I don’t like to let any good food escape my kitchen. If I’m cooking bone-in poultry, you can bet I’ll be making stock the following day. I guess you could say I’m frugal; my husband says I take it more to obsessive and compulsive territory. I think my skills would’ve made me a good pioneer cook on the uncharted frontier. He points out that I experience anxiety any time I get too far from a hazelnut latte. What we both agree about, though, is this easy chicken and rice recipe. I love how quickly and almost effortlessly it comes together, and that it uses a homemade stock that I had in the freezer. He loves how delicious and satisfying it is, and always wants second helpings.
Easy Chicken and Rice is a Mark Bittman recipe that I found in The New York Times; I’ve tweaked it to suit my tastes. You could easily put your own spin on it, too – it’s incredibly versatile.
Ingredients for 4-6 servings:
3 cups homemade chicken stock[a]
2¾-3 lbs skinless, boneless chicken thighs[b]
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbs flour
3 Tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped[c]
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
1½ cups white rice[d]
Pinch saffron, optional
1/4 cup white wine
Freshly minced parsley or cilantro for garnish
Lemon or lime wedges for garnish
How to do it:
- Set stock to boil. (Meanwhile, go ahead with next steps; if it reaches a boil before you’re ready for it, turn off the heat and keep it covered.)
- Prep the chicken, season it with salt and pepper, and dust it with flour.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and sauté until browned, about 5 minutes. Turn, brown the other side, another 5 minutes. Remove to a plate. (You may need to do this in batches, depending on the size of your pan.)
- Add onions to the pan along with a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions soften and become translucent, 5 minutes or so. Add garlic, and cook 1 more minute.
- Add rice to onions; stir until each grain glistens; (sprinkle with saffron), and stir.
- Deglaze the pan with wine.
- Nestle the chicken into the rice,[e] add a little more salt and pepper, and pour in the stock. It should come to a boil immediately; once it does, turn heat to low, and cover.
- Cook 20-30 minutes, until all water is absorbed and chicken is cooked through.[f] Garnish[g] and serve.
Fantabulously amahzing fresh. Pretty good leftover; add a tablespoon of water or stock per serving, and get it not just warm, but HOT.
Notes:
- Substitute store-bought stock for homemade, or use water.
- Substitute a whole chicken, cut into pieces and skin removed, for the thighs. Or, include some sausage or shellfish with the chicken. You could prep these thing separately and toss them into the finished dish, or you could stagger their additions, as necessary, to accommodate the differences in cooking times.
- In addition to onion, you could include so many other things: strips of red pepper, pitted olives, capers, chopped tomatoes, shelled peas, diced carrots, broccoli, cremini mushrooms, chopped kale…
- Substitute another grain, like pearled barley, for the rice.
- As an alternative, roast the chicken separately and combine it with the rice at the last minute.
- According to Bittman, you can keep this warm over a very low flame for 15 minutes after it’s done. He also says that it will retain its heat for 15 minutes beyond that (off heat). I don’t have the discipline to test either of those assertions – not when faced with comfort food of this caliber.
- I consider the lemon garnish essential. Parsley is delicious with this dish; I didn’t have any on hand when I took these photographs.
Another thing I love about this dish is that, because I used boneless thighs, if offers no opportunity to make another stock. I sometimes feel like I’m playing Tetris in my freezer, and taking something out without also putting something in gets me closer to my end game. (I guess when the freezer’s finally empty, I win.)
Easy Chicken and Rice
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Ha! Easy for him to say when he enjoys all of your obsessive/compulsive work! This is a great dish. We had some lean years, so I certainly made what I could with what we had – sort of like the stone soup story! But it’s just smart cooking.
You make some excellent points there, Mimi!
Nothin’ but comfort here! I love chicken and rice and your version looks superb!!
Thanks, Annie. You’ve got it exactly – very comfort foodish.
I love rice dishes, and this one with chicken sounds delicious, super tasty and easy…thanks for the recipe Jeff. Have a fabulous week!
Thanks, Juliana!
This looks wonderful, and I’ve saved the recipe for a try before we move deep into summer’s salad season.
shoreacres recently posted…Selling Bill Buckley’s Boat
Hope you enjoy it!
Bone-in chicken has so much more flavours. The rice looks sounds and looks so delicious and moreish. Thanks Jeff for sharing another easy peasy yet great recipe.
angiesrecipes recently posted…Knusprige Schweinshaxe – German Roasted Pork Knuckle
It does – it’s true. And no doubt you could improve this dish by using bone-in thighs!
This is a recipe everyone needs up their sleeve! Sounds perfect and we could have used it tonight!
Abbe@This is How I Cook recently posted…Frozen Fruit Salad
It is a great one for everyday use.
Jeff, I know being a pioneer in the new frontier sounds grand, but have you ever rode in one of those old-time wagons? It’s a pain in the butt, literally.
A great recipe that reminds me of my childhood as chicken and rice was a regular at our table. But, not as sophisticated as your dish. Saffron, I’d of never thought of that. Just pinned this one to my Must Make board. Can’t wait to give it a try.
Ron recently posted…Tunnbrödsrulle, a classic Swedish street food…
I’m sure you’ll love it, Ron – it’s excellent comfort food. About pioneering, I know – it’s a great fantasy until you think about bathrooms, medicine, air conditioning, the internet, Netflix, a KitchenAid mixer, and nice restaurants … and wooden-wheeled wagons on two-tracks.
Speaking of a pioneer cook, I think you should start a series where you cook food in a cast iron pot over an open flame. We could call you “Chuck Wagon Jeff”! 🙂 Great tips on a classic recipe here. Looks delicious!
David @ Spiced recently posted…Malfatti
Actually, I like that idea. I do have a lot of flannel I could put to good use.
There were some combinations that were just meant to be. Chicken and rice is definitely one of them! We’ve been experimenting with paella at home lately and I have to say the paella a la valenciana with chicken (not too different from this recipe, actually) has got to be my favorite.
Frank recently posted…Sciusceddu alla messinese
Paella sounds wonderful, Frank – I’ve never made it at home.
My mother made something similar but I know she didn’t use homemade stock. Yours has to be oh so very flavorful.
Karen (Back Road Journal) recently posted…Mini Avocado Toast With Lobster Salad
Thanks, Karen – I’m sure you mom’s was delicious as well!
Chicken and rice combine is so many delish dishes! This one is great — simple yet loaded with flavor. I’ll make this in my kitchen, though — my pioneering days are over! 🙂
John / Kitchen Riffs recently posted…Creamy Pasta with Asparagus and Ham
You say that now – until Trump blows us back to the Dark Ages.
this is a traditional recipe dish in south Asia. i’m glad that this is now becoming famous internationally. you made this very easy for us to make it very delicious/
Well, you can thank Mark Bitman!
Sounds like tomorrow’s dinner.👌
Enjoy!
What a delicious meal this sounds like. Talk about a pan of comfort! Mark Bittman is always good — in fact whenever my husband has a cooking question, he always refers to his Bittman book before asking me. It’s become sort of a joke. (And I’m always anxious when I’m too far away from my latte!)
Thanks, Valentina!
I grew up partly in Florida and this speaks to the Cuban food that I miss so much. GREG
Thanks, Greg!
Chicken and rice always sounds great especially when they are done in one pan. This is Fantabulously amahzing recipe, though I would like to use bone in chicken so that i can make stock, haha.
Balvinder recently posted…Air fried Eggplant and Mushroom “Meatballs”
I know what you mean about bone-in, and you totally should!