Garlicky Chicken and Rice Soup
- Savory
A brothy, garlic-scented chicken soup with rice, dried herbs simmered in early and a fresh pinch stirred in at the end. Chunky, warming and simple to put together.
- Total
- 60 min
- Prep 15 · Cook 45
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Searing · Blooming spices
Instructions
-
Cut the chicken into 3 cm pieces and season with 0.5 tsp of the salt and the black pepper. Rinse the rice under cold water until the water runs mostly clear, then drain.
~10 min
Rinsing washes away surface starch so the grains stay separate instead of turning the broth cloudy and gluey.
-
Warm the olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add the chicken in a single layer and brown for 4 minutes without moving, then turn and brown 3 minutes more. It does not need to be cooked through yet. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
~7 min
Leaving the chicken undisturbed lets a browned crust form through the Maillard reaction, which builds deep savoury flavour in the broth.
Searing Pat the chicken dry and leave it untouched until it releases easily from the pot; moving it too soon tears the crust before it browns.
-
Lower the heat to medium-low. Add the garlic powder, dried oregano, dried thyme, dried rosemary and paprika to the pot and stir for 45 seconds until fragrant, taking care not to let them scorch.
~2 min
Brief contact with hot oil blooms the dried spices, releasing their fat-soluble aromas; scorching turns them bitter.
Blooming spices Keep the heat medium-low and stir constantly for under a minute; the spices are ready when fragrant, and any darkening means they are burning.
-
Pour in 1.8 l water and add the remaining 1 tsp salt. Scrape the browned bits from the bottom, bring to a gentle simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes so the dried herbs infuse the water.
~15 min
Scraping up the browned bits dissolves them into the liquid, and a gentle simmer extracts herb flavour without evaporating the broth.
-
Add the drained rice and the chicken with any juices on the plate. Simmer uncovered for 15 to 18 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the rice is tender and the chicken reaches 74°C/165°F in the thickest piece.
~18 min
Simmering uncovered lets the rice absorb liquid and thicken the broth; occasional stirring keeps grains from sticking without breaking them.
If the soup thickens too much as the rice sits, loosen it with a splash of hot water rather than more salt.
-
Stir in the dried basil and taste for salt, adding a pinch more if the water tastes flat. Ladle into bowls, making sure each gets chicken and rice.
~4 min
Add the dried basil only at the end: simmered from the start it turns dull, but stirred in off the heat it keeps a fresh, leafy aroma.
