Ooooh wow, my house smells like a spice market!
While working on a freelance project this week, I came across this Five Spice Chicken cooked in a rice cooker, and it looked so good that I decided that I had to try it out myself, except in a slow cooker because I don’t yet own a rice cooker.
I fell in love with five spice powder last year when I was writing my cookbook, where I used it to make a quick spice rub for pork chops. It’s a heady combination of anise, cloves, cinnamon, and other spices that have both sweet and savory appeal. You can add it to just about anything for an instant boost of intoxicating flavor. I bought my five spice powder at my regular grocery store in the ethnic food aisle, but I’ve also seen it among more expensive spices in the spice aisle.
I changed up Daily Cooking Quest’s original recipe a bit by adding a little soy sauce and brown sugar to the five spice blend and cooked it for four hours in the slow cooker, which left the meat fall off the bone tender. After the meat spent four hours stewing in the spices, I finished it off with a few minutes under the broiler to get that nice brown crispy skin.
I paired the chicken with my favorite Yellow Jasmine Rice and had a meal fit for a queen! I’m going to be experimenting with a salad to go along with the two this weekend, so stay tuned!
Slow Cooker 5 Spice Chicken
Servings 10 1 piece eachIngredients
- 2 cloves garlic, minced ($0.16)
- 2 inches fresh ginger, grated ($0.22)
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil ($0.04)
- 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil ($0.26)
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce ($0.20)
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar ($0.06)
- 2 Tbsp 5 spice powder ($0.60)
- 4 lbs bone-in skin-on chicken pieces ($7.22)
- 1 medium onion ($0.36)
- 2 Tbsp rice wine** ($0.27)
Instructions
- To make the spice rub, combine the garlic, ginger, vegetable oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, brown sugar, and 5 spice powder in a small bowl. Stir until combined. (Grate the ginger using a small holed cheese grater, or mince with a knife.)
- Rub the spice mixture all over the chicken pieces, getting between the skin and meat whenever possible.
- Dice the onion and place it in the bottom of the slow cooker. Pour the rice wine over the onion, then layer in the chicken pieces. Make sure the chicken pieces are closely packed in the cooker. Cover the slow cooker and cook on high for four hours.
- After four hours, the chicken will be very soft and tender. Use tongs to carefully remove the chicken from the liquid in the slow cooker and place them on a baking sheet. Adjust your oven rack so that the top of the chicken will be 5 inches from the broiler (the broiler’s heat element is usually on the roof of your oven). Broil the chicken on high for 5 minutes, or until the skin is brown and crispy. Keep a close eye on the chicken while it’s under the broiler because every broiler is slightly different and it can burn quickly.
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Notes
Nutrition
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Pictured with Yellow Jasmine Rice.
How to Make 5-Spice Chicken – Step by Step Photos
First make the five spice rub by combining 2 cloves of minced garlic, about 2 inches of fresh ginger (grated on a cheese grater or minced with a knife), 2 Tbsp vegetable oil, 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil, 2 Tbsp soy sauce, 2 Tbsp of brown sugar, and 2 Tbsp of Chinese five spice powder.
For reference, here is the five spice powder that I used and the toasted sesame oil. This really isn’t the best five spice powder, but it works. I found it in the ethnic foods aisle at my local grocery store, but you can sometimes find it among the fancier spices in the spice aisle. Toasted sesame oil has a deep brown color and a VERY strong, toasty aroma. If it’s clear, it’s not toasted.
I used four pounds of chicken pieces, which was 6 drumsticks and four thighs. I could have bought a split chicken and had two breasts, two thighs, two wings, and two drumsticks for the same price, but I preferred the thighs and drumsticks.
Coat the chicken really well in the spice rub. If the skin is lifting in some parts, try to smear it between the skin and meat.
Dice one yellow onion and add it to the bottom of the slow cooker. Pour two tablespoons of rice wine over the onions. If you don’t have rice wine, you can use a dry white wine or even a little chicken broth. The liquid helps make a flavorful steam to infuse the chicken.
Layer the seasoned chicken in the slow cooker, making sure the pieces are tightly packed. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on high for four hours.
As they cook, the chicken pieces will give off quite a bit of moisture. The chicken stews in the liquid and becomes super tender and juicy. YUM.
But, you don’t want the skin to be soggy, so carefully lift the chicken pieces out of the slow cooker using tongs. Place the chicken pieces on a baking sheet (I used cooling racks on top of the sheet, but it wasn’t really necessary). Adjust your oven rack so that the top of the chicken will be about 5 inches away from the broiler.
Set the broiler to high and broil the chicken for about 5 minutes, or until it’s deep brown and a little crispy. Watch the chicken closely, because it’s easy to burn things under the broiler (plus, every broiler is just a bit different).
And then you have gorgeous brown, flavorful, and tender chicken! I ate one right out of the oven… couldn’t wait!
