If there’s a staple food all around the world known for its versatility and capability to adapt itself to any culinary culture is rice. There are so many, if not countless, recipes and ways to prepare rice, all equally tasty and delicious.
Depending on the cuisine style, you can find recipes where rice is the star of the dish and others where it is the perfect side dish for all kinds of meat or veggies. For instance:
- In Asia, you can find Thai rice, an exotic and vibrant kind of rice, full of aromas anyone would love.
- In Spain and Mexico, they have different kinds of rice such as Chicken and Rice and arroz rojo or red rice in English, a dish full of flavor and spices, surely one of the favorites.
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In African countries such as Nigeria, people also have their own ways to cook rice and recipes fully based on rice.
Where does chicken and rice come from?
Rice history is quite extensive and interesting, the only limit to what anyone can do with it is, literally, their imagination. In the Spanish-speaking regions of the world, a very famous and delicious kind of rice is Chicken and Rice.
Although most countries of Latin America claim this dish to be theirs, the truth is this well-known recipe comes all the way from Spain and it was brought to their lands when the colonizers first discovered the American continent.
Regardless of the country of origin, the ingredients for arroz con pollo, as they know it in Spanish, are common. They usually include chicken, rice, beer, chicken or vegetable broth, saffron and sofrito, along with bay leaf, cumin, and coriander to add spice to the dish.
How to make chicken and rice, a fool-proof recipe
When it comes to the way of making chicken and rice, you can choose from a wide range of recipes, some a bit more difficult than others. Of course, it also depends on how you want to eat the chicken in your rice, grilled, shredded, chopped, stewed, etc.
If you are not an expert cook, you might want to start with an Easy Chicken and Rice recipe, and if you also happen to love cheese, you need to check out our amazing recipe for a creamy and cheesy chicken and rice, and if you want to try even more recipes like this, go to minuterice.com/recipes/cheesy-chicken-and-rice/.
Creamy and Cheesy Chicken and Rice Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil.
- ½ medium yellow onion, finely chopped.
- 2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces.
- 2 cloves garlic, minced.
- 1 teaspoon salt and pepper.
- 1 cup of white rice, uncooked.
- 2½ cups of broccoli florets, cut into small pieces (broccoli can be replaced by mushrooms if you want).
- 2½ cups of chicken broth.
- 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese.
Preparation
- Sauté the onions in two tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper.
- When the onions have softened, turn the heat up to medium-high and add the chicken to the skillet. Brown the chicken and cook for 1 minute with the garlic.
- Move the chicken to one side of the pan and drizzle the remaining teaspoon of olive oil on the other. Sauté the uncooked rice in the olive oil for a few minutes.
- Pour in the chicken stock and bring the mixture to a boil. Cook over low heat and cover the pan. Cook for 12 minutes, covered.
- Evenly distribute the broccoli or the mushroom pieces over the chicken and rice mixture and stir to combine. Cook until the mixture of broccoli (mushroom) and rice are tender enough.
- Remove from the heat and stir in 1/2 cup of the cheese. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and set aside for 1-2 minutes, or until the cheese has melted. Enjoy.
