Portuguese roast chicken rice

A Portuguese chef insisted over social media that Adam Liaw try arroz de pato, Portugal’s duck rice. Ever a fan of chicken and rice dishes commonly found through Asia, his taste of arroz de pato inspired him to write this roasted version, flavoured with chorizo, speck and red wine.

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  1 hour

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg whole chicken
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 150 g chorizo, cut into ½ cm slices
• 150 g smoked speck (3 cm x 3 cm block), cut into ½ cm slices
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 1 large brown onion, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 cup (250 ml) red wine
• 2 tbsp (40 ml) olive oil
• 1½ cups Jasmine rice
• 1 tbsp roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley

Resting time: 10 minutes

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 200˚C (220˚C fan-forced). Use kitchen scissors to cut the backbone (reserve the backbone) out of the chicken to butterfly it. Rub the chicken with a generous pinch of salt, pepper and the smoked paprika.
2. Combine the chicken backbone, chorizo, speck, bay leaves, carrot, onion and garlic in a mound in a large, heavy-based oven-proof frying pan. Place the butterflied chicken on top so the chicken completely covers the cured meats and vegetables. Pour the wine around the base of the chicken and drizzle generously with olive oil. Roast for 40 minutes, or until the chicken is browned and cooked through.
3. While the chicken is cooking, rinse the rice and soak it in cold water.
4. Once the chicken is cooked, remove from the pan to a plate and allow to rest.
5. Drain the rice, then add it to the frying pan, stirring it through the chicken juices and oils. Add 800 ml boiling water and bring the rice to a simmer on the stovetop. Simmer for 3 minutes, then pull the chorizo and speck to the top of the rice. Season well with salt and pepper, then bake for a further 10 minutes, until the rice is cooked through and the chorizo and speck are crisp.
6. Cut the chicken into serving pieces, then place over the rice. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

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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.