Rice Stuffed Chicken

We were having Red Rice Paella Negra last week for lunch when my tatay (dad) reminiscent the day when he ate a rice stuffed chicken.  According to him it was delicious and I ask him  if he can cook that dish.  However, he quickly answered he don’t know how to cook rice stuffed chicken.  An idea struck me, I will make this dish.

I searched for different rice stuffed chicken recipes and found out that it was so easy to do.  You basically need a good rice stuffing recipe and a well seasoned chicken.  So what should go inside the chicken?  There are different recipes and has its own rice stuffing.  There are herby-type of rice stuffing, there are savory-type like the dirty rice and there are mushroom-based rice stuffing.  Among these, I decided to go with the mushroom-based.

First, my mom doesn’t like herby or aromatic dishes.  She hates rosemary and other aromatic herbs.  She doesn’t like the smell of these herbs and it’s like she’s eating food sprayed with perfume.  The savory-type is expensive and we don’t like to spend too much for a single meal.  So, the final alternative is the mushroom.  It’s simple, tasty and not that expensive.  Another thing is, I have lots of Jolly products in our pantry waiting to be cooked.

The next thing is, how should I incorporate the mushroom into the rice?  Some recipe simply stir fry the mushrooms and rice or simply put it into the rice while cooking.  However, I want my rice stuffing to be flavorful as well.  So I decided to cook the rice with the cream of mushroom and chopped shiitake mushrooms.  It’s fairly easy to do.  Simply replace some of the water with the cream of mushroom and you’re done.  For added flavor, I added more cream of mushroom into the cooked rice before stuffing it into the chicken.

The preparation of the chicken is so easy as well.  I simply brined it for an hour.  So why an hour?  Well, I don’t have the time to brine it longer but it is highly recommended.  I simply pricked the chicken several times with fork before brining it and it turned out flavorful and juicy though.  After brining, I rub the chicken with different herbs and spices for extra flavor.  I stuffed the rice and baked it for an hour and half and the rice stuffed chicken is good to go.

The rice stuffed into the chicken may be not enough for a big family so simply have some extra rice on side.

Procedure

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

Clean the chicken and pat dry.  Prick the chicken with a fork, specially the breast part.  This will allow an easier absorption of the brine solution.

Wash the rice two times.  Add the chopped shiitake mushroom and mix.  Combine the cream of mushroom and a cup of hot water.  Whisk until smooth.  Add more water and dilute the cream of mushroom to 5 cups of solution.  Add this into the rice and cook as usual.

Get two cups of cooked rice and add 4 tablespoons of cream of mushroom and chopped scallion.  Season with salt and pepper.  Set aside.  The amount of cooked rice to be stuffed into the chicken may vary and will depend on the size of your chicken.  Simply take note of the ratio 1 cup of rice to 2 tablespoons of cream of mushroom.

Combine the brine solution excluding the 4 cups of cold water.  Bring to a boil.  Simmer for 5 minutes then add the 4 cups of cold water.  Submerge the chicken into the brine solution and marinate for an hour or more.

Remove the chicken from brine solution and pat dry.  Stuffed the chicken with the rice stuffing.  Push everything inside.  To close the chicken, simply sew the chicken and tie the legs together.

Combine the dry rub.  Rub the chicken with the herbs and spices.

Bake the chicken at 200 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes and lower the temperature to 190 degrees Celsius and baked for another hour.  Don’t forget to based the rice stuffed chicken every 30 minutes.

Serve!

Download the recipe below.