The recipe on the back of a bag of Botan Calrose rice is both uncomplicated and delicious
Calrose rice is my favorite varietal of rice. Maybe it’s my California pride — the rice was initially developed in the state and still grows here — or the sticky nature of the medium-grain rice that makes each bite so satisfying. Whatever the case, my pantry is incomplete without a bag of Botan’s calrose, ready to be turned into porridge, kimbap, fried rice, and more. When it comes to rice, I’ve put all my trust into Botan — so I decided, why not take it one step further and extend my trust to the recipe printed on the back of the five-pound bag?
I only noticed the recipe for chicken and rice chile verde recently, despite buying this brand and type of rice for over five years now. I’m typically not one to attempt a recipe found on the back of a box because I purchase most of my groceries with an established intention for their purpose whether it be a bag of chocolate chips or a box of dried noodles. But a bag of rice has so many lives and can transform into endless meals, including the recipe recommended on the back of it.
The recipe seemed simple enough, and only required nine ingredients (most of which are pantry staples). In fact, the only thing I needed to go out of my way to purchase was a can of diced green chiles.
The process of making this dish took around 40 minutes and was easy enough to be a weeknight dinner. It begins like many other one-pot rice dishes: you sear the chicken, letting it render its fat, which becomes the first building block of flavor. Once the chicken is golden brown on both sides, you remove it and add onions and garlic, sauteeing the aromatics until translucent. From there, you pretty much dump in everything else: rice, oregano, the can of chiles, and a prepared chicken bouillon stock, before layering the chicken on top and letting the pot simmer for 25 minutes.
The last step is to take the pot off the heat and shower the stew with peas and a sprinkling of shredded Monterey jack cheese, letting everything meld for an additional 10 minutes. The result is a warm and comforting bowl of chicken and rice studded with peas and green chiles that also boasts an impressive cheese pull.
This recipe is extremely pared down (it has to be to fit on the back of the bag of rice while sharing real estate with the nutrition facts), so I did take some liberties that I would recommend for anyone else interested in trying it. For starters, the recipe never mentions salt or pepper; I liberally salted and seasoned my chicken with black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder before searing it and also added salt to the rice. It also calls for a single clove of garlic, which I didn’t feel would provide enough garlic flavor for a four-serving meal, so I increased the amount by an additional clove (although I could see three or four cloves working well for garlic enthusiasts). And though I used a bouillon cube as the recipe instructed, I think the next time I make this recipe I’ll swap it out for chicken stock, which I feel would further intensify the chicken flavor and reduce the sodium.
That being said, I don’t have any real complaints. I’m always on the lookout for an easy weeknight dinner and this one hit all the marks: it was simple to prepare, didn’t require a lot of cooking time, and tasted surprisingly rich for how uncomplicated it was. I think dressing a bowl with sour cream, sliced jalapeños, and chopped cilantro could coax out even more of the flavor of the green chiles, but as it stands, the recipe is delightful and I will continue making it through the colder months to come.
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