Silky poached chicken with its gelatinous skin, 3 different sauces to choose from, and fragrant chicken and garlic infused rice – all under 1 hour. Heavenly.
The BEST version of chicken rice is hands down Singapore’s version of Hainanese Chicken Rice.
Every part of the meal is infused with chicken goodness, the rice, the soup, and even the sauces! I have lovely memories of eating at my uncle’s chicken rice shop when I was growing up in Malaysia.
Even after moving to the US, I was lucky enough to have access to comparable chicken rice shops in LA like Cluck2Go and Savoy Chicken.
I may be a cheapskate who cooks most of my meals from scratch, but chicken rice is the one dish I’d gladly pay for. I do not want to bother with poaching a whole chicken delicately just so I can satisfy this craving.
It wasn’t worth it…until I moved out of LA and am plagued with mediocre chicken rice options.
Turns out that Singapore Hainanese Chicken Rice is very easy to make if you use chicken thighs and an Instant Pot! It takes less than an hour from start to finish.
Look at that glorious spread of bonesless sikly chicken thighs. Yummm.
The best part of homemade chicken rice? BONELESS chicken thighs. Whoever you’re serving it to will feel spoiled, especially when this dish is traditionally served with the bones and all.
But if you’re not feeling lovey dovey, you have my permission to keep the bones in. Just tell them that’s how it’s meant to be traditionally. The chicken will be extra tender that the bones would be so easy to remove anyway. Not because you don’t think they’re worth it.
How to make chicken rice under an hour: get organized
This recipe was originally Amy and Jacky’s, but I found that having a Prep Summary laid out before starting was super helpful in getting me organized. The recipe SEEMS complicated because we’ll be making 3 different sauces along with the chicken, rice and soup, but it really only uses a few ingredients and minimal prep. Like this
Prep Summary
Meat
4 piece skin-on chicken thigh deboned and skin exfoliated, reserve the bones and extra skin/fat
Veggie
1 cup cabbage roughly chopped (optional, for soup)
Aromatics
3 clove garlic finely minced – for chili sauce
8 clove garlic minced – 6 for chicken and 2 for rice
20 g ginger sliced
34 g ginger grated (half for chili sauce, half for ginger scallion sauce)
3 stalk scallion thinly sliced
1 medium shallot sliced
One more thing: READ the recipe from top to bottom BEFORE starting. I write the instructions in many words mostly for clarity since the cooking process for Hainanese Chicken Rice isn’t quite the norm. But at the core, the steps are very straightforward.
They can be outlined as such:
Cook chicken in IP.
Prep sauces while you wait.
Cool chicken in an ice bath. Cook rice in IP while you wait.
Add hot water to remaining stock for soup (optional). Finishing touches to sauce.
Fluff rice and serve!
Ready for some awesome chicken-y goodness? Let’s go!
Silky poached chicken with its gelatinous skin, 3 different sauces to choose from, and fragrant chicken and garlic infused rice – all under 1 hour. Heavenly.
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time40 minutesmins
Total Time50 minutesmins
Course: Main Course, Rice Dish
Cuisine: Asian, Chinese, Malaysian, Singaporean
Keyword: Chinese Chicken Rice, Singapore chicken rice
Servings: 4
Equipment
Instant Pot
Cooling rack
Sieve
Ingredients
Chicken:
4piecesskin-on chicken thighsbest quality or organic, deboned and skin exfoliated, reserve the bones and extra skin/fat
3stalks scallions
1mediumshallotsliced
6clovesgarlicminced
20ggingersliced
1.5cupwater
1Tbspsea saltor 1.25 Tbsp kosher salt
1Tbspoil for cooking
1Tbspsesame oilfor rubbing the skin after it’s cooked
Rice:
2cupsJasmine rice*(see notes)
2clovesgarlicminced
1cupchicken stockfrom IP
1cupwater
Soup:
Remaining chicken stockfrom IP
Equal amount of water to dilute out the chicken stock
1cupcabbageroughly chopped
Sweet Soy Sauce:
1.5Tbspsweet soy sauce
1Tbspdark soy sauce
1/2tspsugaror to taste
A few drops sesame oil
1.5Tbspchicken stockfrom the IP
Ginger Scallion Sauce:
3stalks scallionthinly sliced
17ggingergrated (about 1.5 Tbsp, half of grated ginger)
2Tbspoilheated until smoking
Salt to tasteabout 1/2 tsp
Ginger Chili Sauce:
2TbspSriracha or sambal olek hot sauce
17ggingergrated (about 1.5 Tbsp, half of grated ginger)
3clovesgarlicfinely minced
1Tbsplime juice
1tspsugar
1tspchicken stockfrom the IP
Instructions
Check out the Prep Summary section for a clean look on what to prep. Have all your aromatics sorted out for each category in the ingredients list. This will make everything go by faster.
