The oven is the secret to the fluffiest one-pot chicken and rice!! I know so many of us have tried making one-pot chicken and rice on the stovetop and ended up with some rice that’s perfectly fluffy and some that never fully cooks (been there). So we’re baking it! The oven heats the pot evenly from every side, so every grain of rice cooks through, and the drumsticks come out with the crispiest skin right on top.

We’re searing the drumsticks with just salt first (spices burn in a hot pan, so they go into the butter instead). Then the butter, fresh ginger, garlic and scallions go right into the same pot.

The fried shallots and ginger scallion oil are optional extras for those of you who like to go the extra step. If you’d rather keep it simple, you can skip them completely and this is still a one-pot dinner I’d make any night of the week ᯓ★

And if you’re in the mood for more takeout-style dinners, my Beef and Broccoli is always a good idea!

Why We Bake It ᝰ.ᐟ

• The oven surrounds the pot with heat from every side, so every grain of rice cooks through and turns out fluffy.
• On the stove, the lid traps steam and the skin you seared goes soft. In the oven, hot dry air surrounds the pot, so once the lid comes off the skin crisps right back up.
• Drumsticks need about 40 minutes to get really tender. In the gentler oven heat, the chicken and rice finish at the same time.

If you’d rather not use the oven, you can absolutely make this on the stovetop! I included my stovetop method in the recipe card notes below.

Few Tips ᝰ.ᐟ

• Salt the chicken the night before if you can. It’s the easiest thing you’ll do all week, and it makes the biggest difference: drier skin that crisps better and meat that’s seasoned all the way through.
• Pull the shallots when they’re light golden. They keep darkening after they come out of the oil.
• Dark meat is forgiving! The drumsticks are safe at 165°F, but it absolutely doesn’t matter if they get close to 190°F. Chicken legs are full of collagen, and as it melts down, the meat just gets more tender and juicy (that’s why they’re so hard to overcook). They’re ready when the meat starts pulling away from the bone.
• Keep the tops of the drumsticks above the liquid so the skin stays crisp.
• Season the rice to your taste. I like a nice depth of saltiness, so I use a full teaspoon of kosher salt in the rice. If you prefer things less salty, start with 1/4 teaspoon and add more from there.

Here’s a video to guide you along the process ✮⋆˙

Process ✮⋆˙

One-Pot Ginger Scallion Chicken and Rice

The oven is the secret to the fluffiest one-pot chicken and rice!! Crispy-skinned drumsticks baked right on top of buttery ginger scallion rice, with optional fried shallots and scallion oil.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 25 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 45 minutes mins

Course Dinner

Servings 4

Equipment

• Dutch oven or oven-safe pot with a lid
• small saucepan
• fine-mesh strainer
• slotted spoon
• instant-read thermometer

Ingredients

  

Chicken

• 6 skin-on chicken drumsticks about 2 pounds
• 1 tablespoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt or 1 3/4 teaspoons Morton

Fried shallots (optional)

• 2 large shallots sliced into 1/8-inch rings
• 1 cup neutral oil such as canola or grapeseed
• flaky salt or Diamond Crystal kosher salt

Rice

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 scallions white and light-green parts, thinly sliced (save the dark greens for the scallion oil)
• 20 grams fresh ginger about 3 tablespoons, peeled and finely minced
• 6 cloves garlic minced
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 1/2 cups jasmine rice
• 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 to 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt start with 1/4 teaspoon and add to taste; I use 1 teaspoon
• 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

Ginger-scallion oil (optional)

• 45 grams dark-green scallion tops about 1/2 cup, very thinly sliced (from 5 to 6 scallions)
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger finely grated
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
• 1/2 cup reserved shallot oil or neutral oil, if you skipped the shallots
• 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar

To serve (optional)

• lime wedges
• toasted sesame seeds
• kimchi

Instructions

 

Salt the chicken

• Pat the drumsticks very dry with paper towels and season all over with the salt. If you have time, set them on a wire rack over a rimmed plate and refrigerate uncovered for at least 4 hours or up to 24. The skin will look dry and slightly tight, which is what you want.
• If you didn’t get to salt them the night before, you can definitely still make this! Either way, take your drumsticks out of the fridge 30 minutes before you’re ready to sear them. Anytime you’re searing meat, we want to take the chill off first so it gets a nice sear and cooks evenly.

Rinse the rice

• Put the rice in a fine-mesh strainer and rinse it under cold running water, moving it around with your hand, until it’s washed thoroughly and the water runs clear. Let it drain well while you cook.

Fry the shallots (optional)

• Put the shallots and oil in a small saucepan and set it over medium heat. Starting cold lets the shallots brown evenly. Cook, stirring often, until they are light golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Pull them before they look done: they’ll keep darkening after they leave the oil.
• Use a slotted spoon to transfer the shallots to a paper towel–lined plate. Spread them out, separate the rings and sprinkle with flaky salt or kosher salt. They crisp as they cool. Save the oil in the pan for searing the chicken and making the scallion oil.

