Chile Lime Chicken with Golden Rice
This Chili Lime Chicken with Golden Rice involves one of my new favorite ways to meal prep chicken. It also includes a homemade version of Rice-a-Roni, one of my childhood favorites.
Servings: 5 servings
Calories: 537kcal
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1.5 tbsp oil
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 g oregano
- ¼ cup water
For the Rice
- 2 tbsp butter
- 3.3 oz spaghetti fideo or orzo will also work. gluten free if needed.
- 1 cup dry rice
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 0.5 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp turmeric optional for color
- 2 cups bone broth regular broth is fine, just less protein
- ⅔ cups water
- 1 sprinkle msg optional for flavor
For the Broccolini
- ½ lb baby broccoli
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp water
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
For the Rice
- If you can find fideo in your grocery store, it will save you a step. If you cannot, spaghetti will work. I need a gluten free noodle so I end up buying spaghetti myself.
- Measure out 100g of your dry noodles and break them into small pieces. About 1/2" in length is the goal. I grab a small group of the noodles and break them into pieces with my hands until they are all broken into pieces.
- In your best rice cooking pot with a tight fitting lid, add in 2 tbsp of butter over medium heat. Pour in the noodle pieces and stir to coat with butter.
- Cook the noodles in the butter for 3-5 minutes until they begin to puff up slightly and begin to brown, this will help give them a toastier flavor. Stir often.
- Once they have developed some color, add in the dry rice, onion powder, garlic powder, turmeric, and salt. Stir to coat with butter and toast the rice and spices for an additional minute or two. Keep them moving to prevent burning.
- To cook this rice you will need 560g of liquid. If you want to use all broth, that's great. At my store most of them come in 2 cup (480g) packages. So I used 480g of broth and 80g of water to reach the total needed instead of buying 2 and having extra.
- Add the liquid to the pot and bring to a rapid boil. This pot needs to come up to temperature in order to properly cook the rice. Once you reach a rapid, rolling boil, hold this for 60-90 seconds and then cover with a tight fitting lid and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 18 minutes.
- RICE NOTE: It is very important that you have a pot with a tight fitting lid and that you bring the liquid in the pot to a rolling boil before simmering. When I failed to do these two things during recipe testing the rice came out mushy on the exterior but still hard on the inside. The evaporation and steaming process is important in cooking the rice properly and these two things are must haves.
- After 18 minutes, turn off the heat and allow the pot to sit covered for an additional 10 minutes to finish steaming.
- After the 10 minutes are up, remove the lid and fluff up the rice. Taste test and adjust seasoning as needed. If you want it to taste like the boxed Rice-a-Roni, a sprinkling of MSG will do the trick.
For the Chicken
- While the rice is cooking, preheat your oven to 400 °F (204 °C).
- Place a large bowl over a scale and add in the ingredients for your marinade. Lime juice, oil, onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, oregano, and salt. Stir to combine.
- Add in your chicken thighs and toss to completely coat all sides.
- Spray a large sheet pan with oil and lay the chicken thighs down with the smooth side facing down.
- Roast for 20-25 minutes.
- After you remove the chicken from the oven, pour ¼ cup of water on to the pan around the chicken to help lift up some of the marinade on the pan. This will be used to make a sauce for the chicken. Let the water sit for 5 minutes or so to do its magic.
- I put on some latex gloves and tear the chicken apart into bite sized pieces with my hands. Once all the thighs are broken down, toss them around on the pan to pick up all of the sauce. This is where much of the flavor lies.
For the Broccolini
- Because there is plenty of butter in the rice and oil in the marinade, I decided to keep the broccolini light by steaming it in the microwave.
- Cut the tops into florets and the stems on a bias into thin pieces. Place all of them into a microwave safe bowl and add in about 2 tbsp of water. Cover with a plate to act as a lid and microwave for 1.5 to 2 minutes.
- Drizzle over 2 tsp lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Plating
- This recipe makes 5 servings. Divide all of your ingredients evenly 5 ways. They will last for up to 5 days in the fridge.
Video
Nutrition
Calories: 537kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 46g | Fat: 17g | Fiber: 2.3g