Hi Everyone,
A blogger friend turned me on to this idea earlier in the year but I only got around to making this one-pot Chinese Chicken and Rice last week. I took my first bite and asked myself why the heck it took me so long to make it and why I didn’t think of it. You have got to try this recipe, especially, if like me, you are a fried rice junkie. But more importantly, because you can cook your Sunday lunch in one pot.
Regardless of which part of the world you live in, or where you are from, there are certain dishes that make an appearance on the weekly Sunday lunch table – fried rice, rice and peas, chicken curry, stew peas, soup, macaroni pie, roast beef, baked pork, chicken, among others. Because these dishes become staples, we are always looking for ways to tweak or jazz them up. Well, this one-pot chicken and rice dish is definitely another way to bring a Sunday favourite of vegetable fried rice with baked or pot roast chicken, to your family and friends this weekend.
Here’s what is happening with this dish – the marinade is pulling double duty: it is seasoning the meat, and, providing a flavour base stock to cook the rice and vegetables. This dish really stands out because after the first stage of cooking – browning the meat, the fond or brown bits stuck at the bottom of the pot add enormous, and deeper flavour, combined with the drippings from the chicken that sits atop the rice as it cooks. Apart from the flavour from the marinade, the rice and vegetables get cooked with that signature trio that forms the base for many Chinese dishes – ginger, garlic and hot pepper. This is a pot of chicken and rice to get excited about.