A Wonderful Lebanese Seven Spice Chicken and Rice! With Yellow Cumin Rice, side of Vegetables (Diced Onions & Tomatoes, optionally diced Cucumbers) with chopped Lettuce. Add some Naan Bread toasted in a pan to heat through and soften before slicing into four should you choose. Place everything into a tin bowl for that takeout feel. This recipe brings together three (3) separate recipes for a spectacular meal, in about the same time it takes to cook the rice.

What makes a Rice Bowl so desirable is not only is it a Satisfying & Filling meal that you can load up with all kinds of goodies. But you can make it in so many ways to keep things fresh, new and exciting all the time.

Everything from a Mexican Platter Rice bowl made with Taco Seasoned Chicken, Mexican Rice, Pico de Gallo and choice of sauce like Sour Cream, Cilantro Cream Sauce, Red Taco Sauce and more. Optionally, add in some Guacamole. To a Greek Platter Rice bowl with Souvlaki Chicken or Pork, Greek Salad, Greek Rice and a smooth Tzatziki sauce drizzled over the entire dish. Maybe some Hummus and Greek Pita Bread. There are just so many Signature Rice Bowls that can be made.

Seven Spice Chicken

Check out the post for Seven Spice Chicken, which describes how to debone chicken quarters or thighs. You can also just pick up boneless Chicken Thighs. The Seven Spice Chicken can also be made in advance and refrigerated until you are ready to make the dish.

For this dish, we are after the boneless Chicken Quarters or Breast seasoned with Seven Spice and seared. Rested and diced to serve with everything else. It really takes no time at all. Just season the deboned chicken and sear. Set it aside to rest and dice it to include in your Lebanese Chicken & Rice bowl.

Seven Spice Seasoning

Combine the below Seven Spice ingredients together and use as much as desired to season the Chicken with a bit of Salt. About 1/4 tsp of Sea Salt per Chicken Thigh or 1/2 tsp Sea Salt per Quarter Chicken.

How To make Seven Spice Boneless Chicken

1. Combine the Seven Spice ingredients together in a small bowl and mix well. Set aside for now.
2. Debone the Chicken Quarters, or chop to separate the thigh from the leg and debone. Clean and trim them, ensuring there are no small pieces of bone and that they are pretty uniform in thickness. Season with Salt & Seven Spice on both sides. If time permits, refrigerate to allow the spices to permeate the meat more, before searing.
3. Heat a large skillet up over medium heat until hot. Add enough fat to coat the bottom of the pan and wait for it to get hot. Place the Deboned Chicken Quarters, Thighs, or Legs skin side down to sear for 5 minutes. Flip over and sear another 5 minutes.
   • At about 5-6 minutes per side is good, or a minute or so more if they are thicker, or until the juices run clear. You should see clear juices when the chicken is resting and no hint of pink when sliced or diced. If so, return to the skillet for a minute or so per side.
4. Transfer the Chicken to a cutting board to rest for 10 minutes before slicing into thin bite size strips or dicing and serving.

Yellow Cumin Rice

The Yellow Cumin Rice takes the longest to prepare at about 30 minutes, so prepare this first. It’s easy enough too and can be done on the stove top, or a rice cooker. Everything else can be prepared while the Rice is cooking.

Yellow Cumin Rice Seasoning

Combine your seasoning salt. Then combine the seasoning together for the Yellow Cumin Rice or if you’re using the rice cooker, add the Yellow Cumin Rice Seasoning to the rice cooker.

How to Make Yellow Cumin Rice

The method in the main recipes uses a Rice Cooker for a hands free, set it and forget Yellow Cumin Rice. Below are the stovetop instructions, should you want to cook the rice this way.

1. Combine the Salt & Pepper blend together. Combine the seasoning into another small bowl and set aside until needed.
2. Add the Butter & Rice to the Skillet over Max Heat to cook briefly, just a minute or so (1-2 min). Add in the Water & Seasoning.
   • Optionally use Ghee or other neutral or rendered fat to Toast the Rice over medium heat for about 10 minutes or until browned, mixing often. If using a bouillon cube, ensure that it is completely dissolved and mixed in.
3. Cover with a lid and reduce the heat to medium low, closer to low. Leave to cook for 20 minutes.
4. After 20 minutes, shut the heat off, but leave the Rice on the burner, still covered, for an additional 10 minutes to rest. Uncover and Fluff the Rice to serve

If using the stovetop to make Yellow Cumin Rice, place it on the back burner so that the front one is free to sear the Chicken. Else use a Rice cooker to set it and forget it. Just wash and strain the rice, toss all the ingredients in and cook on the basic white rice setting.

Rice Bowl Vegetables

A side of chopped Lettuce with diced Onions & Tomatoes, optionally with Cucumbers added, are served for the vegetables in this dish. Red or White Onions can be used too. Chop & Wash the Lettuce and set aside in a bowl. Dice the Onions & Tomatoes to wash and set aside in a bowl. This can be done while the Chicken is searing and resting.

You can also sub these vegetables for Pickled Red Onions, Pickled Cucumbers, Pico de Gallo, or a Greek Salad.

White Halal Sauce

The White Halal Sauce is the Pepper Zing Mayo with a bit of water to thin out. Either mix it together and funnel it into a squeeze bottle or place directly into a squeeze bottle and shake well to mix through. Drizzle over the entire dish when assembled and ready to serve.

How to make White Halal Sauce

Combine the below ingredients into a squeeze bottle so that it can be drizzled over the plate or tin bowl. Shake really well to mix.

You can double the amounts of the Halal White Sauce, but you may want to keep the Salt & Pepper amount the same and then add more to taste, to adjust. You can additionally add in more of just Black Pepper should you choose.

Naan Bread

Naan bread sliced into small pieces is a very nice complimentary addition. Garlic or Garlic & Herb Naan is fitting. Heat the Naan up in a pan over medium heat, to heat through and soften, before slicing and serving. Or if you want, make Fresh Homemade Naan Bread, either freshly made or previously made.

Plated Seven Spice Chicken & Rice

While the Tin Foil bowls are awesome for that takeout feel. You can also just plate everything just the same to serve.

For a large gathering, make a big casserole tray of Protein & Rice, cool down and refrigerate along with containers of the cold veggies and a good amount of sauce. When ready to serve, heat the Meat & Rice in the oven and lay out at the table for everyone to grab a plate and start building their Rice bowl.

Takeout Seven Spice Chicken & Rice

For that takeout feel, use a tin bowl to pack everything in. These can also be made in advanced with just the Protein & Rice in the Tin Bowl and covered to refrigerate. Pack the Cold Vegetables & Sauce into small takeout bowl or Tupperware. When ready to eat, heat in the oven at 350 F until warmed through and add the Cold Vegetables & Sauce. Optionally use microwavable Tupperware and heat through in the microwave.

The tin bowls can be picked up at your local Dollar Store, which is where I got mine, or at your local Cash & Carry.

Quick Chicken Dinner

This Chicken and Rice Bowl is a complete meal that comes together at just about the same time the Rice cooked in a rice cooker is ready, a total of about 30 minutes, give or take. Making this dish a Quick Chicken Dinner.

During the Rice cooking, the first 10 minutes is for deboning and seasoning the Chicken, while heating a skillet up over medium heat during the last 5 minutes. Another 10 minutes for searing all of the Chicken at the same time. With the final 10 minutes for resting the Chicken.

In between searing and resting the Chicken, the Vegetables are diced and washed and the Halal White Sauce prepared. Just as the Chicken has fully rested, the Rice should be ready to serve and you’re all set to start assembling your Chicken & Rice bowl.