Chicken and rice with a ginger problem

Name: Chicken and rice with a ginger problem
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 2 tbsp neutral or olive oil; 1 piece of fresh ginger, 3 inches, peeled and thinly sliced; 2 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts; kosher salt; 3 cloves garlic, minced or grated; 2 cup jasmine rice, rinsed with cold water; 3 cup low-sodium chicken broth or water, at room temperature; ¾ lb quick-cooking greens such as chard, kale or spinach, torn into bite-size pieces (about 4 packed cups); 2 tbsp soy sauce, plus more as needed; 2 limes, 1 juiced and 1 cut into wedges; 2 scallions, sliced (optional); ¼ cup cilantro leaves and tender stems, packed, roughly torn (optional)

Rice cooked in ginger oil, with the bottom layer left long enough to scorch and crisp.

At a Glance

Time

45 min

Serves

Story

The dish is a nod to the ginger fried rice and garlicky stir-fried greens at Uncle Lou, a Cantonese restaurant in New York. Blooming thick coins of ginger in hot oil before anything else touches the pot is the move, the oil carries that warmth through every grain of rice that follows.

Ingredients

2 tbsp neutral or olive oil
1 piece of fresh ginger3 inches, peeled and thinly sliced
2 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts
kosher salt
3 cloves garlicminced or grated
2 cup jasmine ricerinsed with cold water
3 cup low-sodium chicken broth or waterat room temperature
¾ lb quick-cooking greens such as chardkale or spinach, torn into bite-size pieces (about 4 packed cups)
2 tbsp soy sauceplus more as needed
2 limes1 juiced and 1 cut into wedges
2 scallionssliced (optional)
¼ cup cilantro leaves and tender stemspacked, roughly torn (optional)

Method

Everything in one pot, greens included, and the bottom layer of rice goes faintly crisp if you are lucky and patient. Mild, warming and quietly excellent.

In a large Dutch oven with a lid, heat the oil and ginger over medium high until the coins sizzle, 1 to 2 minutes. Season the chicken with salt, push the ginger aside and lay the chicken in. Cook undisturbed until browned and releasing from the pot, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the garlic and rice, flipping the chicken through, until the grains are glossed and sizzling, about a minute.
Add the broth, crank the heat and bring it to a boil, scraping the bottom as you go. Cover, drop the heat to a simmer and cook until the liquid is mostly gone and the chicken is done, about 20 minutes. In the last 8 minutes, give it a stir to stop any sticking, then pile the greens on top and cover again to let them collapse.
Off the heat, stir in the soy sauce and the juice of one lime. Fluff, then let it rest covered for 5 minutes.

Warn the table about the ginger coins or fish them out yourself, depending on how much you like your guests. Serve with lime wedges, extra soy and the scallions and cilantro if you have them.

On the pass