5 hours ago
3
Welcome to your new favourite one-pot rice dish! I have been looking at ways to introduce more fibre to my rice dishes, to make them more balanced, and what I’ve ended up with is a recipe that has extra flavour, texture and fibre from the lentils and sweetcorn. Serve with a vibrant, zingy green salad topped with toasted sesame seeds.
Baked honey and soy chicken rice
Prep 10 min
Marinate 30 min+
Cook 1 hr 10 min
Serves 4
5 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs
1 tsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp butter
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
300g jasmine rice, or basmati rice
1 tbsp chicken stock powder
160g drained tinned sweetcorn
340g drained tinned green lentils
20g chives, chopped, to garnish
For the marinade
3 tbsp pineapple juice
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1½ tsp dark soy sauce
½ tsp sesame oil
½ tsp five spice powder
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp salt
Score the top of the chicken thighs a couple of times, so the marinade can penetrate deeper into the meat, then put them in a bowl. Add all the marinade ingredients, cover and leave to marinate at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, or in the fridge overnight.
Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4. Put the oil in a large, ovenproof pan on a medium heat, lift the chicken thighs out of their marinade and lay them skin side down in the hot pan. Leave to fry for five minutes, to brown the skin, then flip over and pour in all the marinade from the bowl. Cook for two to three minutes more, to reduce the marinade a little, then lift out the chicken and transfer to a plate.
Stir the butter, garlic and rice into the remaining marinade in the pan, then add the chicken stock powder, 380ml water, and the drained sweetcorn and lentils. Stir again to distribute everything evenly, then nestle the chicken thighs into the rice mixture. Cover the pan, then transfer to the oven and bake for 35 minutes.
When the time’s up, take the pan out of the oven and leave it to stand still covered, for five minutes. Sprinkle some chives on top, fluff up the rice and serve.
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This recipe is an edited extract from Rice: Make Rice the Heart of Your Table with Recipes from Malaysia and Beyond, by Ping Coombes, published by Murdoch Books at £26. To order a copy for 23.40, go to guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply
