Rice Cooker Hainanese Chicken

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Written By Jackie Le

hainanese chicken rice in a rice cooker is a great weeknight hack🍚🍗 chicken thighs cooked right on top of jasmine rice in a ginger garlic broth — one pot, minimal effort, and it comes out incredibly tender and flavorful every single time. topped with a quick ginger scallion oil. 🫶

Ingredients

Chicken & rice

  • 1 cup jasmine rice

  • 4 boneless, skin-on chicken thighs

  • 1½ cups chicken broth

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 2 tsp fresh ginger, minced

  • 1 stalk green onion, cut into thirds

  • ½ tsp kosher salt (plus more to season the chicken)

Ginger scallion oil

  • 2 stalks green onion, thinly sliced

  • 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated

  • ¼ cup avocado oil (or any neutral oil)

Serves 2

Prep time ~15mins

Cook time ~45mins

Cooking Instructions

WASH YOUR VEGGIES

  • Wash and prep your green onion, ginger, garlic, and cilantro before getting started.

Set up the rice cooker

  • Rinse the jasmine rice in a mesh strainer until the water runs mostly clear. Drain very well — excess water will make the rice mushy.

  • Add the rinsed rice, chicken broth, garlic, ginger, green onion, and salt to the rice cooker pot. Stir to combine.

Add the chicken and cook

  • Season chicken thighs with salt on both sides. Place them skin-side up on top of the rice mixture — do not stir or submerge.

  • Close the lid and set the rice cooker to the white rice cooking function. Let it run its full cycle.

  • When done, check that the chicken is fully cooked through (internal temp 165°F).

Make the scallion oil

  • Heat avocado oil in a small pan over medium heat until hot. Add sliced green onions and grated ginger and stir for 20–30 seconds until softened and fragrant.

  • Remove from heat immediately and spoon over the chicken and rice when serving.

Plate and serve

  • Remove the chicken from the rice cooker and slice into pieces lengthwise. Fluff the rice with a spoon or fork.

  • Scoop rice onto a plate using a bowl as a mold, arrange sliced chicken alongside, and drizzle with scallion oil.

  • Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with chili crisp, soy sauce, and your sides of choice.

Tips & Notes

  • Drain the rice very thoroughly after rinsing — too much excess water is the number one cause of mushy rice.

  • Skin-on boneless chicken thighs are the move — they stay juicy and the skin gets silky from the steam.

    • i only had boneless skin off, and it was still delicious!

  • Don't stir the chicken into the rice — it sits on top so the rice steams and the chicken essentially poaches above it.

  • Cooking time will vary by rice cooker — always check the chicken is fully cooked before serving.

  • The scallion oil is a must for maximum flavor — don't skip it!

Jackie Le
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