Inner Child Chicken with Rice
Have you been making this all these years and keeping it from me? Where have I been? Growing up, we hardly ever ate chicken, but occasionally we'd have this--plump chicken nestled in creamy, soft rice, so comforting you'd just want to climb in the pan and stay a child forever. But, alarmingly, I've never made it "for my kids" before tonight.
We're in a retro phase around here. Turns out, meat is easy. Steaks? Throw them in a cast iron skillet with a little butter, turn them after five minutes, and not even the most laboriously layered lasagna can hold a candle. I haven't always felt this way about steaks. Ask my friends--they'll testify to my constantly changing (and loudly pronounced) opinions. I used to say things like, "Steak is so boring. And not even that good. I don't see what the big deal is." Do-over. Big time. I see what the big deal is, and Bob's Quality Meats wraps up a mean tri-tip.
Chicken and rice fits nicely into the retro phase. Take your BFF Dutch oven down. Brown some boneless, skinless thighs, throw in thinly sliced onions and lots of garlic. Add rice and chicken stock, cover it, and be Super Mom in 35 minutes.
I'm not one to idealize the past (the days before washing machines and cute maternity clothes? No thanks.), but I could go for a few other retro things. Jerry Seinfeld doesn't use his cell phone in the car anymore. He said, "What's so wrong with 1985?" Indeed. Stirrup pants, Cosby Show, friendship pins, chicken and rice. I am up for that.
Inner Child Chicken with Rice
From Greg Atkinson's West Coast Cooking, which I'm borrowing from my Mom and really like. No photos, but great, straightforward recipes, local ingredients, and interesting narrative. I find I'm often attracted to no-photo cookbooks. Takes the pressure off. He titles this "Mom's Chicken with Rice," and uses 1 c. white wine and 3 c. chicken stock. I didn't have any white wine, so only used chicken stock. Still delicious, but wine wouldn't hurt.
6 large boneless chicken thighs (or 8 small ones)
1 Tb. kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1/4 c. olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cups long-grain white rice (like basmati)
4 cloves minced garlic
1 bay leaf
1 Tb. fresh thyme plus more for top
1 c. white wine
3 c. chicken stock
Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, brown the chicken pieces in the oil, turning them several times to brown on all sides, about 7 minutes in all.
Pull the chicken out of the pan and set aside. In the oil, saute the onion until it is soft and slightly browned. Stir in the rie, garlic, bay leaf, and thyme, then pour in the white wine and chicken stock and bring the liquid to a boil.
Put the chicken pieces back in the pot, reduce the heat to low, and cover. Simmer until the rice has absorbed the cooking liquid and the chicken is cooked through, about 35 minutes. Serve hot, sprinkled with more fresh thyme.
March 2, 2010
Reader Comments (23)
Sounds delicious! Question about the long grain rice thing. Is it necessary? I know short grained tends to have more starch, but I tend not to keep long grain rice in the house. Could I just add more stock and call it good?
This looks so good! Comfort food at its best. I make a similar themed dish, we call "potted chicken" (from my mom of course!) that is made in a dutch oven but has carrots and celery with the chicken. I will try this variation- thanks for sharing!
This has a HUGE amount in common with my favorite chicken thigh recipe; it's called Chicken 40 cloves of garlic! Don't laugh; the garlic mellows and sweetens over time, and you serve those little soft cloves over crusty good bread, along with the chicken and rice. Delicious. Easy.
Yum!
I'm obsessed with chicken and 40 cloves! I have been making it about once every two weeks lately. Can't get enough of it!
Oh I'm so making this. I cracked up when you said you wanted to climb into the pan.
easy, delicious, pantry ingredients, quick...what could be better? what did your mom feed you if you didn't eat chicken???? chicken is so 80's!
I think that would work fine. The thing about long grain rice is that it tends to cook up a bit more separated, which I like for this dish. But I think the extra stock would solve that problem...
I was the stirrup pants queen! Didn't wear jeans until jr. high - those knits were too comfy! I'm putting a decent Dutch oven on my Christmas list this year...
I rarely make steak at home, unless it's hanger steak on the grill in the summer, but sometimes a good cut surprises me, but I hate eating it out for $40 and up.
Chicken and rice sounds comfy. I printed it out and left it on my desk, and tonight my husband said "when are we having this?".
He is so fancy!
Is there a cookbook your Mom doesn't have?? What an excellent resource she is!
I made this last night. My son wasn't a fan of the thighs, but my daughter had 3 servings. I loved it. My kitchen smelled woderful.
i made it last night, too! (the house smelled amazing) but unfortunately the rice didn't cook evenly in the dutch oven and i was left with some tough rice bits. any suggestions?
Been doing a lot of simple stuff too lately. Chicken + rice + vegetable. Michael (So delightful to come in from the studio and have dinner ready! What a super dad!) has been broiling drumsticks with lemon, salt + pepper + sage. Yummy, crispy skin. Easy to eat 3 or 4...or just to not stop eating them at all. HM loves them. I can never make steak right though. Will you have a good steak recipe coming up?
Yes, Michael is super dad for sure. Both our husbands--winners. I'll do a post on steak soon. We've been totally into it lately. It's much easier to do it right in a skillet than on the grill, I've discovered. Less chance of overcooking it, more even heat.
As a product of the 80's chicken & rice was my birthday dinner growing up, it was the rice with the cream of mushroom and the lipton onion soup mix thrown in for good measure. Total comfort. Last night I needed a quick dinner, I tried this one out, ohmygoodness...so scrumptious, such a great adult (and gluten free) alternative. Thanks for posting, it will be a regular at the Curry household!
The simple combination of chicken, rice, onions and thyme looked intriguing. I made this tonight and was wonderfully surprised by how intensly flavorful it was. (Instead of finishing on the stovetop, I put it in a 325 oven - might solve the tough rice bit issue of another commenter.) Definitely will make this again. Nice blog BTW!
This was AMAZING - thanks Sarah. The special treat for us (in my mind) was the delectable crispy layer of rice at the bottom of the pan. Reminiscent of the Persian "jeweled" rice.
Hey, your blog is really looking great -- did you know that Greg worked at Dos Padres for several years while he was going to school at Western? I love his cookbooks - they convey his "voice" about food so nicely :-) T.
[...] In Praise of Leftovers | Inner Child Chicken with Rice – This has a HUGE amount in common with my favorite chicken thigh recipe; it’s called Chicken 40 cloves of garlic! Don’t laugh; the garlic mellows and sweetens over time, and you serve those little soft cloves over crusty good bread, … [...]
I made this for Sunday dinner last night and it was great! So easy and it makes the whole house smell wonderful. The Safeway only had brown basmati rice so the cooking time was more like 50 minutes than 35 - thats OK - I just enjoyed a little more of the white wine.
Hi Dan! Nice to see you here again. What a great Sunday night dinner...
I made this last night...it was SO good...I only had chicken breast thawed and I was worried it would not turn out as well...but the chicken was the most moist & tender chicken breast I have ever had!!! This will be a repeat!!!