Arroz de Frango (Portuguese Chicken and Rice)
- Prep
- 10 min
- Total
- 55 min
- Servings
- 4
- Calories
- 510 kcal
Arroz de frango is one of the most traditional one-pot dishes in Portuguese homes: chicken cooked slowly in an aromatic base, then folded into a soft, soupy rice that soaks up all the broth. It’s cheap, easy and pleases the whole family.
Every house has its version, soupier or drier, with or without piri-piri, with more or less white wine, but the base is always a good onion and garlic sauté, well-cooked chicken and carolino rice.
Recipe
Arroz de Frango
Chicken thighs and drumsticks cooked slowly with carolino rice, garlic and a splash of white wine. A Portuguese home classic, ready in under an hour.
Ingredients
Method
- 1Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
- 2Heat the olive oil in a pot and cook the chopped onion with the garlic and bay leaf.
- 3Add the chicken and let it brown on all sides.
- 4Pour in the white wine and let the alcohol cook off.
- 5Add water or stock to cover the chicken and cook over medium heat for about 25 to 30 minutes, until the chicken is tender.
- 6Take out the chicken, shred it or cut it into pieces and set aside.
- 7Add the rice to the broth and cook for about 15 minutes over low heat.
- 8Return the chicken to the pot, stir well, adjust the seasoning and finish with chopped parsley.
Tips
Bone-in pieces give the broth more flavor; breast tends to dry out. If you use breast, shorten the first cooking time.
The rice should stay loose and brothy. Take it off the heat as soon as it’s done, because it keeps cooking in the heat of the pot, and serve it straight away.
You can cook the chicken in its broth ahead of time, but make the rice just before serving: reheated, it loses its texture.
