One step, one Pot, less than 5 ingredients, and you've got an authentic tasting Hainanese Chicken Rice Instant Pot recipe that your whole family will love.
What Makes This Hainan Chicken So Good?
- Fast. Made in less than 30 minutes with the help of this Instant Pot recipe.
- Easy. A simple pour and cook recipe.
- Few Ingredients. Made with less than 5 ingredients.
- Authentic tasting. Not an authentic cooking method, but the flavor is fantastic.
What Is Hainanese Chicken Rice?
Hainanese Chicken Rice is a rice and chicken dish that is very popular in Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. It is called Khao Man Gai in Thailand. It is based on Wenchang Chicken, a popular Chinese dish that has been adopted in various regions of Asia.
How Do You Make Traditional Hainanese Chicken?
I just want to say, I do know how to make this dish properly I just don't want to spend hours making it. I wanted it for dinner and if you want proper Hainanese chicken for dinner you better start early.
- Boil the chicken. People traditionally use chicken breast but you can also use chicken thighs.
- Submerge the chicken in cold water to get a smooth texture.
- Make rice with rendered chicken fat.
- Make a killer sauce to serve with it.
Of course, that's not how I did it. But I promise you'll be just as satisfied with this version.
How To Make Instant Pot Hainan Chicken Rice
- Pour. Put rice and water in the Instant Pot
- Add. Place chicken breast or thighs cut into small pieces on top of the rice.
- Dump. Pour in the paste
- Cook. Set your Instant Pot to high pressure for 6 minutes, 10 Mins NPR
So, of course, I cooked the chicken and the rice in one pot and I used a mix that contains ginger and fat. No really, I use a mix for this. You guys know I never use pre-made mixes, but I do use this Asian Gourmet Hainanese Chicken Rice Mix because it is AWESOME and effortless.
This is a super family-friendly dish that's hard to get wrong if you make it my "lazy person" way.
What Kind Of Chicken Should You Use?
I typically use skinless chicken breast, but if you use chicken with the skin still on it, it renders more fat. More fat equals more flavor for the rice.
If you prefer to use chicken thighs, I've tried it this way too. It's just as delicious.
Where's The Dipping Sauce?
Traditionally this Hainan Chicken recipe is served with a super flavorful and delicious dipping sauce. But I was in a hurry when I created this recipe and it was good without it. If you have a few extra minutes and want to take the dish up a notch, try making this dipping sauce. You'll need:
- Sriracha
- Minced Ginger
- Minced Garlic
- Sesame Oil
- Sugar
- Lime Juice
- Water
You'll want to mix this together and serve on the side to drizzle over the Hainan Chicken.
Want More One Pot Instant Pot Recipes?
- Instant Pot Butter Chicken is an easy 30-minute dinner and you can make rice on top of it, as the video shows.
- Pressure Cooker Rice and Dal is a great vegetarian rice dinner.
- This Lebanese Lentil and Rice dish is another great Vegetarian Instant Pot recipe.
- Instant Pot Indian Khichadi is comfort food in a bowl!
- Instant Pot Risotto with Shrimp is another one-pot comfort meal.
- Buffalo chicken casserole for the days you want low carb recipes
- You might also like low carb Chicken Biryani that uses riced cauliflower.
- Chicken and Mushrooms are a great combo.
- My kids love Instant Pot Pork Chops with Rice and Vegetables
- Zucchini Lasagna- You won't even miss the pasta.
- Haluski Recipe - A wonderful cabbage and noodles recipe.
If your family loves this recipe for Hainanese Chicken Rice as much as my family does, make sure you share it with your friends on Facebook and Pinterest so you can make it again soon.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (185 g) Basmati Rice, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup (250 g) Water
- 1 pound (453.59 g) Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs (or chicken breasts), boneless
- 1 pack (1 pack) Asian Gourmet Hainanese Chicken Rice Mix
Hainan Chicken Red Dipping Sauce
- 1 tbsp Sriracha Sauce
- 1 tsp Minced Ginger
- 1 tsp Minced Garlic
- 1/2 tsp Sesame Oil
- 1/2 tsp Sugar Or Other Sweetener Equivalent
- 1 fresh lime juice
- 2-3 tbsp Water
Instructions
- I don't even know why I'm bothering to write a proper recipe for this because basically you put everything in your Instant pot or pressure cooker.
- Mix together water and rice.
- Cut chicken breast into 3 pieces and lay on top of rice.
- Add seasoning packet.
- Set your cooker on high pressure for 6 minutes, and allow pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes, and then release all remaining pressure.
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Nutrition
Originally published July 7, 2017
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FP
Followed the instructions but got a burn notice. Any insight on what could have gone wrong?
TwoSleevers
A few different things can cause the burn notice with this recipe. I would make sure your rice is thoroughly rinsed. Also, layering your ingredients is important. Make sure you're not mixing it all before starting the cooking cycle.
Kimberlee Osburn
This did not work for me at all, I'm sorry to day. Dry chicken and a confusing flavor all salty. The rice burnt, too
Debba
I made this exactly as instructed, purchased the seasoning packet, too. I made it in an 8 qt and using boneless, skinless chicken breasts. I gave it 4 stars because, while very tasty, the chicken was really dry. Next time I will use thighs and I'm sure it will be a 5 star experience. I'm wondering if skin-on and/or bone in breasts would help counter the dryness? Or maybe pull the chicken out sooner, then let the rice finish cooking? This result has begun to cement my opinion that chicken breasts and the IP are not well suited to each other. But as I'm not very experienced with the IP, yet, I dunno and am open to hearing your thoughts. Thank you for all your tasty recipes!
Debba
This has become a staple in my rotation. I have figured out that the way to keep the breast meat from being dried out is not to cut it in pieces. I make this in a 8qt and I have never gotten the burn notice.
Joban
Hi Urvashi,
I own several of your cook books, and primarily follow you for your keto recipe's. Could riced cauliflower be substituted for the basmati? I realize the absorption would be different, but could there be a somewhat more keto version of this dish?
Julie Conason
I'm a little confused by the recipe, which calls for chicken thighs in the ingredients, and then specifies "cutting the chicken breast into three pieces."
URVASHI PITRE
Ah good catch. I meant to write for both since people always ask how to make for whatever cut of meat I DIDN’T write it for hah! Yeah either breast or thigh is good. I will update recipe
Karen in PEI
I was so looking forward to making this, but the packets are 25 dollars each in Canada on Amazon, so I think I'm going to have to skip it. It looks delicious though, thank you so much for all the hard work you do for us, Urvashi
Shirley
Hi there
Just wondering if I could use Bone in chicken thighs? How long would I cook it for?
Thanks
URVASHI PITRE
That actually won’t work with the rice which cooks in 4 minutes. What might work is to precook the thighs a little by browning well, and then proceeding as directed.
Barbara Gabbe-Harris
Is the packaged spice mix very hot and spicy? I don’t like hot,
but I do like interesting spices. I made your Butter Chicken in
My slow cooker..I loved the way all the spices were combined in
The food processor first. Delicious sauce! Perfect for me! Not
Hot.
URVASHI PITRE
Not at all spicy. Very mild and comforting taste of ginger and garlic.
Nabs
Tasty but I'm confused as to whether I was supposed to place all the ingredients then mix them together or just simply olace the rice, place the chicken on top and then the sauce just poured all over then cook without mixing it all together
URVASHI PITRE
I mix everything together and cook it.