Sear the chicken

• Position a rack in the lower-middle of the oven and heat to 375°F. Heat 2 tablespoons of the shallot oil (or neutral oil, if you skipped the shallots) in the Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
• Pat the drumsticks dry once more. Any moisture on the skin will keep it from browning. Add the drumsticks and sear without moving them until the skin is deep golden, 5 to 6 minutes. Flip and sear the other side for 5 to 6 minutes more. If they stick when you go to flip them, give them another minute, and they’ll release on their own once they’re browned. They won’t be cooked through. Move them to a plate.

Build the base

• Leave all of the fat and browned bits in the pot. Reduce the heat to medium and add the butter. Let it melt, scraping up the browned bits with a wooden spoon, about 1 minute.
• Add the scallion whites and cook, stirring, until softened, about 1 minute. Add the ginger and garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 to 60 seconds; don’t let the garlic brown. Add the garlic powder, onion powder, turmeric, white pepper and ground ginger and stir for 30 seconds, just until the spices bloom in the fat.

Toast the rice

• Add the drained rice and toast it, stirring often, until every grain is coated in the butter and the edges turn translucent, about 2 minutes.
• Stir in the broth and soy sauce and use your wooden spoon to scrape up every last browned bit from the bottom of the pot. Bring to a simmer. Season with the black pepper and salt, starting with 1/4 teaspoon of salt and adding more to taste. The broth should taste well seasoned, a little saltier than you’d want to sip, because the rice absorbs all of it. I like the full teaspoon of salt for a deep, savory flavor.

Bake

• Nestle the drumsticks into the rice skin side up, with the tops of the skin above the liquid, and pour in any juices from the plate. Return to a simmer, cover and move the pot to the oven. Bake for 25 minutes.
• Uncover and bake until the liquid is absorbed, the rice is tender and the drumsticks reach at least 165°F, with the meat tender and pulling away from the bone, 12 to 15 minutes more. For extra-crisp skin, switch to broil for the last 2 to 3 minutes and watch closely.

Make the scallion oil (optional)

• While the chicken bakes, put the scallion greens, grated ginger, sesame seeds and salt in a heatproof bowl with plenty of room. Heat 1/2 cup of the reserved shallot oil (or neutral oil, if you skipped the shallots) in a small saucepan over medium heat until it reaches 325°F, about 2 minutes.
• Please be careful here! Slowly pour the hot oil over the scallions, keeping your hands and face back. It will bubble up and sizzle. Let it settle for a minute, then stir in the sesame oil and rice vinegar.

Rest

• Take the pot out of the oven. The handles will be very hot! If you want your drumsticks to stay crispy, move them to a wire rack or plate while the rice rests. If you don’t mind, you can leave them in the pot. I like to take mine out and add them back once the rice has rested and I’ve fluffed it.
• Put the lid back on and let the rice rest for 10 minutes.

Finish and serve

• Fluff the rice gently with a fork. If you took the drumsticks out, set them back on top. If you made them, scatter the fried shallots over everything and serve the scallion oil on the side. Serve straight from the pot.

Notes

• Keep it simple: The fried shallots and scallion oil are optional! Skip them and sear your chicken in 2 tablespoons of neutral oil instead. Everything else stays the same.
• Salt: I use Diamond Crystal kosher salt, and I like a nice depth of saltiness, so I go with the full teaspoon in the rice. If you’re not crazy about too much salt, start with ¼ teaspoon, taste, and add more from there. If you’re using table salt or Morton kosher salt, use half the amount.
• Chicken temperature: Drumsticks are safe at 165°F, but it absolutely doesn’t matter if they get close to 190°F. Dark meat stays perfect (and gets even more tender) right up to about 195°F, because the collagen melts down and makes the chicken juicier.
• Stovetop: Use a heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid. Once the chicken is in and it’s back to a simmer, cover it and turn the heat to the lowest setting. Cook for 30 to 35 minutes without lifting the lid, giving the pot a quarter turn every 10 minutes so the heat stays even, until the rice is tender and the chicken reaches at least 165°F, with the meat pulling away from the bone. Let it rest, covered, for 10 minutes, then crisp the skin under the broiler or in the air fryer.
• Shallot oil: Save the oil from frying your shallots! It sears the chicken and becomes your scallion oil, and any extra is SO good on fried rice or eggs.
• Scallion oil: Stir in the sesame oil and vinegar after the hot oil goes in, not before. If you like a little heat, add ½ teaspoon of gochugaru with the scallions!
• Make ahead: The fried shallots keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, and the scallion oil keeps in the fridge for up to 5 days.
• Leftovers: Keep covered in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat the rice with a splash of water, and re-crisp the drumsticks in the oven or air fryer (the microwave makes the skin soggy).

Keyword chicken and rice, dinner idea, easy dinner idea, one pot dinner