My chicken and mushroom rice is an amazingly easy recipe that can be done entirely in a rice cooker. The jasmine rice is cooked in chicken stock and is flavoured with shiitake mushrooms, ginger and soy sauce. Marinated chicken strips are then added and steamed until tender. This recipe is well suited for days when your energy levels are low since 90% of the total cooking time is passive leaving you to do more important things.
I have never told anyone this before but I have never cooked rice on a stove top! I only know how to make it in a rice cooker which literally means knowing which button to press. When I repeat it in my head, it sounds shocking. In my defense I have never seen it done nor do I know anyone who does it this way. As many times I have used a rice cooker though, I rarely use it to cook anything other than plain steamed rice, which is why I’m really excited about this recipe today since it’s using my rice cooker to cook an entire meal.
This dish is one of my mum’s recipes. Her method uses the rice cooker to do absolutely everything, including cooking the chicken. I know this can seem a little strange but I promise you that it works. However, if it makes you uncomfortable for whatever reason, cooking the meat in a fry pan instead is perfectly fine.
Sourcing a Rice Cooker
It’s definitely worth getting a rice cooker! You can easily buy a new one for under $20.
Or – try your local Buy Nothing group! The Buy Nothing Project is a group of hyperlocal gift economies, which basically means you give and receive things for free with your neighbours. The Buy Nothing Project is all about doing away with the use of cash, and instead relying on connections within local communities.
My Tips for Success
- If you need the shiitake mushrooms to soften quicker, then use a pair of scissors to cut the stem off. Then cut the mushroom in half before adding boiling water.
- It is important to strain the rice after washing. If you don’t, then your water to rice ratio will be too high.
- Be quick when adding the raw chicken to the rice. You want to keep as much heat in the rice cooker as possible.
- If you don’t feel comfortable cooking the chicken in the rice cooker, then fry it in a pan. Heat up a pan on high and add 1 tbsp of canola oil. With a pair of tongs or chopsticks, pick up the chicken and lay it onto the fry pan. Do not pour the excess marinade into the pan as it will make it too salty. Cook the chicken until done.
- Every rice cooker is different. You may need to adjust cooking times to get the same results.
- This dish pairs perfectly with any steamed or boiled vegetables.
- If you are using a vegetable like pak choy / bok choy (quick to cook), then you can simply leave it in the rice cooker for a few minutes to steam.
Recipe Costings
This table shows how much this recipe will cost if you had to go out and buy everything on the ingredients list (“Shop Price”), as well as the value of ingredients actually used in the recipe (“Recipe Cost”).
We haven’t bothered with small quantities of salt, pepper or sugar as the cost would be negligible. All prices are in Australian dollars and are based off what was published on Coles Online or Woolworths Online as at time of writing.
| Ingredient | Quantity Bought | Shop Price | Recipe Needs | Recipe Cost |
| Jasmine rice | 1 kg packet | $3.40 | 2 cups (400 gm) | $1.36 |
| Chicken stock | 1 L carton | $1.90 | 3 cups (750 ml) | $1.42 |
| Ginger | 1 at $30/kg | $3.60 | 1 tsp (10 gm) | $0.30 |
| Light or standard soy sauce | 500 ml bottle | $2.85 | 2.5 tbsp (37.5 ml) | $0.21 |
| Dried Shiitake mushrooms | 50 gm packet | $3.70 | 6 (15 gm) | $1.11 |
| Brown onion | 1 at $2.90/kg | $0.52 | 1/2 | $0.26 |
| Spring onion | 1 bunch (8 stalks) | $2.00 | 1 stalk | $0.25 |
| Chicken thighs | 1.2 kg pack | $14.40 | 2 thighs (230 gm) | $3.36 |
| Honey | 500 gm jar | $5.50 | 1 tbsp (28 gm) | $0.31 |
| Total | $37.87 | $8.58 |
Other Recipes You May Like
- Vietnamese Savoury Sticky Rice – Xoi Man (Cheat Version)
- Basic Congee – Rice Porridge
- Chicken and Rice Noodle Stir Fry
- Quick Chicken and Sweetcorn Soup
- Bok Choy and Shiitake Mushroom Stir Fry
If you guys do make this recipe, please tag us at #scruffandsteph on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook. We would love to see your creations!
Thank you for visiting our blog and we hope you enjoyed this post.
Scruff & Steph
Chicken and Mushroom Rice
Equipment
- Rice Cooker
Ingredients
- 6 dried shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 2 cups white rice
- 1 spring onion / scallions, finely chopped
- 1/2 onion finely chopped
- 2 chicken thighs (230 gm), cut into thin strips
Stock
- 750 ml low sodium chicken stock
- 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp ginger, finely grated
- 1 tsp sugar
Marinade
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp honey
- cracked pepper, to taste
Optional Extras
- steamed Asian greens
- steamed broccoli
- steamed beans
Instructions
- Soak the mushrooms in a bowl of just-boiled water for 20 minutes and then cut into thin slices.
- In the rice cooker bowl, wash the rice roughly 3 times with cold tap water then strain. Add the stock ingredients and combine well.
- Lay the sliced mushrooms and chopped onions on top of the rice and press the Start button on your rice cooker. Do not stir. (Usually takes 35 – 40 minutes)
- Cut the chicken into strips. Add into a bowl along with the marinade ingredients leave until the rice is done.
- Once the rice is done, quickly fluff up with a spoon and then close the lid. Make sure to fluff the rice at the bottom of the bowl to stop it from burning.
- Quickly lay the marinated chicken strips on top of the rice without pouring in the excess marinade. Close the lid and press the “cook” button again and allow to steam for 10 – 12 minutes.
- After 10 minutes check if the chicken pieces are cooked. If they are still raw, then close the lid and let it cook until done. Once cooked, fluff up the rice again and serve.