Chicken jollof rice
West Africa’s famous one-pot rice, cooked in a rich, smoky tomato and pepper sauce with tender chicken, deeply savory and a little spicy.
- 60 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.48 a serving
- 580 calories
- Good the next day
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1¼ lb chicken breasts, cut into 1½-inch pieces
- 2 tsp curry powder, divided
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
- 1 serrano pepper, minced
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup crushed tomatoes
- 1½ cups long-grain white rice, rinsed well
- 2 chicken bouillon cubes
From your pantry
- 1 tsp dried thyme, divided
- 1 tsp salt, divided
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 cups water
- 1 bay leave
Each serving has about 580 calories, 40 g protein, 70 g carbs and 15 g fat, and costs about $2.48 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No chicken breasts? Boneless chicken thighs or chicken tenderloins work.
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No red bell peppers? Yellow bell peppers work.
- No crushed tomatoes? Diced tomatoes work.
- No long-grain white rice? Jasmine rice or basmati rice works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the chicken with 1 teaspoon of curry powder, ½ teaspoon of thyme and ½ teaspoon of salt, and wash your hands and board.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Food safety: Wash your hands, the board and the knife with hot soapy water after touching raw meat, and don’t rinse raw chicken in the sink.
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high and the chicken 4 to 5 minutes, until on most sides. Move it to a plate.
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Medium-high heatTimer: 4 min 30 sec
Turn the heat to medium and cook the onion, pepper and serrano 5 minutes, until soft.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min
in the tomato paste and fry it 2 to 3 minutes, until it darkens to a brick red.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Medium heatTimer: 2 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Frying the paste until it darkens is the secret to jollof’s deep, almost smoky flavor.Add the crushed tomatoes, smoked paprika and the rest of the curry powder and thyme, and 5 minutes, until thick.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min
in the rice, water, bouillon, bay leaf and the rest of the salt, and bring it .
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Nestle the chicken into the rice, cover tightly, turn the heat to low, and cook 25 minutes without , until the rice is tender and the chicken reads 165°F.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Low heatTimer: 25 min
Dolly’s tip: A little crispy rice on the bottom is prized in jollof. Don’t scrub it away.Food safety: Chicken and turkey are done at 165°F in the thickest part. A thermometer is the only sure check. Without one, cut into the thickest piece: it should be white all the way through, with no pink.
Let it sit off the heat 5 minutes, take out the bay leaf, and fluff before serving.
Timer: 5 min
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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