One-Pot Chicken Tinola Rice

This one-pot Chicken Tinola transforms the classic Filipino soup into an easy, all-in-one meal with minimal cleanup. Tender chicken, leafy greens, and aromatic broth-infused rice come together in under an hour!

Ingredients and Substitutions

*The Recipe Card below includes all the full measurements for these ingredients!

Chicken thighs: You can either purchase boneless chicken thighs or de-bone them yourself by removing the centre bone with a sharp knife.

Onion, ginger, garlic, lemongrass: These are classic aromatics mom always used in her Chicken Tinola to give it a fresh, aromatic taste.

Rice: All my one-pot rice recipes are optimized for white Jasmine rice. That being said, you can still use other rice varieties (e.g., short-grain, brown, etc.), just note that they have slightly differing cooking times and water ratios.

Chicken stock, chicken powder: These will give the rice a savory, deep chicken flavor to cook in. Water can substitute the chicken stock, the rice will just taste lighter.

Greens: You can use anything from moringa or pepper leaves (traditional), to spinach or bokchoy.

Fish sauce, sugar, chili oil: Chicken Tinola is often served with sawsawan (dipping sauce) at the table, typically fish sauce. I wanted to make a sauce inspired by that: a lightly sweet and spicy glaze that you can drizzle over the chicken!

Instructions

*The Recipe Card below includes all the full detailed instructions!

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Sauté the onion, ginger, garlic, and lemongrass.

Add in the rice, chicken stock, chicken powder, and chicken thighs. Let simmer to cook the rice and chicken. 

Lay on the greens to steam briefly. Top with the fish sauce glaze, if desired. Enjoy!

Cooking Tips

Use a non-stick pot: Ideally go for a non-stick pot to prevent your rice from burning underneath since we won’t be stirring it at all while simmering.

Don’t open the lid during cooking: Keeping the lid on traps the steam, helping the rice cook evenly and keeping the chicken juicy.

One-Pot Chicken Tinola Rice

Recipe by Ian

5.0 from 1 vote

Course: MainCuisine: Philippines

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

25

minutes

Total time

40

minutes

This one-pot Chicken Tinola transforms the classic Filipino soup into an easy, all-in-one meal with minimal cleanup. Tender chicken, leafy greens, and aromatic broth-infused rice come together in under an hour!

Cook Mode

Keep the screen of your device on

Ingredients

• 4 to 6 chicken thighs (depends on the size of the thighs)

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 1 tablespoon neutral oil

• 1/4 cup onion, chopped

• 1/4 cup julienned ginger

• 3 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 lemongrass stalk, pounded and chopped into three pieces

• 1 cup white jasmine rice, rinsed

• 1 1/4 cup unsalted chicken stock

• 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder

• 1/2 cup chopped greens (spinach, bokchoy, pepper leaves, or mallungay works)

• Crispy garlic, for topping (can use store-bought or homemade)

• Fish Sauce Glaze

• 2 tablespoons sugar

• 1 tablespoon water

• 2 teaspoons fish sauce

• 1 teaspoon chili oil, optional

Directions

• To a medium-sized bowl, season the chicken thighs with the salt and black pepper, rubbing it well on all sides. Set aside.
• Heat the oil in a medium non-stick pot over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion until softened, about 2 minutes. Add in the ginger, garlic, and lemongrass, and cook for about 1 to 2 minutes until fragrant.
• Add in the rice, chicken stock, and chicken bouillon powder, stir well. Lay the marinated chicken (skin-side up) on top. Bring this to a boil, then cover, and let simmer on medium-low for 15 minutes.
• In the meantime, prepare the glaze. Combine together the sugar, water, fish sauce, and chili oil. Mix well to combine, then microwave for 1 to 2 minutes until lightly reduced and thick. Set aside to cool.
• Once the time is up, turn off the heat and lay the greens on top of the rice. Let sit for another 10 minutes to finish cooking and to steam the greens. The rice should be soft, liquid absorbed, and the chicken fully cooked.
• When ready to eat, drizzle the fish sauce glaze over the chicken and top with the crispy garlic. Serve with the rice and enjoy warm.

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