1. Sear Your Chicken
Start by browning your chicken directly in the skillet. Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs are our favorite here. They’re forgiving, flavorful, and release plenty of fat as they cook. Heat your skillet with some olive oil over medium. Place chicken thighs, skin side down, in a single layer. Give them enough room to make contact with the skillet and develop a deep golden crust (about 6-8 minutes), then remove them to a plate. The goal is not to fully cook the chicken here, just to develop some flavor.
Don’t clean the skillet. Everything left behind is about to become part of dinner.
As a general starting point:
If you're squeezing pieces together to make them fit, size up.
2. Build Your Base
Turn down the heat and add your aromatics directly to the rendered chicken fat. Onion and garlic are the obvious starting point, but shallots, leeks, scallions, peppers, or whatever else is hanging around the refrigerator can all work.
As they cook, scrape up the browned bits left behind by the chicken. That’s flavor you want in the rice, not stuck to the bottom of the pan.
3. Add Your Flavor
This is where one basic method can become a completely different dinner every time you make it.
Add a combination of spices and flavor boosters to your aromatics before the rice goes in.
Try cumin, coriander, paprika, turmeric, chile flakes, or warm spices. Add a spoonful of harissa or tomato paste. Toss in some olives or preserved lemon. You’re building the flavor for the entire skillet, so make it count.
4. Toast the Rice
Add your rinsed and drained rice directly to the skillet with the aromatics and flavors. Stir for a couple of minutes so every grain gets coated in the fat and spices. Toasting the rice adds another layer of flavor and gives it a head start before the liquid goes in.
5. Add the Liquid
Chicken stock adds the most flavor, but vegetable stock, water, even tomato sauce can work too.
The exact amount will depend on the rice you're using, what else is in your skillet, and whether you cook it covered or uncovered. When trying a different variety of rice, use its package directions as your starting point.
For jasmine or basmati rice, start with approximately:
1 CUP RICE : 1½–2 CUPS LIQUID
Bring everything to a simmer before adding the chicken back to the skillet.
6. Nestle + Bake
Arrange the browned chicken over the rice skin side up, then move the entire skillet into the oven. This is where everything comes together. The rice absorbs the broth, spices, fond, and chicken drippings while the chicken finishes cooking above it.
No separate pot of rice. No casserole dish. No transferring everything from one pan to another.
Just dinner.
