EASY CHICKEN RICE - RICE COOKER STYLE

Got inspired by a FB posting on cooking chicken rice in rice cooker. For the first try I followed her recipe, and have since made some adjustments to make the dish taste better and neater. It's so much easier than in the past where I had to poach chicken that took at least one hour, used the not-much-flavoured stock in the rice, etc. THIS is much quicker and I can take my time to slowly do the side dishes! 

Tip: Place the crushed ginger and pandan leaves in the middle of rice cooker, and raise the bird with a steamer rack. In this case, you will avoid getting wet rice in the centre and rice-coated chicken.

My family also loves this simple side dish - salted succulent shallots. It's very easy. In an oil bath, just gently fry a bowlful of roughly sliced, peeled shallots until they become ttranslucent. Place in a heat-proof bowl (leaving most oil behind) and add salt (lots) to taste. Salt compliments well with sweet shallots.

EASY CHICKEN RICE - RICE COOKER STYLE

Ingredients

1 fresh kampong chicken, about 1.2kg

4 cups uncooked rice

1 bundle pandan leaves

1 bulb garlic

Ginger, approx palm-sized

2 cups water

1.5 cups Swanson chicken stock

1.5 pc chicken stock cube

40g salted butter, cut into 3 slices

Salt to taste

Marinade

2 tbsp low sodium salt

1 tbsp Shaoxing wine

1 tbsp light soya sauce

1 tsp ground white pepper

Some crushed ginger

Method

1. Clean chicken and marinade it. Remember to rub the cavity as well. Place ginger in cavity. Set aside for 30 min.
2. Lightly crush ginger and garlic, leaving the peels on.
3. Wash rice, stir in ginger, garlic, pandan leaves, butter, chicken stock, stock cube and water. Give a taste and adjust to your liking. Try to place most ginger and pandan leaves in the middle of rice cooker.
   
4. Place a small steamer rack in middle. Cut chicken open at the breast. Place chicken on rack with breast facing downward.
   
   
   
   
5. Cook rice as usual.
6. Once rice cooker beeps, remove chicken. Stir rice to mix well. 
7. Place chicken back onto rack into rice cooker and allow keep-warm mode to continue cook the chicken, about 20 min.
8. Rub cooked bird with some sesame oil and salt if desired. Serve!
   

CHILLI SAUCE

Ingredients

10-12 red chilli padi, remove stalks

2-3 red chillies, remove stalks

2 cloves garlic, remove peel

1.5 tbsp white vinegar

1.5 tbsp low sodium salt

1.5 tsp sugar

3 tbsp oil (from frying onion)

Just blitz everything in a chopper or small blender. Adjust taste accordingly.