Kiam Peng (Salty/Savoury Rice in Rice Cooker)

If your family owns a rice cooker, then your mom may have made this one-pot throw-everything-in Kiam Peng before.

Kiam Peng is a term in Hokkien, which literally translates to Salty Rice. It is made by combining uncooked rice, meat, vegetables and seasoning like soy sauce, sesame oil and oyster sauce in a rice cooker pot and then let the rice cooker do the job.

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The meat can be chicken, pork, ham, luncheon meat, lup cheong (a dried, smoky, sweet and salty pork sausage) or salted fish while the vegetables can be carrots, cabbage, long beans, corn, peas, mushrooms etc – the variations are endless! The only thing to take note is to add slightly lesser water than stipulated by the rice cooker so that the rice is cooked but not mushy.

My mom prepares her Kiam Peng with chopped chicken drumsticks, long beans and lup cheong, and I would always tell her to cook more because without fail, I would scoop a double serving for dinner that night. Yum!

For my version of Kiam Peng, I wanted to throw in whatever I could find in my refrigerator – hence you are seeing cabbage, mushrooms, French beans and carrots popping up. Boneless chicken thighs are used so that X will not complain about having to pick out the bones and I’ve also did some sautéing first to add more flavour to the rice.

During my first attempt, the rice was added to the frying pan to coat with the oil then transferred into the rice cooker, but it made it difficult to measure the amount of water required to cook the rice. So the second time I made this, I measured the rice into the rice cooker, rinsed it and added slightly lesser water stipulated by the marking on the rice cooker, then added everything else in. It tasted equally delicious and it’s so much easier!

This recipe is actually a lot more detailed than the chicken rice recipe I posted previously as I did went to weigh and measure the ingredients in cups, but there’s actually no need to be so specific as the recipe is extremely forgiving. Except for the onion and garlic (and maybe ginger if you can find it easily) which are a must, the rest of the vegetables can be swapped in and out to your liking.

As usual, I had to make a double portion for the two of us because of my rice cooker. The leftovers are refrigerated and heated up the next day. If you spread the rice in a single layer and cook, stirring minimally, the bottom crisps up, just like the bottom of claypot rice!

So do give this recipe a try, and tell me what is your version of Kiam Peng!

Step-by-step Photos
1) Season chopped chicken thighs with salt and black pepper.	2) Heat oil over high heat in a large pan and sear the meat in a single layer.
3) Cook until the chicken is browned on both sides (don't have to be cooked through). Remove the chicken thighs.	4) Sauté onion, garlic and ginger until aromatic.
5) Add in the vegetables and stir fry for a minute.	6) Add in more vegetables (cabbage) and let it wilt a little bit.
7) Scoop rice into rice cooker, rinse the rice and add water until it is slightly lesser than the stipulated amount. Add in the chicken, the stir-fried vegetables and the seasoning.	8) Mix everything well and cook as per normal.

You might also be interested in these delicious one-pot rice dish:

Chicken, Chorizo and Prawn Paella

Rice Cooker Hainanese Chicken Rice

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Kiam Peng (Salty/Savoury Rice in Rice Cooker)

Inactive time: 15 min (to let the rice rest)

By Jasline N.

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time40 minutes mins

Servings: 0 Serves 3 to 4

0.511.523

INGREDIENTS

 

• ▢ 500 grams boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch chunks (about 4 pieces)
• ▢ Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• ▢ 4 tablespoons oil
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced (2 tablespoons)
• ▢ 50 grams onion, peeled and diced (1/3 cup, about 1/2 medium onion)
• ▢ 30 grams ginger, peeled and sliced (about thumb-size big)
• ▢ 150 grams fresh mushrooms, thickly sliced (2 1/2 cups)
• ▢ 90 grams carrot, peeled and diced into 1/2-inch cubes (1/2 cup, about 1/2 carrot)
• ▢ 65 grams French beans, sliced into 3/4-inch chunks (1/2 cup)
• ▢ 225 grams cabbage, thickly sliced (4 cups)
• ▢ 300 grams long-grain rice, rinsed and drained (1 1/2 cups, about 2 rice cooker cups)
• ▢ Water or stock to cook the rice, about 1 1/8 to 1 1/4 cups
• ▢ 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• ▢ 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• ▢ 1/2 tablespoon light soy sauce
• ▢ 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
• ▢ Coriander / spring onion, for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

• Season chicken thighs with salt and black pepper. Heat a large frying pan (or wok) over high heat until very hot. Add in 3 tablespoons oil and then the seasoned chicken in one layer. Sear for 1 minute without touching then flip on the other side and sear for another minute. Remove the chicken pieces into the rice cooker pot. (No need to clean out the pan.)
• Turn the heat down to medium-low and add in the remaining tablespoon of oil. Add in the garlic, onion and ginger and sauté, stirring frequently, until the onion is translucent. Add in the mushrooms and carrot. Turn the heat up to medium and cook until the mushrooms have shrunk in size. Add in the French beans and cabbage and cook for another minute. Remove from heat.
• Rinse the rice and place in a rice cooker. Add in water / stock until it is very slightly below the stipulated marking. Add in the chicken, vegetables and seasoning - oyster sauce, dark and light soy sauce, sesame oil, salt and white pepper - and stir well to mix everything together.
• Place the rice cooker pot in the rice cooker and set the rice cooker to "cook" mode. When the rice cooker turned to "keep warm" mode, open the rice cooker and stir the mixture. Turn off the power and let the rice rest for 15 minutes. Mix the rice then serve, garnished with coriander and spring onion.

NOTES

- If you want to make it a weekday meal, chop the vegetables the day before (as this is the most time-consuming task) and store, covered, in the refrigerator.

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