Skillet Pepper Chicken and Rice
One cast iron pan, instant rice, and enough black pepper to notice. Car camping dinner in fifteen minutes.
- calories
- 770
- weight
- 9.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 81
- protein
- 46 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 15 min
- total time
- 20 min
- water
- 480 ml boiled
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Campfire coals
- Grill grate
- Canister stove
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Nut free
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Instant rice | 2 cups dry | the parboiled kind that rehydrates in five minutes |
|---|---|---|
| Foil pouch chicken | two 5 oz pouches | |
| Grated hard parmesan | 1/2 cup | the shelf-stable shaker kind, no refrigeration |
| Coarse black pepper | 2 tsp | more than feels reasonable |
| Olive oil | 3 tbsp | |
| Chicken bouillon | 2 cubes or 2 tsp powder | |
| Dried onion flakes | 2 tbsp |
Method
- Set the skillet over the fire or burner and warm the oil. Add the pepper and onion flakes and stir for about a minute, until the pepper smells sharp.
- Pour in 480 ml of water and the bouillon. Bring it to a boil.
- Stir in the rice, pull the pan off direct heat, and cover it. Five minutes, undisturbed. A plate or a piece of foil works as a lid.
- Fork the rice apart, then fold in the chicken straight from the pouches. Warm it through over low heat for two minutes.
- Kill the heat, scatter the parmesan over the top, and stir until it melts into the rice. Serve out of the pan.
This started as a skillet dinner that leans on fresh cheese and a long braise in the oven. Neither travels. Instant rice takes the place of the raw rice so the pan only has to hold a boil for five minutes, and shelf-stable grated parmesan replaces the block you would otherwise grate at home. Pouch chicken goes in last because it is already cooked and only needs warming.
The pepper is the whole point, and it belongs in the hot oil before the water. Blooming it that way pulls the heat out into the fat, where it coats every grain. Dumped in at the end it just sits on top and tastes dusty. Keep the pan off direct flame while the rice steams or the bottom scorches before the top is done.
Packing
Rice, bouillon, onion flakes, and pepper go in one zip bag. Chicken pouches and the cheese shaker ride loose. Oil in a leakproof bottle, upright.
Variations
- Swap the chicken for two pouches of tuna and drop the bouillon to one cube.
- A handful of dried mushrooms, soaked in the boiling water first, adds body.
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/pages/simple-one-pan-recipes