Chicken long rice is a noodle dish from Hawai’i with Chinese origins. It contains chicken and bean thread vermicelli noodles. You can cook this noodle soup in a pressure cooker to get super soft shredded chicken and a flavorful broth in a short amount of time!
What is Hawaiian Chicken Long Rice?
Chicken long rice is actually a noodle dish with shredded chicken, ginger, and green onions. It is a common food in Hawai’i, served as a side dish, which has roots in China (or so I’m told). I think of it as like an Asian chicken noodle soup. More information on the soup part later.
What are Long Rice Noodles Made From?
Long rice is also known as vermicelli, glass noodles, bean thread noodles, or mung bean noodles. They’re sold in packs of very thin, dried, white bundles. Long rice is not to be confused with Korean glass noodles (made from sweet potato) or Vietnamese vermicelli (made from rice). So when you’re shopping for long rice noodles, check the packaging to make sure they’re made of beans.
I find my bean thread noodles at my local Asian market. I found the exact pack I buy on Amazon, but it’s more expensive online. For this recipe, I use half the 10.5oz package, so around 5oz.
Making Chicken Long Rice in the Instant Pot
I love making chicken long rice in the pressure cooker because I can get a flavorful chicken broth and super soft shredded chicken from scratch in a very short amount of time. I actually find it easier than cooking it on the stove with chicken broth or rotisserie chicken because I know I just need chicken thighs and water.
To make chicken long rice in the Instant Pot, just put your raw chicken thighs (whole!) along with aromatics (e.g. ginger, garlic, green onion, etc.) in the pot. Cover with water (how much is up to whether you want a soupy long rice or a more dry noodle). Then cook on high pressure for 14 minutes.
While the Instant Pot is pressure cooking, soak your bean thread noodles in water.
When the Instant Pot is done, you can quick release if you’re short on time, or just leave it to naturally release pressure. It doesn’t make much difference. Discard the aromatics. Then use two big forks to shred the chicken. It should be so soft that they easily come apart. You don’t even need to take the chicken out of the pot!
Put your hydrated noodles into the pot with the chicken and add any other toppings you like. You can also add more salt to taste, but it’s basically done!
Soupy vs. Dry Chicken Long Rice
My recipe for chicken long rice comes from an old Japanese church cookbook. When I first started cooking my own chicken long rice, this is the recipe I started with. It has a lot of gingery broth, making it like a cozy, comforting chicken noodle soup with Asian flavors.
However, it is common to see chicken long rice served in Hawai’i as more of a dry noodle. The method for cooking a dry long rice is actually still the same as the soupy one; you just add less water. I’ve seen recipes call for just four cups of liquid for a whole 10.5oz package of bean thread noodles! But in my Instant Pot I need around six cups of water in order to completely submerge my chicken.
Ingredient FAQs
Even though chicken long rice is a side dish, I often like to serve it as a main for my family. It’s so easy to add a few extra toppings to really make it a full meal. Here are some common questions or ingredient ideas:
Can you add shiitake mushrooms?
Yes! I actually like to add a few dried shiitake to the broth to get a little extra umami, but this is optional. If you want to add fresh shiitake to eat with your noodles, simply slice them and add to your broth after you’ve added the noodles in the last 5-10 minutes of cooking.
Can you add bok choy?
Yes! You can add whatever veggies you like. I often add spinach or yu choy sum. For bok choy, you can either boil it 2-3 minutes separately and then add it to each individual bowl as you plate, or dump the bok choy in the entire pot in the last few minutes of cooking. Same for spinach. Choy sum requires a little bit longer to cook but is essentially the same process.
Can you make chicken long rice with rotisserie chicken?
Sure. If you use shredded rotisserie chicken, you don’t even need the pressure cooker. Substitute chicken broth for the water and cook over stovetop, adding in the shredded rotisserie chicken at the end at the same time as the hydrated noodles.
Is Chicken Long Rice Gluten Free?
Yes, long rice is naturally gluten free.
More Asian Hawaiian Recipes
Looking for more Asian fusion recipes from Hawai’i? Check these out:
- Somen Salad
- Crispy Gau Gee (Deep Fried Wontons)
- Meat Jun (Korean Hawaiian Fried Steak)
- Japanese Macaroni Salad
- Classic Hawaiian Butter Mochi
Instant Pot Chicken Long Rice
Equipment
- 1 Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 2-3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 4 inch knob of ginger, peeled and roughly sliced
- 1 clove garlic, smashed
- 3 dried shiitake mushrooms optional
- 3 stalks green onion
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 12 cups water *See notes
- 5 oz bean thread noodles also called glass noodles or vermicelli
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Thinly slice one stalk of green onion for garnish and set aside.
- Rough chop the remaining green onion and put in the pressure cooker along with the chicken, ginger, garlic, shiitake, soy sauce, and 12 cups water.
- Set the lid on the pressure cooker to "sealed" and cook on high pressure for 14 minutes.
- While pressure cooker is heating up, fill a large bowl with warm water. Put bean thread noodles in the bowl to hydrate while you wait for the chicken to cook.
- Do a quick release of pressure after the 14 minutes is done. Discard aromatics (e.g. green onions, garlic, ginger, shiitake). With two large forks, roughly shred the chicken in the pot.
- Drain the hydrated noodles and place in the pot. Turn the Instant Pot to the "saute" setting and simmer until the noodles are plump and fully cooked, about 5-10 minutes.
- Add salt to taste and garnish with sliced green onions from step one.