Steps

1. Place 2 cloves of garlic and 1 piece of ginger on plastic wrap and finely mince by pounding with a rolling pin or similar. This technique intensifies the aroma and helps it meld with the ingredients. Leaving some texture is key.
   🕒 00:34
2. Trim off the thin skin, excess fat, and spread-out parts from 1 large chicken thigh (approx. 350g). Reserve the trimmed bits, called 'chibisuke', for later use.
   🕒 01:42
3. Cut the chicken thigh in half lengthwise.
   🕒 02:34
4. Firmly rub 1 tsp of salt all over the chicken thigh.
   🕒 02:48
5. Heat 1 tbsp of vegetable oil in a frying pan and slowly sauté the roughly minced garlic and ginger from step 1 until fragrant.
   🕒 03:21
6. Add the 'chibisuke' trimmed in step 2 and sauté until the chicken fat and savory essence are extracted. This extra step is crucial for infusing the rice with chicken flavor and fat, resulting in an authentic taste.
   🕒 03:37
7. Add the washed 2 cups of rice to the rice cooker pot. Add the sautéed garlic and ginger from step 5, the 'chibisuke', and all the savory chicken fat remaining in the frying pan.
   🕒 04:32
8. Mix the rice and ingredients well.
   🕒 04:44
9. Add salt to taste and 2 tbsp of cooking sake (rice wine), then pour water up to the 2-cup line.
   🕒 05:08
10. Wash the roots of 2-3 sprigs of cilantro and place them in the rice cooker pot. The roots have the strongest aroma, so cooking them with the rice enhances the fragrance.
    🕒 05:27
11. Place the green parts of the scallions, cut in half lengthwise, on top of the rice in the rice cooker pot.
    🕒 06:04
12. Lay the halved chicken thigh from step 3 on top of the scallions. Cook using the mixed rice mode or the standard cooking mode on your rice cooker. Placing the scallions underneath acts as a cushion, allowing the chicken to steam perfectly and preventing uneven cooking or flavor distribution.
    🕒 06:20
13. In a bowl, combine [A] 1 tbsp soy sauce, [A] 1 tbsp fish sauce, [A] 1 tbsp vinegar, [A] 1 piece of grated ginger, [A] 1 tsp sugar, and [A] 2 tbsp finely chopped long scallion. Mix well to create the dipping sauce.
    🕒 07:15
14. Optionally, add [A] finely chopped cilantro stems as needed to the sauce. Taste and adjust the flavor, adding water if necessary.
    🕒 08:03
15. Once cooked, remove the green parts of the scallions and the cilantro roots from the rice cooker.
    🕒 08:21
16. Gently fluff the cooked rice with a spatula.
    🕒 08:58
17. Slice the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
    🕒 09:11
18. Plate the rice and sliced chicken. Generously top with the remaining cilantro (leaf parts).
    🕒 09:27
19. Pour the prepared dipping sauce over everything. Serve with coarse black pepper, lemon, or lime wedges as desired. Enjoy!
    🕒 10:00