Sometimes, I really hate cooking.
I just don't feel like it.
I know I'm not the only one who feels this way, but sometimes it's a relief to acknowledge a universal truth publicly. I am a home cook and a food writer and sometimes, I hate cooking.
Recently, when I've felt that way, I've been returning to a more exciting version of the gym bro special: that unappealing and uninspiring protein-optimised mixture of chicken breast, broccoli, and brown rice. But, in fairness, when you season everything correctly and add a bit of flourish — whatever's lingering in your fridge, really — you can produce a nutritious and comforting meal that tastes delicious.
The secret to this recipe's consistent success is the cheesy rice. For most culinary survivors of WASP homes, seasoned and rice is a sensational novelty. With just a little bit of effort, you can transform rice from a bland carbohydrate deposit into the flavourful base of a wonderfully comforting meal. Here's how to do it.
What you'll need from the shops
If you're as lucky as I was when I made this particular batch of everything chicken and rice, you won't have to look further than your fridge to find the ingredients to this meal. The rice, cheese, corn, and onion are the only constants — everything else can be customised to your preferences and availability.
Nevertheless, here's what I put in my everything chicken and rice bowls:
Free-range chicken breast
Brown rice
Onion
Frozen corn
White cheddar cheese
White beans
Broccoli
Butter
Seasoning of your choice (I like this BBQ Rub from NOMU)
I intended to add the pictured avocado and sour cream, but the avo turned out to be off, and then I forgot about the sour cream, so there.
Everything chicken and rice recipe
Step 1: Prep your kak
Rinse your brown rice until the water runs clear (about half a cup of rice should make two servings) and set aside.
Dice your onion and slice your chicken breast into smaller pieces.
Drain your beans, ready the frozen corn, chop or dice any vegetables that need preparing. This is your party — you are the sole master of the culinary makeup of your everything chicken and rice bowl. Oh, and grate a good amount of white cheddar.
Step 2: Prepare the rice
Chuck your diced onion into a pot on low-medium heat with a squirt of oil. Season with salt and cook until softened, then browning around the edges.
Once you see some browning, it's time to tip in the rinsed rice and add a bunch of water. I can't even tell you how much. 800ml? It's a guessing game with brown rice. Follow packet instructions, I guess. Salt the water and bring to a boil.
Chuck in the frozen corn for good measure. You're liable to forget to do it later anyway.
Step 3: Cook the chicken
If you are using a stainless steel pan, put the pan on medium-low heat and let it sit there until a bead of water stays still on it like this:
If it's spitting and splitting, the pan is not hot enough yet. Put it back on and exercise some patience.
When the pan is hot enough, chuck out any water beads and toss in some oil. Salt and cook the chicken, taking care to let the hot pan brown each side sufficiently without jiggling things around.
Once cooked, set the chicken aside but keep the pan on the heat.
Step 4: Cook the veg
I like to char any fresh veg in the hot pan with nothing other than the chicken fond and some oil, then make a butter sauce for everything else. You do you.
Once the veg are done, toss a generous slab of butter into the hot pan. This will create a gorgeous pan sauce to coat softer ingredients like the chicken and beans in.
Toss in a teaspoon or two of your powdered seasoning, then reintroduce the cooked chicken and beans to coat them in the sauce.
Step 5: Finish the rice
At some point, the water in your brown rice will boil down and it will be cooked.
At this mysterious and difficult-to-ascertain moment, turn the heat off, pop in your grated cheese, and cover with a lid.
A few minutes later, the cheese will have gently melted all over the rice.
Mix it all together to achieve an optimal rice-to-cheese ratio.
Step 6: Combine and serve
Need I say more?
Cooking is a chore sometimes. But that doesn't mean you can't make a cost-effective comfort meal that covers your nutritional bases with relative ease. And if you really don't feel up to it, just order in the damn takeaway.
With love and wisdom,
The Life & Style team
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