Chicken and Rice...and you!

This is a dish that you will find in many different cuisines and cultures.

The basics are: chicken seared in a pan and removed, you then deglaze the pot, using what's left from searing the chicken, as a base for your rice. Add rice to your now flavored water or broth, then add the chicken back in to finish cooking along w/ the rice.

Using those basic steps, you can customize this dish in a number of ways, by playing around with: chicken seasoning, type of chicken(dark meat, skin on vs. no skin), type of rice, other additions such as vegetables or beans, broth vs. seasoning water; there are options!

Below are some ways you can vary this dish, play around w/ flavor profiles and ingredients you like. I suggest making a small pot when trying out new flavors, this gives you more control and you can more easily keep track of steps and ingredients.

• Mediterranean flavors: season chicken w/ garlic, oregano, fresh lemon juice, and salt/pepper. Use chicken broth to deglaze pot and cook rice, add in black olives and a bay leaf (don't forget to remove once cooked).
• Chinese/Thai flavors: season chicken w/ marinade of: garlic, ginger, soy sauce, honey/sugar/brown sugar. When searing the chicken the sugar will caramelize, giving a nice texture to the meat and slight sweetness to the dish overall. Use jasmine rice, which will add great aromatics to the dish. Use a vegetable broth or water, you don't want to add salt as the soy sauce based marinade is already salty( you can add salt later to taste). You an add in chopped onion and cooked scrambled egg, for a more fried rice type dish. You can also add in broccoli florets mid way through the cooking process after adding in the rice. Garish w/ cilantro, green onion and a slice of lime
• Cuban flavors: season chicken in ___ marinade. Season chicken w/ garlic, cumin, oregano, and salt/pepper. When cooking the rice, add a bay leaf(don't forget to remove before serving. Serve along side fried sweet plantains, fried yuca, side of (LINK) seasoned black beans.
• Jamaican flavors: stripped down jerk seasoning, as the process of grilling is a part of the full jerk flavors profile. (Grilling methods also change that flavor profile, grilled over wood coal is the preferred method) season chicken w/ thyme, garlic/garlic powder, black pepper, salt, parsley, all spice/pimento, scotch bonnet or habanero pepper. Let chicken marinade at least 2hrs, over night or 1-2 days would be better. Serve w/ steamed vegetables, callou, fried dumplings or (LINK) festival
• Haitian flavors: season chicken w/ (GREEN EPISODE LINK) garlic, thyme, parsley, minced shallot, salt/pepper. Use par broiled rice, add in cooked beans [ small red, pigeon, ..]

My version of chicken and rice!