Put your Dutch ovens to work in this simple but warming dish that is very delicious and achievable on a weeknight. Plus, you'll have lots of extra broth for leftovers!

Ingredients

Serves 4
  • 2 whole garlic heads
  • 1 (4-inch) piece fresh ginger
  • 4 scallions
  • 1 large bunch cilantro
  • 2 jalapenos
  • 1 lime
  • 2 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts (about 2 lbs)
  • 1 cup long-grain white rice, such as basmati or jasmine
  • Kosher salt
  • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil or neutral oil
Cookware Used
The Dutchess
6.75-Quart Cast-Iron Dutch Oven
$180
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Dutch Baby
3.5-Quart Cast-Iron Dutch Oven
$140
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Stir Crazy
3-Piece Nested Mixing Bowl Set
$95
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Cook the rice:

  1. Rinse rice in a fine-mesh strainer, swirling the rice with your hands until the water runs clear, 1 to 2 minutes.
  2. Combine the rinsed rice, 1 ¼ cups cold water, and ¼ teaspoon salt in Dutch Baby and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cover the post immediately with a tight-fitting lid and reduce heat to very low.
  3. Cook for 16 minutes (set a timer). Turn off the heat, leave the lid on, and let the rice steam for another 10 minutes; uncover and fluff with a fork. 

Meanwhile, prep the broth:

  1. Cut 2 heads of garlic in half crosswise. No worries if they fall apart a bit. 
  2. Thinly slice the ginger lengthwise into planks. 
  3. Cut the scallions in half crosswise, separating the dark green parts from the light green and white parts.
  4. Cut 1 large bunch of cilantro in half, separating and reserving the thick stems from the tender leaves and stems. 

Poach the chicken:

  1. Place the chicken breasts skin-side up in The Dutchess.
  2. Add the halved garlic heads, sliced ginger, dark scallion greens, thick cilantro stems, 4 cups water, and 2 tablespoons salt. The chicken should be just submerged in water; if it’s not, add more water.
  3. Bring the water to a simmer over medium-high heat. Using tongs, flip the chicken breasts so they’re skin-side down. 
  4. Cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breasts (insert the probe near the top part, i.e., the rounded part of the breast) reaches 150°F. This will take 10 to 20 minutes.

    Make the scallion sauce:

    1. Thinly slice the light green and white parts of the remaining scallions crosswise. 
    2. Finely chop the cilantro leaves and tender stems
    3. Trim the stems of the jalapeños. Cut the jalapeños in half lengthwise and pull out the seeds and inner ribs. Finely chop the jalapeños.
    4. Combine the scallions, cilantro, and jalapeños in a small bowl. 
    5. Stir in the olive oil and the juice of 1 lime; season with salt. 

    Back to that chicken:

    1. Once the chicken reaches 150°F, use tongs to transfer the breasts to a cutting board and let cool for about 10 minutes. 
    2. Once cool enough to handle, remove and discard the skin. 
    3. Carve the meat of each breast off the bone and cut against the grain into ½-inch-thick slices. 
    4. While the chicken cools, add 3 cups water to the broth and return to a simmer. Remove from heat. 

    Serve:

    1. Place a big mound of cooked rice in each of the four serving bowls and top with chicken breast slices.
    2. Ladle some broth over top (no need to strain it; just avoid the big pieces of garlic and scallion floating around).
    3. Spoon the scallion sauce generously over the chicken. Serve more broth alongside for sipping. 

    You’ll have a lot of broth leftover. That’s a good thing! You can strain it and use it in any other recipes that call for stock or water. Just remember that it is highly seasoned already, so you may want to hold back on salt in whatever you use it for. 



    Photos by Bradley Meinz