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Rice as a Side Dish in Chicken Broth
Instructions
Chop the chicken into small pieces. I make the broth from any parts with bones – it is the bone that gives the broth its body and gelatine. Broth made from fillet alone comes out bland and watery. Backs, necks and wings are ideal.
Pour water over the chicken soup set, add the spices and salt. Set it to cook for 30 minutes over low heat – a vigorous boil makes the broth cloudy. Be sure to skim off the first foam with a slotted spoon, otherwise it will later settle into flakes and spoil the look of the finished dish.
In the meantime, chop the peeled onion, garlic and chili into small 3–4 mm cubes. The finer the vegetables, the more deeply they release their flavour into the oil while frying. I recommend first removing the seeds from the chili – they add unwanted bitterness, while the heat stays in the membranes.
Sauté the ingredients together with the seedless white grapes in vegetable oil until lightly golden. I cut the grapes in half – that way they release their juice and caramelise slightly. I keep the heat at medium: on high the onion burns, on low it stews in its own juices and does not give the aroma you want.
Add the spices and the rice. Fry the rice grains for 2–3 minutes until lightly golden – this is the most important stage. Each grain gets coated in a film of oil and, during cooking, stays separate rather than clumping into a lump. A cook from Uzbekistan taught me this trick.
Strain the finished broth from the foam and bits of chicken through a fine sieve or cheesecloth. If you skip this, the finished side dish will have tough pieces and small bones in it – and that will spoil the impression of the dish.
Pour the chicken broth over the rice and vegetables – strictly in a 1:2 ratio (one cup of rice to two cups of broth). Simmer covered for 18–20 minutes over the lowest heat until the rice grains are soft, then season the side dish to taste with salt. Do not lift the lid until the end – the steam will escape and the rice will be tough at the bottom.
Transfer the rice to a serving dish. Before serving, let it rest under the lid for another 5–7 minutes – the rice finishes cooking, the flavours blend, and the aroma of the spices opens up fully.
Tips
- 1
Use long-grain basmati or jasmine rice – it is guaranteed to come out crumbly. Krasnodar short-grain rice is not suitable for this recipe; it will turn sticky.
- 2
Make the broth in advance and keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to a month – that way the side dish will be ready in 25 minutes.
- 3
You can replace the grapes with golden raisins – soak them for 10 minutes in warm water so they become soft and juicy. I use a similar method to make lamb pilaf.
- 4
Serve it with baked chicken, beef or fish – the fragrant rice comes alive next to any main course.
FAQ
Can I use ready-made shop-bought broth? +
Yes, packaged chicken broth or a stock cube diluted in water according to the instructions will do. But homemade rich broth gives a completely different flavour – the grains absorb the gelatine and become velvety. If you use a stock cube, be sure to halve the amount of salt, otherwise the side dish will be too salty.
Why fry the rice before cooking? +
Frying gives the rice a nutty taste and helps keep it crumbly. Each grain gets coated in a film of oil, and the starch is not washed out into the water – that is exactly why the finished dish does not turn into mush. This technique is used in every kind of pilaf and pilav, and it is not worth skipping.
What can this rice be served with as a side dish? +
It goes wonderfully with teriyaki chicken, sweet-and-sour pork, beef stroganoff or baked fish – sea bream, salmon. You can also serve it as a dish in its own right with a vegetable salad and a piece of feta cheese. For breakfast, the fragrant rice is delicious with a fried egg.
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