Stovetop chicken with rice and greenbeans

katienotinnola

Jul 30

This dish is a variation of arroz con pollo (rice with chicken), which I have made for years in the oven - a casserole with left over cooked chicken and rice and bacon bits and ham or pork (if any is on hand) and onions and green peppers and tomatoes. And some spices. This version, from Better Homes and Gardens magazine, is faster and simpler and cooks on the stovetop. All good things. I still like the oven version, but this is an alternative. I did make a few tweaks, as I often do.

The ingredients:

4 chicken thighs (I used bone-in, boneless or skinless and boneless would be fine);

1-2 tablespoons regular oil;

1 cup chopped onion (I used red);

1-1/4 cup chopped red green pepper (I used red and green);

2 tablespoons smushed garlic;

2 teaspoons curry powder;

1 cup rice (I used medium grain);

1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes;

2 cups (or so) chicken stock or better than bouillon;

1 tablespoon sriracha or other hot sauce;

about 2 cups fresh green beans; and

salt and pepper.

I started by prepping the veggies: cleaned and chopped the onion; smushed the garlic; cut the ends off the green beans; cleaned the chopped the red and green pepper.

Next, I added 1 or maybe 2 tablespoons of regular vegetable oil to a very big skillet (like 10" across the bottom), heated it up a bit, sprinkled some salt and pepper on the skin side of the chicken and put them skin side down into the pan. Then I sprinkled salt and pepper on the other, exposed side.

I cooked the chicken on mediume-high heat about 5 minutes per side, enough to do some browning but not enough to get done. I then removed the chicken to a plate.

I added the onion and peppers to the same skillet and cooked them (still on medium-high), stirring now and then for about 4 or 5 minutes until they wilted some.

Then I added the garlic and curry powder and cooked that for only about 30 seconds.

Here is everything, cooking away.

Next I added the rice and a dollop of better than bouillon chicken-flavored. It really is easier to do this than to dissolve the bouillon paste in water. The paste sticks a little, but it all comes up when the liquid is added.

I stirred the rice into the other ingredients for less than a minute.

Then, I added the diced tomatoes and the water and the sriracha and stirred it all around.

Once the ingredients were stirred together, I added the chicken thighs back to the skillet, skin-side up. I covered the pan and reduced the heat to a simmer.

I cooked the dish for about 15 minutes, then flipped the chicken pieces and added the green beans and cooked it for another 20 minutes.

People may differ on cooking time. I like my chicken done done. No al dente chicken for me. The recipe said to cook until the chicken temped at 175 degrees. I went beyond that. Also I am not a fan of crisp cooked green beans. I don't want green bean mush, but I do want them to have given up.