Lebanese chicken and rice, a classic dish of Middle Eastern spiced rice topped with shredded chicken and toasted nuts. This is a delicious meal that comes together really easily and is such a hearty and comforting meal.
What is Lebanese chicken and rice?
It’s also known as riz a djej or riz ala dajjaj, which basically translates to rice on chicken, but this is actually chicken on rice. The base of the dish is a delicious hashweh style rice. Hashweh rice is a Lebanese rice that’s spiced and has ground beef or lamb in it. The rice is topped with shredded chicken, and plenty of toasted nuts.
This is such a comforting dish, that can be made start to finish in one go, boiling the chicken and using the chicken stock to boil the rice in. A lot of the time though, this is a dish you can make to creatively repurpose leftovers.
Using leftovers to make chicken and rice:
Anytime I have leftover cooked chicken, I’ll make this or chicken fatteh (or these amazing chicken musakhan sambosa). Also, the spiced rice with ground meat is a great way to use up any leftover cooked beef or lamb you have! I usually make a big batch of spiced ground meat, and freeze 4 oz (200g) parcels of it. Spiced ground meat, is great for using in:
and Ouzi.
Ingredients you need to make Lebanese riz a djeij:
For the rice:
The rice: I use basmati rice that I presoak for 15 minutes or so, then rinse until the water runs clear to remove any excess starchiness
The meat: You can use either minced lamb or minced beef. I’ve used both depending on what I have in the fridge or freezer. This post gives you full details on how to cook minced meat, Middle Eastern style.
The spices: seven spices, or all spice are essential. Cinnamon comes next, along with salt and pepper. That’s how I make it! That simple. Some people add cumin or ground coriander or a bunch of other things, but I find that these give just the right flavour I need.
The extras: We always use frozen peas. You don’t need to pre-thaw the peas completely, just rinse them a little to get rid of any ice chunks and throw them in the pot. We sometimes add frozen corn too, or some of that frozen pre mixed pea/corn/carrots. It’s peas that are always the common denominator- they really help turn the Lebanese rice into a complete meal.
For the chicken:
1 whole chicken, or 4 chicken breasts, or any assorted chicken pieces you like: The chicken will ultimately end up being boiled and shredded over the top of the rice, so the type of chicken you use is very flexible. The amount is flexible too! You might find half a chicken is more than enough for you to top your rice with.
I actually ended up having some extra chicken when I made this chicken mushroom filo pie, so it made preparing this dish a snap.
You can use leftover chicken, or rotisserie chicken to save time. If you end up doing that, and don’t end up making chicken broth by boiling the chicken from scratch, just add plain water or canned chicken stock to the rice while cooking.
If cooking the chicken: bay leaves, a cinnamon stick, an onion, and salt and pepper to flavor the water that the chicken boils in.
For topping:
Toasted nuts: A trademark of this dish. You can use pine nuts, almond slivers, almond flakes, even cashew nuts, whatever you have on hand. Just toast the nuts in a little olive oil over medium heat in a skillet until golden brown.
Once cooked, immediately remove from the pan onto a paper towel lined plate to absorb some of the oil and to prevent the nuts from overcooking in the pan.
Chopped parsley: for some vibrancy and color and a punch of fresh flavor
How to make Lebanese chicken and rice:
To make the chicken:
- Place the chicken in a large saucepan. Add the onion wedges, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, salt and pepper. Cover with water until chicken is submerged.
- Bring to a boil, then scoop off any foam that forms on the surface. Boil uncovered for 20 minutes or so until chicken is cooked through. Turn off the heat, remove chicken to a plate. Keep the stock to use in the rice.
- Once the chicken has cooled enough to handle, use your fingers to shred the chicken evenly. Set aside.
To make the rice:
It’s better to soak the basmati rice for 15-20 minutes before draining it and rinsing it until the water runs clear. This helps prevent the rice from being excessively starchy and mushy. While rice is soaking you can cook the ground meat for the rice:
In a pot, add the cooked beef, the rice, peas, spices and water, bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook the rice until all water has been absorbed and fluffy.
Once rice is finished place on serving plate and top with shredded chicken, toasted nuts, and chopped parsley.
Tips for chicken and rice success:
-Rice and chicken can both be bland, so be intentional in seasoning all the different layers of the dish: the broth, the meat and the rice. Taste and adjust seasoning as you go.
-Soak the basmati rice before using, and drain it well so that the rice cooks fluffy and perfect.
-Use whatever type of chicken you prefer, don’t over think it too much. You basically want a nice amount of shredded chicken to top the rice with, and preferably some chicken broth to cook the rice with, but that isn’t essential.
What to serve with this:
Plain yogurt is great! You can also do a simple cucumber and yogurt salad. This is also great with a simple green salad.
Storing leftover Lebanese rice and chicken:
Leftovers will last, tightly covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.
If you liked this recipe, you might like:
Lebanese Chicken and Rice
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 1 chicken or 4 chicken breasts or assorted chicken pieces see notes
- 1 onion, cut into wedges
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cinnamon stick, or a pinch of cinnamon powder
- big pinch salt and pepper
For the spiced meat:
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 2 small red onions, diced small
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 500 g ground beef or lamb* 1 lb
- 1 tsp all spice or seven spices
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1/2-1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper to taste
For the rice:
- 2 cups basmati rice
- 3.5 cups water or chicken stock from cooking the chicken
- 200 g frozen peas
- pinch salt, pepper, and seven spices/all spices
To garnish:
- toasted pine nuts and slivered almonds** See recipe notes
- fresh chopped parsley
Instructions
For the minced meat:
- In a large skillet over medium high heat, add the olive oil. Once hot, add the diced onions and cook for 3-4 minutes until softened, stirring continuously.
- Add the crushed garlic, and cook for a further minute or so, then add the minced lamb.
- Cook for a minute, breaking apart any clumps of meat with a wooden spoon, then add all the spices (seven spice or all spice, cinnamon, salt and black pepper). Continue cooking, a good 6-8 minutes until lamb is all cooked through and brown with no pink bits remaining. Keep stirring and breaking apart clumps of meat through out- you can even use a potato masher to break the meat apart a little.
- If desired, drain any extra fat. Taste the mince and adjust for seasoning.
For the chicken:
- Place the chicken in a large saucepan. Add the onion wedges, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, salt and pepper. Cover with water until chicken is submerged.
- Bring to a boil, then scoop off any foam that forms on the surface. Boil uncovered for 20 minutes or so until chicken is cooked through. Turn off the heat, remove chicken to a plate. Keep the stock to use in the rice.
- Once the chicken has cooled enough to handle, use your fingers to shred the chicken evenly. Set aside.
For the rice:
- Soak the basmati rice for 15-20 minutes, then drain and rinse with water until water runs clear.
- To a large saucepan, add the minced meat (I don't always use all of it, I usually use around 300 grams or so), plus the drained basmati rice, the frozen peas, and 3.5 cups of water. Sprinkle with a big pinch of salt, pepper, and some additional all spice or seven spices. Stir to combine.
- Bring the contents of the saucepan to a boil, uncovered, then cover with a tight fitting lid, reduce heat to a low simmer, and simmer for 20 minutes or until water is all absorbed. Remove pan from heat but let it sit covered for an additional 10 minutes, then uncover and fluff with a fork.
- Garnish with toasted pine nuts/almonds (See notes) and chopped parsley, if desired
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