Dinner

Chicken and yellow rice

Name: Chicken and yellow rice
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 each Chicken drumsticks; 0.33 cup Yellow saffron rice (dry); 0.33 tbsp Olive oil; 0.5 tsp Sweet paprika

A good dinner the night before a match. Rice-heavy, and it reheats for the next day.

Servings: 6
Total: 60 min
Skill: Easy

What you need

Ingredients

Making for

6 servings

6× custom

Chicken drumsticks6 each
Yellow saffron rice (dry)2 cup
Olive oil2 tbsp
Sweet paprika3 tsp

Quantities scale linearly with servings. Round to the nearest practical amount when shopping.

Steps

1
Heat the oven and oil the pan
Oven to 400F. Pour enough oil into the pan to coat the bottom, about 2 tbsp. The oil matters more than it looks: it is what stops the rice welding itself to the dish in the second half.
2
Season the chicken
Season 6 to 7 pieces of chicken all over with sweet paprika, salt and pepper. Drumsticks or boneless thighs both work and both cook faster than breast. Lay them in the pan in one layer, skin side up if they have skin.
Common mistake: Heavy salting. The yellow rice is seasoned already and it will season the chicken sitting on it, so salt the meat lightly and taste at the end.
3
Roast the chicken, both sides
Roast 10 to 15 minutes, turn each piece, then another 10 to 15 minutes on the second side. You want colour on the outside. The chicken does not need to be finished here, it goes back in with the rice.
15:00
4
Rice goes in around the chicken
Leave the chicken where it is. Pour 2 cups of dry yellow rice into the gaps and spread it evenly around the pieces, so the rice is in one layer and the chicken is sitting on top of it.
Common mistake: Lifting the chicken out first. It stays in. The fat and the seasoning that came off it are what flavour the rice.
5
Vegetables, if you want them
Optional, and Haris's own addition. Carrots cut small go in with the rice, a chopped onion with them for more flavour, and green beans if you have them. Cut the carrot small enough to cook in the time the rice takes, around a quarter inch, or it stays hard while everything else is done.
6
Add the water, one to one
Add water at the same ratio as the rice, so 2 cups of water for 2 cups of rice, or whatever the bag tells you. Pour it at the edge rather than over the chicken so you do not wash the seasoning off. The rice should be submerged.
7
Back in the oven until the water is gone
Return it to the oven at 400F and leave it until the water has been taken up and the rice is tender, usually 25 to 35 minutes. Check at 25. If the top is colouring faster than the rice is cooking, lay foil over it.
25:00
8
Rest it
Out of the oven, foil over the top, 5 minutes. The last of the steam finishes the rice at the surface. Then serve, a piece of chicken per person with the rice under it.
5:00

Coach's notes

Rice quantity is the one number to check against your own pan. 2 cups dry feeds six at the portion this app uses elsewhere. Traditional recipes at this size call for three.
Vigo saffron yellow rice, the 2 lb bag, is what this was written around. Its label states no allergens contained, which is why this card shows none. Any yellow rice works, but follow the bag if its water ratio differs from one to one.
Carrots, onion and green beans are optional, so they are not on the shopping list. Add them to the list yourself if they are part of how you make it every time.
Boneless thighs cook faster than drumsticks and are easier for a younger kid to eat. Breast works but dries out at this length in the oven.

Steps

Heat the oven and oil the pan

Season the chicken

Roast the chicken, both sides

Rice goes in around the chicken

Vegetables, if you want them

Add the water, one to one

Back in the oven until the water is gone

Rest it

Coach's notes