Vietnamese roasted chicken rice

All the flavour of Vietnamese roasted chicken rice – without the oven. Jillian Nguyễn's smart rice cooker hack starts with pan-frying marinated chicken that finishes cooking over the heat of the rice, allowing the rich, savoury juices and rendered fat from the chicken to infuse every grain with flavour.

Credit: Jiwon Kim

• serves

  2

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1 chicken Maryland (see Note)
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 cups jasmine rice, rinsed well
• 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp chicken stock powder
• A pinch ground turmeric
• Salt and black pepper
• Sliced spring onion, lime cheeks, to serve

For the marinade

• 1½ tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp caster sugar
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tsp chicken stock powder
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• A large pinch each of ground turmeric, five-spice powder, salt and pepper

Marinating time: 30 minutes, if possible (or overnight)

Instructions

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the ingredients for the marinade. Stir well to dissolve, then add the chicken. Mix well to coat with the marinade, then refrigerate for 30 minutes (or overnight). If you don’t have time to marinate, the chicken can be cooked straight away.
2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Pan-fry the chicken and cook until the skin is crisp and golden on both sides.
3. Combine the rinsed rice, garlic, chicken stock powder, a pinch of ground turmeric and a generous pinch of salt and pepper in a rice cooker bowl. Place the seared chicken on top of the rice, along with the remaining marinade ingredients, then pour over enough water to cover the rice. Cook according to the rice cooker instructions.
4. Once cooked, stand covered for 5 minutes on the keep warm setting, then uncover and serve the chicken with the rice. Sprinkle with spring onion and serve the lime cheeks on the side.

Note

Chicken Marylands vary in size. This recipes uses one large; with smaller Marylands, you may need two to feed two people.

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.