As mentioned earlier, I served this with my Yellow Jasmine Rice. A perfect pair!
You HAVE to come up with some use for the drippings. Whatever soup that is, I already want it.
All that needs to be said is Yum, Yum, Yum. Made this last night and talk about good. I also made the Yellow Jasmine rice to go with it. Its a keeper. :-)
Beth, thank you- this was absolutely delicious! I made your yellow jasmine rice to go with it and that too was amazing! My husband also loved it… and so did my cat! We gave her a few bites of the chicken; I figured it was only fair, she had to lay around in the house all day smelling the awesome smells coming from the crockpot while we were at work! ;)
Since I’m almost always cooking for one… do you think this would freeze well? Or, should I do a half recipe for the chicken so I don’t have cooked chicken I can’t finish by end of week?
I think for this one I would just do a half recipe. Although I’ve worked my way through most of the whole recipe myself already! (eating 1-2 pieces per day)
Thanks! :) If I’m doing one piece a meal, I want to make sure I diversify my protein over the week. :)
Feelings on Chicken Leg Quarters vs separate drumsticks and thighs? They’re $.79/lb right now
This might also be really good baked in a clay pot like a Romertopf. You could take off the lid for the last 30 minutes and get a nice crisp skin that way. :-)
This sounds absolutely awesome! I make a white fish recipe with five spice ~ so good, and chicken with a four hour soak in that spice has got to be amazing. I’ll do the broil step; I just wish my stupid oven had a broil option in this RV we live in. It says it broils, but there’s no element up top. Can’t wait to try nonetheless!
Have you tried the drawer underneath the oven? It’s usually a storage drawer but on some models that drawer is the broiler.
Brenna,
I have a gas (propane) oven in my motorhome – if yours is similar you light the oven manually … under the rack and the flame goes off and on after preheat to maintain temperature. The broil setting keeps the flame on and you put whatever on the bottom of the oven, under the flame to broil. I leave the door cracked and keep a sharp eye as it is a flame! The other option, if you have a cast iron skillet is to get the skillet very hot and do a finishing sear in the skillet. I tend to only use the oven broil for browning cheese or some kind of topping and the skillet for meat.
Yes, definitely check the drawer below the oven. I used to think these were just for storage, but on some gas ovens, that’s actually where the broiler is!
Great recipe, made it for dinner with plenty of spare for leftovers! In my area of Florida at least, Publix is selling 4lb+ packs of thighs and drumsticks this week for $1.79/lb so I unknowingly prepared for this with a pretty good deal. :)
I’ve done 5 spice chicken and it IS awesome, but what really grabbed me was the Jasmine rice – I missed your yellow rice post.
Folks practically came to blows this week on thekitchn.com over how to cook basmati rice and get a long, separated “grain”. Your rice is exactly that so I will be trying your technique. I love turmeric and cumin.
a side note…just this morning, I bought 5 spice and garam masala from the bulk bin area at my local…in NW Montana! I bought about 4T of each and priced by the ounce, it was a bit less than 1.80 for both, i.e. an inexpensive way to experiment with both mixes. I use one or the other just on occasion and this works for me. Both blends are available in the jarred spice section but you have to buy more and they are spendy.
I actually have Chinese 5 spice (which I’ve never used) and all the other ingredients (except the chicken which I know I can find)! Both the chicken and the rice look scrumptious. Thanks.
Hi,
This looks so good! Wondering if anyone would know, could the juices left over from the Chicken be used in place of water to cook rice? I’m not a seasoned cook yet……
Thanks!
The juices were quite thick, it was more like melted fat and gelatin, so I don’t think it could be used alone to cook the rice. It could be good added to a soup base, though.
My baby is allergic to sesame. Will it change the flavor too much if I use a different kind of oil?
I think it would be okay just leaving the sesame oil out. If you really wanted, you could try to find a toasted walnut oil, but I’d probably just skip it. It’s the toasted part that gives it so much flavor.
My mom used to do something like this for making BBQ short ribs. She cooked the short ribs in the pressure cooker until they were falling off the bone tender. Then she slathered them in BBQ sauce and ran them under the broiler until the sauce was just the right level of cooked-on stickiness. They were awesome, and a great way to satisfy a BBQ craving in the middle of winter. :)
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts completely fall apart in a slow cooker, no matter the recipe. I’ll bet it would work for chicken breasts that still have the bones and skin. You could probably also do a combination if you are feeding a crowd, since people tend to have strong feelings about dark meat vs. light meat.
Aaaaaand I know what I’ll be making tomorrow. Thank you for sharing!
Hi, this looks great! How do you think you could adapt it to boneless skinless chicken breasts – just skip the broiler step at the end? Or would the rub not hold very well?
I think I might still broil it for a few minutes. With boneless skinless breasts you might end up with something more along the lines of pulled/shredded chicken, though. :) After the slow cooker the meat is very tender. The bone and skin kind of holds it all together.