As the weather gets colder, I often crave a cozy bowl of chicken and rice with some kind of Asian-style sauce. It’s so comforting, easy on digestion, and versatile. This version combines ginger, scallions, brown rice, and bone-in chicken pieces in the Instant Pot for a simple and fool-proof cooking method! When bone-in chicken gets cooked on top of rice, its collagen and juices melt into the rice, giving it a glossy, almost risotto-like texture. For the sauce, we’re making ginger and scallion infused oil with soy sauce and vinegar that you’ll spoon all over the chicken. It’s so hearty and comforting!
Ingredient highlight
Ginger! gets it’s medicinal effects from a substance called gingerol. It is a carminative, which means it helps get rid of gas and soothes our digestive system. It can also boost the immune system and reduce inflammation.
Servings 4
Prep Time 15 minutes 
Cook Time 40 minutes Ingredients
- 2-2.5 lbs bone-in skin-on chicken thighs and/or breasts, excess skin trimmed off*
- 1 ¼ tsp kosher salt, divided
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ¾ bunch scallions, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
- ⅓ cup finely chopped ginger (see notes)**
- 1 ½ cups short grain brown rice
- 1 ½ cups water
- 1 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
Ginger scallion oil:***
- 2 tbsp finely chopped ginger **
- ¼ bunch scallions, thinly sliced (about ¼ cup)
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
Serve with (optional):
- Steamed/sauteed broccoli, leafy greens and/or mushrooms
- More fresh herbs (scallions, cilantro, mint, basil, etc…)
- Kimchi
- *I like to use a combination of bone-in breasts and thighs (1 pack of each).
- **A 2-3 inch piece of ginger should give you about ½ cup finely chopped, which is about the amount you need for the whole recipe.
- **For the ginger oil – you can grate it if you prefer to not have bigger ginger chunks (about 1 tbsp grated).
- ***Once this has cooled down, pour it into a jar with a lid and shake vigorously. This will help emulsify it!
- ***If you don’t want to be bothered with the hot oil or want a lighter sauce, you could make this sesame ginger sauce instead! Top your bowls with scallions.
Instructions
- Season the chicken all over with about 1 teaspoon salt.
- In a 6-quart Instant Pot, press the sauté button and set to “normal” or “medium”. Add the olive oil, scallions, and ginger, and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 3 minutes. Press “cancel”.
- Stir in the rice to coat, then stir in the water and soy sauce, scraping up any bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Place the chicken on top (skin-side-up). Lock the lid in place and set the vent to “sealing”. Cook on manual pressure (set to high) for 20 minutes. Let it naturally release for 10 minutes, then manually release the remaining pressure by moving the valve to “venting”.
- Transfer the chicken to a cutting board to cool off a bit before carving/slicing the chicken.
To make the scallion ginger oil:
- Add the ginger and scallions to a small-medium heat-proof bowl. In a small pot, add the oil and place over medium-high heat. You want to get the oil nice and hot, but not so hot that it starts smoking a lot. So once you notice that the oil is shimmering or forming ripples across the surface and just beginning to smoke, turn off the heat and pour over the ginger/scallions. There should be a lot of sizzling happening (if it doesn’t sizzle aggressively, you may want to drain that oil off and try again). Let it sit for 5-10 minutes, then stir in the soy sauce and vinegar.
To serve:
- Add rice and chicken to your bowl. Add broccoli or greens, if using. Stir the sauce up well (or shake it in a jar, see note) and spoon it over the chicken and veggies.
Items you can prep ahead (optional)
- Thinly slice 1 bunch scallions
- Finely chop a 3-inch piece of ginger (see recipe note)
- Make scallion ginger oil
- Cook any veggies you want to serve alongside
Substitutions:
- To make vegetarian, you can simply serve rice with roasted or pan-fried tofu (and veggies), topped with the ginger scallion oil, etc…
- Make it with jasmine white rice (rinsed well) and boneless chicken. Follow the recipe as is, but reduce the cook time to high pressure for 4 minutes, with a 10 minute natural release.
Storage:
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer:
- Rice: up to 6 days in the fridge or 2 months in the freezer
- Chicken: up to 4 days in the fridge or 2 months in the freezer
- Ginger scallion oil: up to 7 days in the fridge
Leftovers + Repurposing:
- Warm up the chicken and rice. I like to carve the chicken off the bone so it heats up faster and more evenly. Cover it with a wet paper towel and microwave until warmed through.
- Let the ginger scallion oil sit out so that the olive oil liquifies OR pop it in the microwave for about 10 seconds. Shake it up in a jar to emulsify right before spooning it over the chicken.
- Top with something tangy and crunchy like kimchi, pickled veggies, or cucumbers tossed in vinegar.
- Put a fried egg on it.
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