Heat up the IP on sauté mode “High” with 1 Tbsp cooking oil. When the IP reads “Hot”, add in the scallions, shallot, garlic, and ginger. If you have extra chicken skin/fat reserved from deboning, add it to the pot to render the fat (optional). Sauté for 2 minutes until golden brown and fragrant. Add in 1.5 cup water and deglaze the bottom of the pot. Add in the salt and mix. Add in the chicken thigh bones, then lay the chicken thigh pieces on top in a single layer. Cook in High Pressure for 6 minutes + Full Natural Release (cook time is roughly 20 minutes total).
Meanwhile, prepare your sauces in separate bowls. You will add the chicken stock to the sauces later when the chicken is done cooking. Mix well to dissolve any sugars in the sauce. For the Ginger Scallion sauce, heat 2 Tbsp of oil over very high heat in a wok or pan until smoking, then pour over the ginger and scallions. Mix well with the salt. Set aside.
When the chicken is almost done, prepare an ice bath and a cooling rack. Transfer the cooked chicken thighs to the ice bath with a pair of silicone tongs (or slotted spoon) being careful not to break the skin. This step makes the skin bouncy and smooth!
Meanwhile, strain the chicken stock from the IP into a clean bowl/container and squeeze out as much stock as you can from the remains. Discard the bones and spent aromatics. Clean and dry your IP lining.
Heat the IP up on sauté mode “High”. Add in 1 Tbsp oil and sauté the minced garlic for the rice. Cook for 20-30 seconds until fragrant and lightly browned. Add in the rice and stir-fry to coat the grains with the oil. Mix the chicken stock and water together, do a taste test to make sure it’s not too salty (adjust as necessary but only use 2 cups of water total for 2 cups rice). Add it to the pot. Cook on High Pressure for 4 minutes + 15 minutes Quick Release.
As you wait, transfer chicken thighs to a cooling rack. Pat the skin dry, then coat the skin of each thigh with sesame oil to prevent them from drying out. Add stock to your sauces to round them out. Turn the remaining stock into a simple side soup with cabbages. Combine stock with equal parts water (or add more for more soup). Bring to a boil and add the cabbages, then lower and simmer until cabbages are tender. Adjust with some salt or chicken bouillon if desired.
Pro tip: This is also a great time to clean up as you wait for the rice!
When the rice is ready, fluff the rice and mix well. Slice the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Serve Hainanese Chicken Rice with soup and sauces. Enjoy!
Notes
The 2 cups for rice here refers to the US standard measuring cup and NOT a rice cooker cup. If you choose to use the rice cooker cup, make sure to adjust the liquid accordingly. For the IP, use a 1:1 ratio of liquid to rice. E.g. 1 cup rice = 1 cup water. Use Jasmine or long grain rice for best results. Medium grain (like Korean or Japanese rice) will result in a different texture.
I’m a foodie with a simple philosophy: why should amazing food be reserved for the weekends alone? I’m all about making every meal delicious because, let’s face it, we only have so many meals in our lifetime.
My mission? To take the stress out of cooking with easy-to-use meal plans so you can enjoy mouthwatering recipes any day of week. Join me on this tasty journey and let’s savor “more taste, less waste” in every bite!
I’m a foodie with a simple philosophy: why should amazing food be reserved for the weekends alone? I’m all about making every meal delicious because, let’s face it, we only have so many meals in our lifetime.
My mission? To take the stress out of cooking with easy-to-use meal plans so you can enjoy mouthwatering recipes any day of week. Join me on this tasty journey and let’s savor “more taste, less waste” in every bite!
