Cherry & Dennis Recipes
Singapore Rice Cooker Hainanese Chicken Rice
電飯煲海南雞飯
Recipe overview
This rice-cooker Hainanese chicken rice lets jasmine rice absorb ginger, garlic, spring onion and chicken juices while the thighs steam above, with a simple ginger-scallion sauce.
01
Ingredients
Main ingredients
- 800 g skin-on bone-in chicken thighs
- 400 g jasmine rice
- 500 ml water
- 50 g ginger (half sliced and half grated)
- 6 cloves garlic (4 chopped and 2 grated)
- 4 stalks spring onions (2 cut into lengths and 2 sliced)
- 1 cucumber (sliced)
Chicken and rice seasoning
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
Ginger-scallion chilli sauce
- 1 bird’s-eye chilli (seeded and chopped; optional)
- 1 lime (juiced)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
02
Tools
- kitchen knife
- cutting board
- kitchen paper
- mixing bowl
- small bowl
- fine strainer
- grater
- citrus juicer
- measuring cup
- measuring spoons
- rice cooker
- rice paddle
- kitchen tongs
- serving plate
- food thermometer
03
Steps
Step 1
Inspect the chicken
Thaw chicken thighs fully in the refrigerator and do not rinse; discard if smelly, slimy or icy.
Step 2
Dry and season chicken
Pat chicken dry, rub with salt and sesame oil and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
Step 3
Rinse and drain rice
Rinse jasmine rice gently two or three times and drain for 10 minutes.
Step 4
Prepare ginger, garlic and spring onion
Slice half the ginger and grate half; chop 4 garlic cloves and grate 2; cut 2 spring onions into lengths and slice 2.
Step 5
Prepare cucumber and sauce items
Slice cucumber, seed and chop chilli only if wanted and juice the lime.
Step 6
Load the seasoned rice
Put rice, water, sliced ginger, chopped garlic, spring onion lengths and soy sauce in the cooker and level gently.
Step 7
Place chicken over rice
Arrange chicken skin-side up over the rice without overlapping and wash the raw-chicken bowl immediately.
Step 8
Cook in the rice cooker
Close the rice cooker and run a normal white-rice cycle without opening the lid.
Step 9
Rest the cooked rice
Keep the lid closed for 10 minutes after the cycle so the rice finishes absorbing moisture.
Step 10
Check chicken temperature
Confirm the thickest chicken reaches 75°C; if not, return it and heat 5 minutes before rechecking.
Step 11
Mix the ginger-scallion sauce
Combine grated ginger and garlic, spring onion, optional chilli, lime juice and sugar, then stir in heated oil.
Step 12
Fluff, slice and serve
Remove ginger and spring onion lengths, fluff rice, rest chicken 3 minutes, slice and serve with rice, cucumber and sauce.
Common mistakes
- Ignoring rice-cooker capacity can leave rice wet or undercooked.
- Serving without checking chicken temperature risks undercooked meat.
Tips
Use the usual cooker water level for 400 g rice, slightly reduced for chicken juices.
Rest 10 minutes after cooking for more even grains.
