Family Chicken Rice Bake

A family-friendly baked chicken-and-rice dish with soy, ginger, mushrooms and vegetables, inspired by comforting Chinese one-pot rice meals.

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This oven version brings together seasoned chicken and rice in one dish so the rice absorbs the chicken juices and savoury sauce while it cooks.

Ingredients

• 800 g boneless chicken thighs (cut into large bite-size pieces)
• 400 g jasmine rice (rinsed until water runs mostly clear)
• 650 ml chicken stock (hot)
• 150 g shiitake mushrooms (sliced)
• 1 carrot (diced)
• 250 g bok choy (halved or quartered)
• 20 g fresh ginger (finely grated)
• 3 garlic cloves (minced)
• 3 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp neutral oil
• 3 spring onions (sliced to serve)

Step-by-step method

1. Heat the oven to 200°C conventional or 180°C fan. Mix the chicken with the ginger, garlic, soy sauce, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil and brown sugar.
2. Heat the neutral oil in a large ovenproof casserole over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken for 3–4 minutes, just until the outside colours. It does not need to cook through. Transfer to a plate.
3. Add the mushrooms and carrot to the same pan and cook for 3 minutes, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom.
4. Stir in the rinsed rice and cook for 1 minute so the grains become coated in the pan juices.
5. Pour in the hot stock and stir once. Arrange the browned chicken pieces evenly over the rice, cover tightly with a lid or foil and transfer to the oven.
6. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove carefully, arrange the bok choy on top, cover again and bake for another 10 minutes.
7. Check that the chicken has reached at least 74°C and the rice is tender. Rest covered for 10 minutes, then fluff the rice gently with a fork and finish with spring onions before serving.