Rice Cooker Ginger Chicken & Rice

I saw this recipe from Laurent Gras in Food & Wine and knew I’d have to make it. It has a lot of the flavors I like and will be a good weekday meal for when I’m  working a regular job again (expect fewer posts and less cooking…likely more eating out…I start in less than two weeks!).

Per usual, I made a few modifications:

• Short-grain brown rice instead of jasmine: I just used a touch more liquid to make sure the rice cooked through. I also use the regular rice setting instead of the quick cook setting.
• I didn’t have any bouillion cubes so I substituted the hot water for chicken broth. For additional flavor, I added two teaspoons of soy sauce, a dash of mirin and a splash of sesame oil.
• I only used half of the chicken called for and it really seemed to be plenty.
• I used red chard instead of baby spinach. Later this week I made some brown rice with baby spinach and it was also tasty!
• This seems to be a flexible recipe where you can easily throw in other vegetables such as black straw mushrooms and bamboo shoots.

I looooove the coconut milk in the rice and the chicken is very tender. I would probably keep the ginger in larger chunks because I don’t really like eating ginger but love the flavor in the rice. I can’t wait until I have a fancy rice cooker with a delay timer so I can have piping hot rice when I get home from a long day at the office.