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1
Brown the chicken
12 minutes
Medium-high heat (200°C / 400°F)
Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken thighs skin-side down for about 6 minutes without moving them, then turn and brown the other side for 4 minutes more. Lift them out onto a plate — they do not need to be cooked through yet.
Do not crowd the pot; brown in two batches if you must, or the chicken steams instead of browning and you lose the flavour.
Done when: Chicken skin is deep golden and crisp at the edges; the pot has browned bits on the bottom.
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2
Cook the sofrito
8 minutes
Medium heat (180°C / 350°F)
Lower the heat to medium. In the same pot, cook the onion, red and green peppers and carrot for about 5 minutes until softened, then add the garlic, tomato, tomato paste and annatto and cook for 3 minutes more, stirring, until the mixture turns brick-red and smells sweet.
Scrape the browned bits off the bottom as the vegetables release their juices — that is where the flavour lives.
Done when: Sofrito is soft, brick-red and fragrant; the oil at the edges is stained orange.
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3
Toast the rice
3 minutes
Medium heat (180°C / 350°F)
Add the drained rice and the culantro to the pot and stir for about 3 minutes, coating every grain in the sofrito until the rice looks glossy and smells nutty.
Toasting the rice in the sofrito keeps the grains separate in the finished dish.
Done when: Rice grains are glossy and coated in the red-orange sofrito.
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4
Add liquid and chicken
2 minutes
Boiling (100°C / 212°F)
Pour in the hot water or broth and add the remaining salt. Stir once, scraping the bottom, then nestle the browned chicken thighs on top, skin-side up, and bring to a boil.
Stir only once here — after this the rice must be left alone, or it turns sticky.
Done when: Liquid is boiling gently around the chicken; the rice is settled in an even layer.
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5
Simmer, covered
25 minutes
Simmering (95°C / 203°F)
Cover the pot with a tight lid, lower the heat to the gentlest simmer, and cook for 25 minutes without lifting the lid. The rice should absorb all the liquid and the chicken should reach 74°C (165°F) at the thickest part.
If your lid is loose, lay a clean tea towel under it to seal the steam in. Peeking lets the steam out and the top rice stays hard.
Done when: No liquid is visible on the surface; the chicken is cooked through to 74°C (165°F).
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6
Fold in the peas, olives and raisins
5 minutes
Serving hot (above 60°C / 140°F)
Take the pot off the heat and leave it covered for 5 minutes. Lift the lid, scatter the peas, olives, capers and raisins over the top, and fold them in gently with a fork so the rice stays fluffy. Cover again for 2 minutes so the peas warm through, then serve with the chicken pieces on top of the rice.
Fluff with a fork, never a spoon — a spoon mashes the grains.
Done when: Rice is fluffy and separate, golden all the way through, with peas, olives and raisins folded in.
auto_awesome Finishing Touches & Plating
Serve generous mounds of the golden rice with a piece of chicken on top of each portion, and pass lime wedges and hot sauce at the table.
Panama
2h 30m
France
Vietnam