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.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!
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!
We had this with the spiced jasmine rice at the weekend and it was DELISH! I’m finishing the leftovers cold for lunch as I type and it’s soooo yummy.
It smells fantastic and the taste is good but the chicken was kind of like paste by the time it was done… used chicken thighs with the skin on. I will try 7 hrs on low as opposed to 4 on high…
This smelled amazing and had a lot of promise, but it turned out really dry. We cooked it on low for 7 hours (just because of work) instead of on high for 4. Any ideas what went wrong?
Hmm, maybe the chicken was less fatty? Or perhaps the seven on low instead of four on high has a side effect that I’ve not encountered before!
The Five Spice Chicken looks so good, that my mouth is watering right now. Is it possible that I could use chicken thighs only, instead of using both thighs and drumsticks? I LOVE chicken thighs, because of the flavor, and how it hold up in the slow cooker.
How it could hold up in the slow cooker.
Yes, of course. You could really use any type of chicken pieces you’d like. :)
I made this the other night with the yellow Jasmine rice – AMAZING!!! The chicken fell apart. I used Garam Masala for the spice and my house smelled wonderful. Will definitely be making this again!!!
I can only find rice vinegar, is that the same as rice wine? I have a feeling no…
No, they are different. Rice vinegar is much more acidic than rice wine. You can use it, but use half as much (the flavor will still be slightly different, but it should be good).
I was wondering what size slow cooker do you use for all your recipes?
I no longer have the packaging, but I’m guessing it’s about 5 quarts.
LOVED this recipe. I even made a gravy out of the drippings:
1/2 cup of drippings
Heaping tablespoon of AP flour
Some water (to your desired consistency)
Garlic salt (to taste)
The gravy went GREAT with the chicken & yellow rice
Beth,
What type of rice did you make with this recipe?
My favorite rice of all time, Yellow Jasmine Rice: https://www.budgetbytes.com/2011/07/yellow-jasmine-rice/
I made this chicken a couple days ago. I was running so late for work that morning that I literally threw all (ok, most) of the ingredients in the crock pot and ran out the door. No measuring, no prepping. I’ll tell you, it was the most appetizing smell to come home to at the end of the day and the most delicious chicken I’ve had in a long time!
5 spice is magic! :)
Excellent recipe! I’ve been following your blog for years and this recipe was definitely worthy of a first post! I baked the chicken instead because my slow cooker just broke and then roasted some brussel sprouts in the chicken fat/saucy good stuff. The yellow rice went perfectly with it. I’m happy :) Keep up the good work!
Could I do this for 8 hours on low?
I think with this one you should at least do the first two hours on high to get the meat up to temp in a safe amount of time. Because there’s no liquid to transmit the heat, I think it would take too long on the low setting and could pose a food safety risk.
Bummer– I’m making this today, coincidentally on a day when I will be home all day. However, I’m going to school to be a teacher and I was hoping by this time next year I would have an arsenal of awesome crockpot recipes I could just dump in the pot as I’m running out the door to work so that I wont have to cook much when I get home. I feel like so many of the crockpot recipes out there though require you to actively do something during cooking or the timing is WAY off, so much so that even the automatic switch to warm feature wouldn’t save the meal. Oh well, at least we’ll have something super yummy for tonight!
This looks awesome! Quick question: would it work to use frozen chicken breasts/legs? Or do yet have to be defrosted?
This sounds like such a delicious and easy recipe! Can’t wait to try it!
I’ve been following your blog for a few years now, but I think this is the first time I’ve commented. Your blog was a life saver when I was in college and never had any money, but didn’t want to settle for sub-par dinners.
Oh my! My chicken is in the slow cooker right now and smells devine. I can’t wait to try this recipe. I plan on also making the yellow jasmine rice. My husband and I thank you so much Beth. My cooking skills have so improved since finding your website.