A pressure cooker version of the famous comfort food-Hainese Chicken-brings the meal to the table even quicker. It’s tender, fall apart aromatic chicken with spicy and savory sauces to accompany it. Served over a bed of warm fluffy rice, it is comfort in a dish.
Hainanese Chicken originates in Southeast Asia and is traditionally made with whole chicken, ginger, garlic, green onions, and rice. The simple ingredients allow the for all the flavors to come through and shine and create a savory and comforting meal.
There are many different versions and ways to make this delicious dish. I like to pressure cook the chicken with the aromatics to reach a tender chicken more quickly, and concentrate the flavors at the same time.
🐔 What Hainanese Chicken Really Is
Hainanese chicken is more than just a meal — it’s an iconic dish with a long history and a reputation for tenderness, simplicity, and deeply comforting flavor. Originally from the Hainan province of southern China, the dish became widely popular in Singapore and across Southeast Asia, especially as part of the national food culture in Singapore where chicken rice is served in hawker centers and restaurants alike every day.
Traditionally, the chicken is gently poached at sub‑boiling temperatures so that the meat stays moist and the skin becomes silky smooth, rather than falling apart from overcooking. This slow poaching also creates a rich broth that’s later used to cook the rice — the hallmark of an authentic Hainanese chicken rice meal.
While this recipe adapts the technique to a pressure cooker, the spirit of the dish remains the same: simple ingredients, careful cooking, and a focus on extracting maximum flavor with minimal fuss.
🍲 The Flavor Behind the Aromatics
What makes Hainanese chicken so comforting isn’t just the tender chicken — it’s the fragrant aromatics paired with it. Ginger, garlic, and green onions are staples here because they infuse both the chicken and the resulting broth with layers of savory, slightly spicy, and deeply satisfying flavor without overpowering the natural taste of the chicken.
When these aromatics are cooked slowly with the chicken in a pressure cooker, they release their oils and build a foundation that transforms a basic broth into something rich and aromatic. If you’ve ever wondered why you feel warmed just smelling chicken simmering with ginger and garlic — that’s the chemistry of flavor working at its best.
This is also why many cooks and restaurants serve Hainanese chicken with a trio of sauces — typically a ginger‑scallion sauce, a chili sauce, and a lightly seasoned soy sauce — each enhancing the natural chicken flavor in a unique way.
🍛 How the Rice Ties It All Together
In traditional Hainanese chicken rice, the rice isn’t just a side — it’s a main component of the dish. It’s cooked in the very broth that the chicken was poached in, along with aromatics like ginger and garlic, so each grain becomes infused with rich, savory flavor.
In your recipe, you use chicken stock and turmeric to give the rice color and depth, which is a delicious and practical shortcut. But if you want to take your rice to the next level, try using some of the actual broth from cooking the chicken to cook the rice as well. Not only does this add complexity to every bite, it also ties the whole meal together in a way that feels intentional and unified.
Serve the rice as a warm foundation on the plate, then add the chicken on top and spoon the sauces over — the rice will act like a flavorful bed that soaks up all the juices and sauces.
🥄 Tips for the Most Tender Pressure‑Cooked Chicken
Pressure cooking is a fantastic way to speed up a dish that traditionally requires longer poaching, but a few simple tricks help make sure the chicken turns out just right:
1. Use Bone‑In, Skin‑On Chicken:
The bones and skin help keep the meat juicy and add extra richness to the broth.
2. Ice Bath for Texture (Optional):
In authentic Hainanese chicken rice preparation, cooks often plunge the poached chicken into ice water to stop the cooking immediately. This gives the chicken an almost velvety texture — especially important if you want silky, delicate skin.
3. Natural Release Helps Tenderness:
Letting the pressure release naturally for a few minutes after cooking keeps the juices locked in and helps avoid dry, overcooked meat.
4. Salt to Taste:
Because the broth gets reused for multiple elements (rice, sauces, soup), season carefully early on. It’s easier to add salt later than to fix an overly salty dish.
Instead of whole chicken, I like to use bone in, skin on, chicken legs with the thighs attached. Add this to a pressure cooker or instant pot along with the rest of your chicken ingredients: salt, ginger, garlic cloves, green onions (this time I was out so I used a whole onion cut in half), a teaspoon or turmeric, and enough water to cover. Then pressure cook for 35 minutes and the chicken is ready!
While the chicken is pressure cooking I like to prepare my rice and sauces so everything is ready at the same time. If you have time, wait until the chicken is cooked, then use some of the chicken stock to make the rice.
Since I was in a rush, I simple melted some butter and added turmeric along with a chicken stock cube. Then added my jasmine rice and toasted it in the butter. After that, all 2:1 ratio of water and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Now your rice is ready!
To make the sauces:
-For the savory sauce combine grate ginger, garlic, and sliced green onions with salt and black pepper. Then top with enough hot oil to cover.
-For the spicy sauce, combine sambal or any chili garlic sauce with brown sugar and vinegar. Top with a splash of hot broth from the chicken.
To serve start with a bed of hot fluffy rice. Top with chicken and a bit of the broth. Garnish with green onions and cucumbers and serve with the sauces. Enjoy!
Ingredients
Feeds 4
- 4 large chicken legs and thighs, bone in and skin on
- 1 inch of ginger
- 5-6 cloves whole garlic
- 1 bunch green onions or 1 medium onion cut in half
- 1 tsp turmeric
- Salt to taste
For the Rice
- 2 cups jasmine rice
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 chicken stock cube
- 4 cups water
For the Sauces
Savory Sauce:
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 1 tsp grated garlic
- 1 tsp chopped green onions
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup neutral oil
Spicy Sauce
- 2 tbsp sambal
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp vinegar
- 1/4 cup hot broth from chicken
For Garnish
- Sliced green onions
- Sesame oil
Directions
For Chicken:
1. Add all the chicken ingredients to an instant pot or pressure cooker. Top with enough water to cover and pressure cook on high for 35 minutes
For Rice
1. Melt butter in a pan and add turmeric and chicken stock. Add rice and stir until toasted. Top with water and bring to boil. Then turn heat down to low and cover and simmer for 20 minutes
For Sauces
1. Combine all the savory sauce ingredients, top with hot oil.
2. Combine all the spicy sauce ingredients.
To serve, add rice to a plate, top with chicken, spread on a little sesame oil and sprinkle of green onions. Serve with sauces and enjoy!