Easy Lebanese chicken and rice

Try Adam Liaw’s take on easy Lebanese chicken and rice with an Asian twist of using a rice cooker! Including both chicken and beef, this double protein packed rice is not only filling, but delicious.

• serves

  4-6

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  40 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 brown onion, finely chopped
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 6 cloves
• 250 g beef (or lamb) mince
• 1 tsp baharat
• 1 tsp ground allspice
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• 2 cups jasmine rice
• 1 litre chicken stock
• 4 chicken thigh fillets
• 2 tsp salt
• 25 g butter
• 1 cup mixed nuts (e.g. pine nuts, flaked almonds and cashews)
• 1 cup thick yoghurt, to serve

Instructions

1. Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the oil and the onion. Fry the onion for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant, then add the bay leaves, cinnamon and cloves. Use your hands to gradually crumble the mince into the pan, breaking up with a spoon until the mince is browned.
2. Add the ground spices and rice to the beef and stir to coat well with the oil. Transfer the beef and rice mixture to a rice cooker, then pour over enough chicken stock to come to about 2 cm above the rice. Add the chicken thigh fillets on top of the rice and sprinkle with the salt. Cook according to the rice cooker settings.
3. While the rice and chicken are cooking, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Fry the nuts until browned, then set aside.
4. When the chicken and rice have finished cooking, remove the chicken from the rice and shred with two forks. Hit the button on the rice cooker again to cook the rice a little more – the total cook time should be around 30-40 minutes. When it finishes cooking, spread the rice on a serving plate. Scatter the shredded chicken and fried nuts over the top. Serve with the yoghurt.

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

Want more from The Cook Up? Stream all the seasons here and for free at SBS On Demand.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.