The first time I made this, it was cold in the tired way of late February. I was tired too, and hungry for something homey. I wanted some chicken and rice.
The great thing about chicken and rice is that almost every culture has a version of it. It’s an international constant. There’s biryani and its many variations across South Asia and the Gulf states. There’s riz a djej and chicken maqloubeh. There’s locrio de pollo and the chicken jambalaya I grew up eating at home.
You get the idea.
I call this imaginary because it comes from such a specific set of circumstances: a hungry person with a blitzed brain and a hankering for something cozy. It draws from a wide spectrum of culinary traditions, but is not tied to one in particular.
This does somewhat resemble a Lebanese dish, however, which can in part be attributed to the limitations I had on my ingredients and cooking appliances at the time of its creation. The fact that I was also in Lebanon, eating a lot of Lebanese food, probably had something to do with it. That said, if you want riz a djej, you’re in the wrong place.
This is not a meal that you can just throw together. It takes some time. Nonetheless, it’s a crowd pleaser and has always been worth the effort.
Imaginary Chicken and Rice
Ingredients
3 skin-on chicken hind quarters (thighs and legs)
1 large red onion, peeled and cut in half
2 large red onions, thinly sliced
2 Lebanese, or 1 US zucchini with the tops cut off
½ bunch parsley, thoroughly washed (stems should resemble 1 serving of pasta)
3-4 broad beans, string beans, or sugar snaps (optional)
1 ½ tsp ground cumin
1 ½ tsp white pepper
1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon or allspice
5 cardamom pods, bruised
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black peppercorns
3-5 cups water, or enough to submerge chicken and vegetables when making the stock
1 cup long grain white rice, preferably basmati
1 cup chopped almonds or walnuts, toasted (my mom would probably use pecans)
½ cup golden raisins or pomegranate seeds
Instructions
1. Remove the skin from the chicken and set aside.
2. Place the onion, zucchini, parsley, beans in a stock pot. Place chicken legs on top so that they only overlap slightly. Add the spices, trying to dust the chicken evenly with the cumin, white pepper and cinnamon.
3. Carefully add the water without pouring it directly onto the chicken. Only use enough just to cover. Bring it up to a boil on high heat and then simmer on low until the meat has begun to separate from the bottom of the drumstick, about 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, render the fat from the chicken skins in a frying pan or skillet on high heat by stretching out the skin and carefully placing it in the pan. Once the edges start to brown, flip. Adjust the heat to keep them from burning. Remove them from the pan once they are golden and crispy. Set aside to cool.
5. Fry the onions in the chicken fat on medium-high high heat until crispy and brown. If there is not enough fat to keep the onions from sticking to the pan, use a neutral oil like canola or sunflower. Set aside.
6. Once the chicken is finished cooking, remove from the pot and freeze to speed up the cooling process. Strain the stock and reduce on high heat to about 1 ½ cups (you can cheat and just use 1 ½ cups of what you have already and discard or save the rest for later). Add the rice and cover on low heat until cooked through, about 20 minutes.
7. Remove the meat from the bones once the chicken is cool enough to handle, including the pieces of liver on the underside of the thigh, and tear into strips about ½ inch thick. Set aside.
8. Break the chicken skins into small pieces and set aside.
9. When the rice is finished cooking, add the chicken, chicken skin pieces, rains or pomegranate seeds, ½ the nuts, and ½ the onions. Mix and cover for 5 minutes.
10. Serve on a plate covered in the remaining onions and nuts.
Serves 3-4
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