How to make claypot chicken rice easily in rice cooker!
Claypot chicken rice is dish of rice cooked with chicken drizzled with a savoury, slightly sweet sauce. I attempted this in a rice cooker and loved the results! The best thing about this is that I get to cook the whole meal in the rice cooker, cutting down on the pots and pans that I use.
Marinating the Chicken for Claypot Chicken Rice
I consider marinating the chicken an essential step for better flavours! Let it marinate for 30 minutes minimum, although I like to marinate it overnight.
Fatty parts like the chicken thighs are best, since the fat will melt and infuse the rice with even more flavour However, I often use chicken breasts to keep it lean, and it still tastes great.
How to make Chicken Rice in a Rice Cooker
I love this recipe for being a one-stop-shop deal! You cook everything in a pot, including vegetables to make it a comprehensive healthy dish.
I used 1 cup of rice here, with 1 cup of liquid – but this may differ based on rice cooker brands. Most rice cookers will have an indicator line, so fill up with liquid up to the line.
If your rice cooker has no indicator lines, then a 1:1 ratio is the go-to. Alright, I lie. The go-to is the first knuckle line indicator! If you’re Asian you know this all too well. Level out your rice, and add liquid. Allow the liquid to reach the first knuckle of your index finger and somehow that’s the magic amount to perfect rice everytime! Don’t ask me about the science; if it works, it works!
I added the vegetables on top of the rice to steam at the halfway mark. You can add this right at the beginning, but I don’t like too-soft, too-soggy vegetables. Adding it halfway, or closer to the end point would be best. My rice cooker has a timer for this, but if yours does not, then add the vegetables approximately 10-15 minutes in. 1 cup of rice generally cooks in about 20 minutes.
Other Ingredients for Claypot Chicken Rice
Dark Soy Sauce: The main sauce used for claypot chicken rice is Dark Soy Sauce! This not just adds a salty-sweet seasoning, it adds that dark attractive colour. I prefer using Kicap Manis, or Indonesian Dark Sweet Soy Sauce for a thicker, darker colour!
Dried Shiitake Mushrooms: The dried mushrooms is a quintessential Chinese ingredient and add that umami to the chicken rice. They’re best prepared by soaking overnight, but I rarely am that organised! Instead, I would simply choose the smallest mushrooms, and pour boiling water over. This gets me rehydrated mushrooms in 30 minutes. You can also use the mushroom soaking liquid as part of the water for the rice — it adds flavour!
Lap Cheong: Lap cheong or chinese sausages are dried and smoked sausages that are sweet and savoury. These are usually made from pork, but I found a Halal chicken version. Alternatively, you can also use char siu chicken! These are sweet and savoury too. See my easy recipe for
Salted Dried Fish (optional): Another ingredient is salted dried fish, but I rarely add this since I don’t have it too often. Besides, the salted fish works best when cooked in an actual claypot over the stove top! Allow the fish to fry in oil to fully release the flavours.
How to get a Crispy Rice Bottom in a Rice Cooker?
Usually made in a clay pot over a fire, the bottom of the rice will become crispy and almost burnt – this is my favourite part of claypot chicken rice. Since this is done in a rice cooker, there won’t be any crispy bottom BUT if you want to attempt it, let your rice cooker go through another round of cooking. Unfortunately, my rice cooker is too advanced and can sense when the rice is cooked, so I can’t quite achieve this.
More Recipes Like This
If you enjoyed this rice cooker recipe, I have tons! Try these other rice cooker recipes next:
- Rice Cooker Chicken Rice
- Mac & Cheese in a Rice Cooker
- Chicken Bak Kut Teh in a Rice Cooker
- ‘KFC’ Fried Chicken Rice in a Rice Cooker
- Rice Cooker ‘Lo Ma Gai’ Chinese Glutinous Rice
Robert Williams says
Delicious! I tripled the recipe and cooked it in my pressure cooker on the default rice setting (low pressure, 12 minutes). The extra time it took to preheat actually resulted in a clay pot-style crispy rice crust on the bottom. Since I couldn’t really open it mid-cycle, I cooked the greens separately.
ginny says
Thank you. It’s the information I was looking for and wasn’t in any recipe I found.