Mama’s Chicken and Rice

Name: Mama's Chicken and Rice
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 50 min
Ingredients: 2 tsp paprika (anything except Hot Hungarian); 2 tsp dried thyme; 1 tsp lemon zest; 1 tsp onion powder; 1/2 tsp garlic powder; 1 tsp kosher salt; 3/4 tsp cracked pepper; 6-8 chicken thighs (bone in and skin on); 2 tbsp butter (divided, plus more if needed); 1 large yellow onion (chopped); 2 cloves garlic (minced); 3 medium stalks of celery (chopped into 1/2 inch chunks); 3/4 tsp kosher salt; 1 cup long grain white rice; 1 3/4 cups chicken broth/stock; 1/2 cup water; 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley for garnish

January 29, 2020 by Jennifer 26 Comments

There are some flavours that are so evocative, so endearing, so impactful, that they cannot be placated other than with a duplication of those exact taste memories.

At least this is how I feel about my mama’s chicken and rice. It was a staple dish growing up. We most likely took it for granted. It was just the perfect storm of buttery juicy chicken, creamy and yet flakey rice, and some unassuming veggies. But it was the flavour of the rice that found it’s home in my heart. Whenever I could I would put in a request for this dinner.

Capturing Those Treasured Flavours

My mama made it for me most willingly, but totally forgot to tell us how she made it. Like all her recipes, it was in her head. And her hands just made it without her having to give it a second thought. So when I suddenly found myself on my own, I would visit, ask her to make it, and then ask her how she did it. I went home, doing exactly as my mother said, but it never tasted the same. There was always something missing. This doesn’t surprise me after the ‘Marble Cake Saga’ (see Mama’s Marble Cake recipe for the story!)

I do know that Mama used converted rice. Well, I don’t use converted rice. But that shouldn’t mean that I can’t get the flavour I wanted. I do know she used a bouillon cube for extra chickeny-ness. Well, I don’t use bouillon cubes. But that shouldn’t mean that I can’t get the extra chicken-y flavour needed for it to be the dish of my childhood.

So I played and played with this through the years. At times I almost gave up, resigning myself that I would have to live with just the memory.

Baking Method

I decided to take a baking approach to the recipe. It’s not how my mum did it. But I decided that instead of using a bouillon cube, I would use the natural juices from the chicken to permeate the rice as it baked underneath the chicken pieces. Using stock would also help. For veggies I would use the one that my mama taught me to love: celery. I decided that it’s earthy flavour must be there to round out the rice flavour in my taste bud memories. No carrots, their sweetness would interfere with the flavour profile I was trying to achieve.

Now, just laying chicken pieces onto the rice and expecting them to bake up is one thing. But all the fat that would drip from them would make for unnecessary fat in the rice. So I decided that searing them first would help render out enough of the fat, while still leaving some as well as the juices to share with the rice. And I do something radically different from most recipes. I sear off the chicken pieces first to render some of the fat, and THEN I cover the pieces with the spice rub. I don’t want the rub on the chicken for the initial searing, so that the spices and herbs don’t get scorched in the pan, which would then affect the onions and garlic. This way the herbs and spices will stay nice for the oven. So after I seared off the chicken pieces, and letting them cool off slightly, I gave them a good rub of a spice and herb combo.

Then I chopped up some onion and garlic and sautéed it in the pan. Then I added a whole whack of chopped celery. Go big or go home! After appropriately softened, I added the rice and gave it a good stir to coat it in the fat and flavours in the pan. I nestled the chicken pieces over the rice and poured stock around everything. Get it bubbly on the stove top and then into the oven it went. The reason I have the chicken in with the rice for the simmering, instead of adding it after the rice and stock have come to a bubble, is that larger pieces of chicken may not cook through in the time allotted in the oven. This initial cooking with the rice will help them along.

Once almost fully baked in the oven, I removed the lid, just so that any extra liquid could cook off, and the skin would crisp up. I gave the rice a taste. Oh my. It tasted like what had been seared into my foodie brain. Buttery, chicken-y, earthy. The rice held so many memories in the first forkful.

I gave Jim his serving. I cleaned up a bit and came out with my bowl of chicken and rice. He looked up and said, “This is good!” “That my dear, is my childhood.” And now I am sharing my most favourite dish of my mum with you!

Love Jen

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