Judy Hom
Have you used the Instant Pot that you received for Christmas? Get over your Instant Pot anxiety and try out this recipe for Hainan chicken.
I have made this recipe twice with tasty results. On the first time, I made the chicken only and made white rice in the rice cooker. On the second time, I went for whole thing — chicken and rice! Wow, the rice was incredibly tasty. From here on out, I will always make the rice along with the chicken.
I followed Amy and Jacky’s recipe as written except that I used canola oil instead of olive oil because I always use a neutral oil for Asian dishes. The ingredient list is not long. With the exception of shallots, the recipe uses items that you typically use in your everyday Asian cooking: 2-4 chicken legs, chicken broth, green onions, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, Shaoxing cooking wine, and jasmine rice.
The secret to the success of this dish is the dipping sauce and to not skimp on the green onions and ginger. I didn’t have peanut oil so I used canola oil. I heated up the canola oil in my wok and drizzled it over the minced ingredients. This is the same method that I use when finishing steamed fish. My mom told me that hot oil removes the fishy taste.
I did plunge the chicken legs in the ice bath after cooking. You need to be patient with this step. I was too hasty with my first attempt and the legs were not firm. With my second attempt, the results were better.
What did I learn from this? I learned that it only takes 8 minutes to cook chicken and 3 minutes to cook rice. I also learned that the Instant Pot does a good job of cooking grains in a short amount of time.
Give it a try and let me know your results!
Link to Amy + Jacky’s Hainan Chicken Recipe: https://www.pressurecookrecipes.com/hainanese-chicken-rice-pressure-cooker/
