Chicken Hot Pot

I spend hours searching online and in my magazines for quick and healthy weeknight meals. I look for recipes that have little prep time because I don't always have the energy to spend my evening slicing and dicing after a long day at work. I also seek out recipes that I can cook in one pot or in the oven using one dish. Little clean up after and oven cooking means I can put the dish in the oven and let it do its thing without constantly stirring or checking.

Today's recipe is very easy and requires only one pot (although in the pictures you'll see I also used a sauté pan, but you can definitely use just one pot, as I'll do next time I make this meal). I adapted this chicken recipe from Donna Hay's no time to cook. I received this book as a gift and every recipe I made from it has been easy and delicious. And the food photography in the book is beautiful. 

This is a chicken and rice dish. Now I know you foodies out there would never dream of using Uncle Ben's rice. I personally would never use anything but basmati rice. I grew up eating the stuff as much as an Italian kid eats pasta. Most Asian recipes are served with steamed, sticky rice, except of course when it's fried. The idea of serving sticky rice is a sin in my culture. Each grain of rice needs to be separate and long, never sticky. That would be a crime, the way putting ketchup on pasta is.

The original recipe has you adding the uncooked chicken to the boiling pot of rice and essentially boiling it till it's cooked through. That sounded as exciting to me as a root canal. I decided to sear the chicken before incorporating it with the rice. This added a good amount of flavor to the overall dish.

I used olive oil instead of regular vegetable oil for the dressing, as the original recipe outlines. The idea of drizzling vegetable oil didn't sit well with me and you just can't beat the fruity taste of a good olive oil.  I also added a bit of olive oil to the rice as it was boiling, thus preventing too much of the sticky rice effect (there's just some things I can't help). 

 

Chinese Chicken Hot Pot adapted from Donna Hay's no time to cook

Ingredients

2 cups basmati rice thoroughly rinsed

2 slices of ginger

3 garlic cloves halved

4 cups chicken stock

4 chicken breasts halved

2 cups snow peas

soy sauce to serve

salt and pepper to taste

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

 

For the dressing...

1 tablespoon grated ginger

1 green scallion chopped

2 tablespoons cilantro

5 tablespoons olive oil

salt to taste

 

Method

Combine all the ingredients for the dressing and set aside.

Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and sear both sides in a large pot. Set aside.

Combine the chicken, ginger and garlic in the pot and bring to a boil. Add rice and a drizzle of olive oil and stir. Add the chicken breasts. Cover with a tight-fitting lid. You can also wrap the lid with a dishcloth and place it over the pot. This allows some of the steam to be absorbed. Cook over low heat for about 10-12 minutes.

Stir in the snow peas and cover. Let cook for another few minutes or until the chicken and rice are cooked through and all the liquid has been absorbed (the snow peas cook quickly and are better when slightly crunchy).  

Drizzle the dressing over the dish and serve with soy sauce.

Happy cooking! 

Comments

[torviewtoronto]

delicious
lovely picture

[A Little Yumminess]

Love one pot dishes and Donna Hay. Will try this!

[Eileen]

I am always looking for new dinner recipes. This looks like a winner. Thanks for sharing!

[Yesim]

I liked the foods easy and tasty, this looks so good, whenever my mum cant find smth to cook , she just cook shicken and potatos:)) this recipe s a competitor for that:) tx for sharing..

[Michele@FitFoodista]

This reminds me of the old chicken, rice, and a can of Campbells creamy something soup recipe - but wayyyyy better :) Looks like a perfect after-work dinner.