thickest part of the chicken thighs, to ensure that it cooks all the way through.
5. Add the chicken thighs into the rice cooker and start it
6. While the rice is cooking, cut carrot and cucumber into thin strips and dice the scallions
7. When rice cooker is finished, add the carrot and cucumber and scallions, and close the lid for 1-2 minutes
8. Serve as-is, or with a dipping sauce made of finely chopped scallions and ginger with salt and sesame oil.

Variations #

• For more green, you can mix in frozen peas at the beginning.
• For a not-particularly-authentic (but still healthy and delicious!) version of biryani, use drumsticks instead of thighs and use all basmati rice instead of half/half. Additionally: add frozen peas, 1tsp turmeric, a bay leaf, and any other spices you have on hand that would typically go in biryani.