If you don’t want to spend your evening washing dishes, try this delicious one-pan Chinese chicken and rice dinner that reveals juicy chicken with crispy skin atop extra-flavorful rice. {Gluten-Free adaptable}
There are some nights where the task of cooking dinner feels like even more of a burden. If it’s not the prepping and cooking, then it’s the dishes left behind after all that hard work. My Chinese chicken and rice dish cooks up in one pan to give you a delicious and filling meal without a fuss that incorporates those pantry staples for a simple dinner any night.
It’s like a traditional Chinese clay pot chicken, but with my recipe, I have simplified the process so you don’t need to brown the chicken. To guarantee maximum flavor, the recipe does call for marinating the chicken for 20 minutes. Rest assured, you can go ahead and prepare the rest of the ingredients and the chicken will be ready to use once the rest of the prep work is done.
What cut of chicken to use
And speaking of chicken, while you can use any kind you like for this Chinese chicken and rice, I recommend bone-in chicken with the skin on because it gives you even more flavor. If you’d prefer to use boneless or skinless (or boneless and skinless), you can of course choose to do so.
Extra flavorful rice
One of the secrets to bringing out the flavor of this dish and adding that authentic Chinese taste is to use Pacific Foods Organic Chicken Bone Broth combined with fresh aromatics. Bone broth goes one step further than regular broth because it adds more richness. It also adds in a nutritional punch of protein and naturally occurring collagen.
I enjoy sipping bone broth for these reasons, though I also adore cooking with it because it adds another dimension of flavor. The Pacific brand is a favorite of mine because it’s very fragrant while having a lower sodium content, at only 290 mg, compared to other chicken broth varieties that have 800 mg or more.
If you can’t find Pacific’s Organic Chicken Bone Broth, you can use their low sodium chicken broth in this recipe for results that are just as delicious while keeping the sodium to a reasonable level.
What type of rice to use & water ratio
I prefer to use long grain rice, such as jasmine rice or basmati rice, to cook this dish. Long grain rice is less starchy than short grain rice, so it yields fluffy results with nicely separated grains.
Water ratio
One tricky thing about cooking rice is the water ratio. Even if you’re using the same type of rice, the water ratio might vary depending on the brand and how the rice was processed.
To make sure you’re using the correct water ratio, check the instructions on the package before starting cooking. If your package doesn’t call for the standard 2:1 water:rice ratio, you need to adjust the recipe accordingly. I’ve included a footnote under the recipe; make sure you follow the guide.
Cooking process
Cooking one-pan Chinese chicken and rice is super easy:
- Marinate the chicken
- Saute the ginger and garlic to release the fragrance
- Stir in the rice
- Add the broth, seasoning, and chicken
- Cook it covered (on the stove top or in the oven) until the rice is done
- Bake it uncovered under the broiler to crisp up the chicken
While cooking the chicken rice, I usually boil a pot of water to blanch some veggies to add on the side. Broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, Chinese broccoli, and baby bok choy all work very well.
Once you pull the chicken rice out from under the broiler, you’ll see that the chicken skin is perfectly browned and the top layer of rice has crisped up and tastes heavenly. The recipe yields four servings, but I have to confess that I devoured half a pan in one sitting, then I snacked on some more later the same day. It is THAT good.
This Chinese chicken and rice dish is sure to become a new family favorite, and if you have any leftovers, you’ll love it for lunch the next day too!
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More delicious one pan dinner recipes
- Yaka Mein (Beef Noodle Soup)
- Chicken Fried Rice
- 15-Minute Korean Noodle Soup
- Steamed Salmon in Black Bean Sauce
- Easy Fried Udon (Yaki Udon)
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One-Pan Chinese Chicken and Rice
Ingredients
- 4 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs (about 1.75 lbs / 800 g in total)
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 ” (2.5 cm) ginger , minced
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 cup long grain white rice , rinsed and drained
- 1 1/2 cup Pacific Foods Organic Chicken Bone Broth with Sea Salt , adjust the broth quantity according to your particular kind of rice (*Footnote 1)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
Wet rub
- 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Dry rub
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper (or black pepper)
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Chinese red pepper flakes (or Korean pepper flakes)
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Rub the chicken thighs with the wet rub of shaoxing wine and sesame oil. Add the dry spices and toss to coat. Let marinate for 20 minutes.
- (Optional) Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) if you plan to use the oven baking method instead of the stovetop method.
- In a high-sided oven-safe pan (9” or 10” diameter cast iron or carbon steel pan or dutch oven), add the sesame oil and heat over medium-low heat. Add the ginger and garlic and saute until fragrant and lightly golden, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the rice and stir until evenly coated with oil. Turn the heat off.
- Arrange the rice and make four wells for the chicken. Add the chicken thighs to the wells, skin-side-up, nestling them in so there isn’t too much rice underneath.
- Add the broth and soy sauce. Cover the pan with a lid or aluminum foil.
- Oven method: Move the pan to the oven and cook for 25 minutes. Once done, check the rice. If the rice is still a bit tough, return the pan to the oven and bake for another 5 minutes.
- Stovetop method: Bring the broth to a boil. Cover the pan with a lid or aluminum foil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer on the stovetop for 20 minutes.
- Turn on the broiler. Remove the lid or foil from the pan and move the pan under the broiler. Broil for 5 minutes, or until the chicken skin gets some color and crisps up.
- Remove the pan from the oven and let rest for 5-10 minutes. Serve hot as a main dish.
Notes
- It’s very important to adjust the amount of liquid according to the type of rice you’re using. This recipe was tested using regular long grain rice, which usually calls for a 2:1 water:rice ratio. In this case, you will need the 1 1/2 cup broth. After adding other liquid ingredients (soy sauce and sesame oil) plus the juice released from cooked chicken, you will get perfect fluffy rice. The best practice is to check the package of your rice and reduce the stock by 2 tablespoons per 1/4 cup of broth required by the package. For example, if your package calls a 1 3/4: 1 water:rice ratio, you should use 1 1/3 cup chicken broth. If your package calls for a 1 1/2: 1 ratio, you should use 1 1/4 cup chicken broth.
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?
I’d love to hear how it turned out for you! Please take a moment to leave a 5-star rating ⭐️ and share your thoughts in the comments further down the page. It really helps others discover the recipe too.
Jill Ross
This is an outstanding recipe! The rice tasted just like Chinese take out. I did add and substitute a couple of things. I added vegetables to mine – 1 cup chopped broccoli and a half cup each chopped onion and chopped pepper. I also found that I had to add a half cup more water. Instead of chicken broth, I used water and two tablespoons of oyster sauce. THIS WAS SOO DELICIOUS. Thanks for sharing this.