Lebanese chicken and rice, known as “rez a Jej” in Arabic, is one of my favorite dishes to make. It’s super easy and bursting with flavors. You can serve it with a side of yogurt and cucumber sauce, a refreshing salad, or simply enjoy it alone with plain yogurt. No matter how it’s served, it’s always delicious!
The best way to prepare it is by cooking a whole chicken for a flavorful broth. However, if you’re in a hurry, you can use store-bought rotisserie or leftover chicken, along with chicken bouillon, it will still taste delicious.
✨Ingredients✨
**Chicken:**
– 1 kg whole chicken, cut into pieces
– 1 onion, 2 garlic cloves, 1 cinnamon stick, and a bay leaf
– Water to cover
**Rice:**
– 2 cups parboiled rice or a mix of 1 cup parboiled rice and 1 cup of basmati rice
– 4 cups broth from the chicken
– 2 tsp salt
– 1/2 tsp black pepper
– 1 tsp cinnamon powder
– 2 tsp 7 spice
– 2 tbsp oil of your choice or ghee
– parsley to garnish
✨Instructions ✨
1: wash and soak rice for 1 hour
2;Cut the whole chicken into pieces, then wash.
3; Add the chicken to a pot, then cover it with hot water.
4; Remove the white foam from the top.
5; Add garlic, onion, cinnamon stick, and bay leaf. Lower the heat to medium and cook for 15 minutes.
6; Take out the chicken, remove it from the bone, set it aside, and strain the broth.
7: In a pot, add olive or vegetable oil. Then, add the chicken.
8: Add the rice and spices on top of the chicken, then mix.
9: Add the broth. When it starts bubbling and the rice and liquid are at the same level, lower the heat to the lowest setting, cover, and cook for 30minutes.
10: Flip, then top with chopped parsley for garnish.
✨Tips✨
*If you want the rice to hold together like a cake, use a mix of basmati rice and parboiled rice. If you use parboiled rice alone, it won’t hold together. However, if you prefer the rice separated, use parboiled rice alone because basmati rice sticks to each other, while parboiled rice doesn’t stick.
*This dish works great with leftover chicken, so if you have any, you can use it. For the broth, you can use store-bought broth or water with one chicken bouillon.
*You can use store-bought rotisserie chicken, which tastes delicious. For the broth, use chicken bouillon and water.
