Chipotle Chicken & Rice
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups Carolina® Jasmine White Rice
- 6 bone-in, skin-on whole chicken legs, cut into drumstick and thigh portions
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup olive oil (approx.), divided
- 1 large onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 canned chipotle peppers with adobo sauce, chopped
- 2 tbsp adobo sauce
- 3 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
Instructions
Zesty, spicy and packed with flavor, this chicken dish will not disappoint!
Step 1
Season chicken with chili powder and salt.
Step 2
In large Dutch oven or saucepan set over medium heat, heat 2 tbsp oil. In batches to avoid crowding, add chicken and cook, turning, for 5 to 7 minutes or until starting to brown all over, adding more oil as needed. Using slotted spoon, transfer to plate as chicken is browned.
Step 3
Add onion and garlic to oil in Dutch oven set over medium. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 5 minutes or until starting to soften. Stir in rice, chipotle peppers and adobo sauce. Cook, stirring frequently, for 2 to 3 minutes or until well coated.
Step 4
Stir in broth and bring to a boil. Stir in lime juice. Return chicken to Dutch oven. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring frequently, for 25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and rice is tender and has absorbed most of the liquid. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes.
Step 5
Before serving, fluff rice mixture with fork and garnish with cilantro.
Recipe Tips
Add 1 cup frozen vegetable medley — such as peas, corn and carrots — in the last 10 minutes of cooking if desired.
For a zesty addition, add 1/2 cup sliced green olives or 1/4 cup drained capers with the lime juice in Step 4.
Hot Peppers
Although they can also have a sweet flavor behind the heat, chipotles are essentially jalapeño chili peppers that have been smoked and dried before being used. While cooking can occasionally be challenging, Carolina® allows you to quickly and easily enjoy the flavorful rice that chipotle peppers add in just 90 seconds!
Chipotle Peppers: How Are They Made?
The typical method for converting jalapeño peppers into chipotle peppers is as follows:
Ripe red jalapeño peppers are first allowed to dry.
The peppers are then put on grills made of metal.
The peppers are dried entirely by being smoked in an oven for a number of days.
What’s the Background of Chipotle Peppers?
Chipotle peppers predate Mexican cuisine itself. In actuality, their name means “smoked pepper” and is derived from the Aztec language of Nahuatl, which combines the terms chili (pepper) and poctli (smoke).
One of the indisputable favorites in a nation with an insatiable hunger for pepper is chipotle. For instance, of the total amount of jalapenos produced in Mexico, 60% are used to make pickled goods, 20% are eaten fresh, and the remaining 20% are used to make chipotle.
About 50 different types of chili peppers are grown in Mexico. We have seen that the main component of chipotle is dried jalapeños. Similar to this, many Mexican peppers have two names—one for the raw product and another for the smoked or dried version.
Recipe Tips and Variations
Ready to Heat Recipe Inspo
Why not experiment with different methods to incorporate our Ready to Heat pouches into your regular recipes if you like the advantages they offer? Try this straightforward Simple Tex Mex Rice Bowl, or impress your guests with a delectable Coconut Rice Pudding Milkshake that can be made in only 15 minutes! Learn how to prepare this Easy Coconut Rice if you’re looking for another coconut recipe. Look through our assortment of Ready to Heat rice to find an option that is best for you.
Cooking Tips
For even more great tasting recipe ideas and cooking tips, like how to get the perfect water to rice ratio, check out our website. Looking for a new dinner idea? Try our Arroz Chaufa.
