Chicken and rice is a ubiquitous dish. Different countries have different version of chicken and rice. The most famous chicken and rice dish in Vietnam is the Cơm Gà Hồi An. Traditionally the chicken and rice dish is composed of boiled chicken served alongside pickled carrots and daikon, shredded papaya, sweet chili sauce and sticky rice infused with turmeric and pandan leaves. No doubt it’s a delicious dish but at the same time very time consuming. So today I’m making my version of chicken and rice using the crockpot. What better way to end a long day than to come home to a comforting dish like chicken & rice.
Cooking the chicken and rice
Marinating the chicken
The first time I made this dish, I was in a hurry and just threw everything in the crock pot without marinating the chicken. Although it came out fine, the chicken definitely needed more time to soak up the marinade. Like my mom said, always marinade your meat. So what’s in the marinade? Ginger, chicken powder, turmeric, garlic, soy sauce and honey. The meat will only be as good as the marinade, so make sure to taste the marinade and adjust accordingly before putting the meat in.
Preparing the rice
If you’re hesitant about cooking rice in the crockpot, don’t be. I still followed the normal rice cooking process of rinsing the rice three times and then adding 1/4 inch of liquid. This came out to be 1.5 cups of Jasmine rice and 1.5 cups of chicken broth or water. I used chicken broth to give the rice more flavor. After adding the liquid, spread the rice out so it’s evenly spread out on the bottom of the crockpot.
For more details on how to cook rice, check out my “Perfect Jasmine Rice” post.
Adding the chicken
After the rice and chicken broth are in the crockpot, place the marinated chicken thighs on top. I like to fold the chicken thighs up (like how it came in the packages). This way it will maintain its nice shape after its cooked, making plating look better. After all we eat with our eyes first. Right?.
My favorite part is closing the lid, turning it on low and forgetting about it until dinner time. How easy was that? 😊
Chicken & Rice (Cơm Gà)
Equipment
- 1 Crockpot
Ingredients
Ingredients to marinade the chicken:
- 1½ tsp dried ginger
- 1 tsp granulated chicken powder
- 6 tbsp soy sauce
- ½ tsp pepper
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 2½ tsp honey
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 7 pieces of boneless chicken thighs rinsed and pat dry using paper towels.
Ingredients for the rice:
- 1½ cup Jasmine rice rinsed 3X.
- 1½ cup chicken broth or water I used low sodium chicken broth.
Instructions
Instructions to marinade the chicken:
- Add dried ginger, granulated chicken powder, soy sauce, honey, turmeric and garlic powder in a bowl. Mix well to combine all the ingredients.
- Pour the marinade over the chicken thighs, cover and let marinade overnight in the fridge.
Instructions to assemble the crockpot:
- Rinse the rice 3X and drain all the water. Then pour the rinsed rice in the crockpot.
- Add the chicken broth to the rice and spread the rice out evenly on the bottom of the crockpot.
- Add the marinated chicken thighs on top of the rice. Make sure to fold the chicken thighs up. This makes plating look better 🙂 Discard any juice from the marinade.
- Add the pepper on top of the chicken.
- Close the lid and turn the crockpot to low and it it cook for 5 hours.
So the next time you’re looking for a comforting yet simple dish, give this chicken & rice dish a try.
