Jamie Oliver's Flavor-Packed Hack For Baked Chicken And Rice
Known for keeping things simple and delicious, Jamie Oliver is back at it with a baked chicken and rice trick that is so simple but so intensely flavored that you'll soon be applying it to all your roasted meat dishes, just to see what it can do. Armed with a recipe for sticky miso chicken from his 2022 cookbook, "One: Simple One-Pan Wonders," the "Naked Chef" star walks through his steps for this easy flavor-packed meal in a video on his YouTube channel.
The star ingredient here, as you might have guessed, is white miso. If you're unfamiliar, miso is a fermented soybean paste that adds a distinctly rich umami taste to just about anything it's in. Primarily used in Japanese cooking, Oliver uses it here to pump up the savory in this creamy, viscous marinade that ultimately turns into a sticky-clinging sauce. A simple combination of miso, soy sauce, vinegar, and oil, Oliver recommends marinating your chicken overnight in the fridge for maximum flavor. But if you don't have that kind of time (and many of us don't), it's fine to throw it all together right before baking for a crave-worthy all-in-one meal.
Using just one pan for everything makes this dish a strong contender for anyone short on time. Oliver's process offers easy prep, minimal cleanup and plenty of room to make it your own with varying ingredients in this simplified one-tray process.
Hack Jamie Oliver's one-pan process
Outside of the miso, what really rocks this dish is the incredible flavor-building that carries all the way through the dish. Oliver's cooking process marries the secret weapon of flavors created by the miso marinade, allowing them to mingle together, infusing one another, to a tasty result. Using just one pan to marinate, brown the chicken, cook and season the rice, and bring it all together with perfectly cooked veggies is such a kitchen win — one that Oliver makes the most of by scraping down the "dark sticky bits" from the sides of his pan after adding rice and water but before "nestling in" the chicken and broccoli and finishing it in the oven.
With the supercharged power of miso on your side, you can hack Oliver's one-pan process, tailoring it to your tastes. And while the renowned British restaurateur uses chicken legs, chicken thighs or breasts work equally well, as do bone-in pork chops. Don't like broccoli? Try carrots, cabbage, or cauliflower. Can't find white miso? Sub in other miso varieties (yellow, red, or sweet). No miso to be found? Improvise with more soy sauce and a dash of sesame oil to mimic both the uber-umami elements and those more toasty notes for a similarly savory and sticky effect. Like things a little sweeter? Try teriyaki sauce for a gooey finger-lickin' version, or swap miso for gochujang for a funky, spicy twist on this scrummy dish that you won't soon forget.