Rice Cooker Hainanese Chicken Rice with Calamansi Chili

Ingredients

• 2 Chicken thighs (Use bone-in or boneless thighs; cook until completely done, then shred or slice.)
• 300 g Long-grain rice (Washed and drained.)
• 20 g Fresh ginger (Sliced; for the rice.)
• 3 cloves Garlic (Left whole; for the rice.)
• 250 ml Chicken stock (Add to the rice cooker pot.)
• 4 Red chilies (For the chili sauce; remove stems. Adjust variety or quantity to taste.)
• 2 Chili padi (Small hot chilies; use fewer for a milder sauce.)
• 10 g Fresh ginger (For the chili sauce.)
• 2 cloves Garlic (For the chili sauce.)
• 1 tbsp White vinegar (For the chili sauce.)
• 5 calamansi Calamansi juice (Squeeze the juice from 5 calamansi. Store-bought chili sauce may be used instead when short on time.)

Steps

1. 1

   Wash the long-grain rice until the water runs mostly clear, then drain it well. Slice the ginger and prepare the whole garlic cloves. Trim the stems from the chilies, peel the sauce ginger and garlic, and squeeze the calamansi juice.

2. 2

   Put the washed rice into the rice-cooker pot. Add the sliced ginger, whole garlic cloves, and chicken stock, distributing them evenly through the rice.

3. 3

   Place the two chicken thighs on top of the rice. Close the rice cooker and cook using its regular setting. Continue until the rice is tender and the chicken is fully cooked through; chicken should reach an internal temperature of 165°F / 74°C at the thickest part.

4. 4

   While the rice and chicken cook, combine the red chilies, chili padi, 10 g ginger, 2 garlic cloves, white vinegar, and calamansi juice in a blender or food processor.

5. 5

   Blend the chili mixture until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. Taste and adjust the heat or acidity if desired. Set the chili sauce aside.

6. 6

   When the rice cooker switches to warm, check that the rice is tender and the chicken is cooked through. Let the chicken rest in the pot for a few minutes before handling so its juices settle.

7. 7

   Transfer the chicken to a cutting board. Remove bones if necessary, then shred or slice the chicken into serving pieces.

8. 8

   Fluff the fragrant rice with a rice paddle. Serve the chicken over or beside the rice, with the blended chili sauce on the side.

Notes

The source specifies the rice cooker's regular setting and does not provide an exact cooking time; most rice cookers will take approximately 30–40 minutes. A store-bought chili sauce can be substituted for the homemade chili. The rice cooker brand and low-sugar mode mentioned in the post are promotional details, not required for the recipe.

Nutrition per serving

• main
• one-pot
• rice-cooker
• Southeast Asian
• Singaporean
• Hainanese-style
• chicken
• spicy