This chicken flavored rice is toasted and cooked in chicken stock with a few aromatics to give it a delicious flavor. It’s especially good as a side dish for chicken, but would be delicious alongside anything that goes well with rice!
A Revelation at a Restaurant
The first time we tried chicken flavored rice was at a Malaysian restaurant in New Jersey. Under the side dishes, we saw, “plain rice, coconut rice, or chicken rice.” We had tried the first two, but not the third. We immediately ordered it.
And it was a revelation!
The rice had a slight oily sheen, saltiness, a mild chicken flavor, and an aroma of ginger, scallion, and garlic.
If you’ve ever had Hainan-style Chicken Rice at a restaurant, in China, or in Singapore (where it is perhaps most famous and beloved), this is basically that rice, without the chicken and other accoutrements.
We have a delicious Hainan Chicken Rice recipe that we are working on re-photographing and revamping at the moment. But it’s a bit of a project! It’s one of those things that you make on a leisurely weekend day.
But if you’re looking for something quicker and more expedient, perhaps to serve with our Easy Poached Chicken with Ginger Scallion Sauce, poached chicken breast, or simple pan-fried chicken breast, then this chicken flavored rice recipe is for you!
Controlling Salt Levels in Your Chicken-flavored Rice
The chicken flavor in this rice comes from chicken fat (you can use oil if you don’t have chicken fat available) and chicken stock. But it also comes from salt.
While Asian dishes are usually served with plain, unsalted rice, we think that salt is actually quite necessary when making chicken flavored rice. The salt is what allows your tastebuds to register that chicken flavor!
However, you definitely want to have control over the salt levels here. Depending on the chicken stock you use, there may be quite a bit of salt already in it! We recommend using low sodium chicken stock and then adding salt to taste. Even better would be using unsalted chicken stock that you made yourself, so you have complete control!
If you ever poach a chicken, you can boil down the cooking water into a more concentrated stock, and save it to make this rice. Or make my mom’s homemade chicken stock.
Rice Cooker & Stovetop Methods
Whether you’re used to cooking rice in a rice cooker, or you’re not sure how to cook rice in the first place, you can make this recipe!
We include rice cooker instructions, as well as instructions using any medium-size pot on the stove.
Neither method is better than the other. Both will yield perfect results!
What Type of White Rice is Best?
The ideal white rice to use in this recipe is jasmine rice. It has the perfect tender, fluffy texture, and just the right amount of starch, giving it that slight stickiness, while also maintaining distinct grains.
It is our preferred white rice for Chinese cooking applications, from a regular bowl of white rice to go with your meal, to making fried rice!
We find that Thai brands of premium jasmine rice in particular tend to be of higher quality!
Chicken Flavored Rice Recipe Instructions
Heat a wok over medium heat. Add the chicken fat and render for about 1 minute (if using oil, just add the oil to the wok).
Stir in the garlic, and fry briefly, making sure it doesn’t burn.
Tip: Where to get chicken fat
Often, bone-in skin-on chicken thighs come with quite a bit of fat still attached. Trim that fat and freeze it for use in this recipe! You can do the same with fat that you trim fro a whole chicken before cooking.
If you don’t have chicken fat, you can still make this recipe. Just use oil!
Add the uncooked rice.
Stir continuously for about two minutes. Turn off the heat.
To cook in a rice cooker, follow these steps next:
Scoop the rice into your rice cooker and add the chicken stock (instead of the usual water) and salt. (The liquid should come up to the ‘4’ line in your rice cooker. See tip box below, and adjust as needed.)
Nestle the ginger slices and scallion into the rice, if using. Close the lid and press START.
Tip! Rice cooker cups vs. US cups
The cup that came with your rice cooker is about equivalent to a US ¾ cup. This is apparently a rice industry standard. This can make things confusing!
In the recipe (and all our recipes that call for rice), when we call for 3 cups, we mean 3 FULL US cups, not rice cooker cups.
3 US cups is actually 4 rice cooker cups, which is why when you add the liquid to the rice cooker for this recipe, it should hit the ‘4’ line.
If you don’t have a rice cooker, you can follow these steps:
Transfer the toasted rice to a pot, and add the chicken stock. Allow the rice to soak in the pot for 30 minutes.
After soaking, stir in the salt, ginger, and scallion. Cover the pot and bring to a boil.
Once it boils, immediately turn down the heat to the lowest setting. Let the rice cook (covered) for 15 minutes, or until the rice is tender and all the liquid has absorbed into it.
Serve!
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Recipe
Chicken Flavored Rice
Ingredients
- 2 ounces chicken fat (or 3 tablespoons neutral oil)
- 4 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
- 3 cups uncooked white rice (preferably jasmine rice, rinsed and drained)
- 4 cups low sodium chicken stock (or no-salt-added homemade chicken stock)
- 1-2 teaspoons salt
- 1- inch slice ginger (optional)
- 1 scallion (cut in half crosswise; optional)
Instructions
- Heat a wok over medium heat. Add the chicken fat and render for about 1 minute (if using oil, just add the oil to the wok). Stir in the garlic, and fry briefly, making sure it doesn’t burn. Add the uncooked rice. Stir continuously for about two minutes. Turn off the heat.
- To cook in a rice cooker, scoop the rice into your rice cooker and add the chicken stock (instead of the usual water) and salt. (The liquid should come up to the ‘4’ line in your rice cooker. See tip box below, and adjust as needed.) Nestle the ginger slices and scallion into the rice, if using. Close the lid and press START.
- If you don’t have a rice cooker, transfer the toasted rice to a pot, and add the chicken stock. Allow the rice to soak in the pot for 30 minutes. After soaking, stir in the salt, ginger, and scallion. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Once it boils, immediately turn down the heat to the lowest setting. Let the rice cook (covered) for 15 minutes, or until the rice is tender and all the liquid has absorbed into it.
