Rice Cooker Recipe: Mushroom Chicken Rice
Mushroom Chicken Rice is a rice cooker recipe that is so simple and easy to do. It only takes roughly 10 minutes of active cooking time; which means once the ingredients are prepared, they are added to the rice cooker to do all the cooking!
The result? Fluffy rice coated in a mix of Chinese sauces and juices released from tender chicken and soft mushrooms. Top with caramelized shallots for delicious bites, and an appetising fragrance from sesame oil, spring onions and onion oil.
This Mushroom Chicken Rice recipe is such a wholesome, nutritious meal that is hassle-free as well!
Ingredients
Boneless Chicken, cut into bite-sized cubes. They were roughly 1cm in length, width and height. This guarantees that they will be fully cooked with the rice in the cooker. Do not use bone-in as they will not be properly cooked, and minced meat is also not recommended as it would lose its shape once cooked.
White Rice, which is uncooked. I specifically used medium-grain rice for this recipe, not the short variation (like Japanese rice), nor the long ones (like Basmati rice). If possible, use Jasmine rice as it is very fragrant and appetising.
Fresh Shiitake Mushrooms give additional sweetness to the Mushroom Chicken Rice. I used fresh ones as dry ones tend to be not as sweet. However, they are very fragrant. They were also cut in cubes (or in quarters) so they cook quickly and easily. If fresh shiitake mushrooms are not available, dried ones can be used as well. Make sure to rehydrate them by fully submerging them in warm water for 1-2 hours or hot water for an hour.
Salt – to marinate the chicken.
Oyster Sauce, which gives a deep umami flavour for the rice to cook in and absorb.
Light Soy Sauce for additional seasoning to the rice, chicken and mushrooms.
Sesame oil, which gives a slight fragrance and flavour.
Red Chilli (Cayenne Pepper) adds a light, mild spicy nudge in every few bites. For an even milder chilli flavour, slit the chilli vertically and remove all the seeds before chopping. Or omit it altogether, if preferred.
Mixed Frozen Vegetables (Thawed) give a visual interest and make the Mushroom Chicken Rice more colourful and pretty appetising.
Onion Oil, which adds fragrance and fluffiness to the rice. As an oil, it helps prevents the rice from clumping, so the texture is very much like fried rice. It is also very easy to make at home.
Crispy Fried Shallots add a caramelized, complex sweetness to alternate bites to the Mushroom Chicken Rice. I love it as a topping and garnishing on many dishes I make; best of all it can be bought or made at home! It can even be served as a condiment for extra flavour.
Spring Onions, which are chopped roughly. Added together with the mixed vegetables, they release a lovely fragrance and can be prepared as a garnish as well. It can be substituted with cilantro if unavailable.
Steps
Here are the brief steps to make the Chicken Mushroom Rice recipe:
- Gather the ingredients.
- Marinate the chicken with salt.
- Wash the rice and mushrooms.
- Thoroughly mix the rice with oyster sauce, light soy sauce, sesame oil, chicken, mushroom and water.
- Cook the rice in the rice cooker.
- Stir the rice in the 5 minutes before fully cooked.
- Add chillies, mixed vegetables, onion oil, crispy fried shallots and spring onions.
- Set the rice cooker to “Keep Warm” for 15 minutes.
- Garnish with crispy fried shallots and spring onions.
Tips
- Use boneless breast meat for tender chicken. Cut them into small, bite-sized cubes for faster cooking time. The same goes for the shiitake mushrooms.
- If using dried shiitake mushrooms, make sure to fully submerge them in warm water for about 1-2 hours to re-hydrate them.
- Wash the rice once or twice, or until all the dirt and bugs have been removed. It is not necessary to wash until clear as it removes most of the starch formed when the rice is polished.
- Burying all the chicken and mushrooms into the rice as they cook helps to distribute the heat evenly, and also allows the rice to absorb the juices released for a more flavourful dish.
- Once the rice is cooked, immediately add the rest of the ingredients, so the steam and the residual heat will cook them evenly.
- Onion oil gives a lovely fragrance and makes the rice grains fluffy. If not available, it can be omitted.
- Make sure to watch the full video to see how I made it exactly!
Storage Instructions
This Mushroom Chicken Rice dish can be kept in the fridge once fully cooled until the next day. Be sure to reheat via steaming over boiling water for about 10 minutes, or frying in a non-stick pan/ wok ala fried rice.
I don’t recommend freezing it as may affect the texture of the rice, causing it to turn mushy.
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Mushroom Chicken Rice in Rice Cooker
Equipment
- Rice Cooker
- Basin
- Strainer
- Ladle
Ingredients
- 100 g boneless chicken, cut into bite-sized cubes
- 1 cup Jasmine rice, uncooked
- 40 g shiitake mushrooms, fresh, cut into cubes
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1/4 tsp light soy sauce
- 1/4 tsp sesame oil
- 250 ml water
- 1 tbsp red chilli, Cayenne pepper, sliced thinly
- 2 tbsp mixed vegetables, thawed
- 1 tbsp onion oil, homemade
- 1 tbsp fried shallots
- 1/2 tbsp spring onions, chopped
Instructions
- Prepare all the ingredients.
- Marinate the chicken with the salt. Set aside.
- Place the rice in the rice pot. Rinse the rice once and drain all the water.
- Repeat once more. Wipe the external sides of the rice pot dry and place into the rice cooker.
- Gently rinse the mushrooms and set aside.
- Mix in the oyster sauce, light soy sauce, sesame oil, marinated chicken cubes and shiitake mushrooms until evenly distributed.
- Add water and mix. Push down all the rice stuck to the sides of the pot. Do the finger check.
- Cover the pot and set it to cook.
- After 15 minutes, give the rice a gentle stir, and push down the chicken and mushrooms to bury them in the rice. Cover the pot and let it cook until complete.
- After the rice cooker is done, add chilli, mixed vegetables, onion oil, fried shallots, and spring onions. Stir the rice gently to distribute them evenly.
- Cover the pot and let it keep warm for a minimum of 15 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, dish it out and serve.
- Optionally, garnish with additional fried shallots and spring onions.
Video
Notes
- Use boneless breast meat for tender chicken. Cut them into small, bite-sized cubes for faster cooking time. The same goes for the shiitake mushrooms.
- If using dried shiitake mushrooms, make sure to fully submerge them in warm water for about 1-2 hours to re-hydrate them.
- Wash the rice once or twice, or until all the dirt and bugs have been removed. It is not necessary to wash until clear as it removes most of the starch formed when the rice is polished.
- Burying all the chicken and mushrooms into the rice as they cook helps to distribute the heat evenly, and also allows the rice to absorb the juices released for a more flavourful dish.
- Once the rice is cooked, immediately add the rest of the ingredients, so the steam and the residual heat will cook them evenly.
- Onion oil gives a lovely fragrance and makes the rice grains fluffy. If not available, it can be omitted.
- Be sure to watch the video to exactly how I made it!