Thai Chicken, Green Bean & Pepper One-Pot Dinner

Ingredients

• — Rice base —
• 90 g jasmine rice, rinsed under cold water and drained
• 130 ml water, poured from a measuring jug
• 1.2 g salt (about ¼ tsp), spooned level
• — On top —
• 150 g boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 3 cm pieces
• 70 g green beans, topped and tailed
• 70 g bell pepper, cut into 1 cm strips
• ½ onion (about 60 g), sliced
• 4 g lemongrass, bruised and left whole; remove before serving
• 3 g ginger, sliced
• 1 garlic clove, sliced
• 2 g red chilli, sliced
• 1½ tsp neutral oil, spooned in
• 2 tsp lime juice, squeezed
• 1¾ tsp fish sauce, poured from a measuring jug
• 1¼ tsp sugar, spooned level
• — Finish up —
• 3 g fresh coriander, chopped

Method

1. Tip the jasmine rice into the 1.6 L container and pour in 130 ml water with the salt. Stir once so nothing sits dry, then level the grain under the water — it is the base everything else cooks on.
2. Layer the rest on top in an even layer — boneless chicken thighs, green beans, bell pepper, onion, lemongrass, ginger, garlic, red chilli, neutral oil, lime juice, fish sauce and sugar — right onto the wet grain, and do not stir: the rice cooks underneath while the topping steams above it. Cooking lid on loose.
3. Set the heat once: gentle — about 4 of 9 on a fitted induction hob, level 1 on a portable hob (see Heat below) — and set a timer for 38 minutes. On a plug-in portable hob, level 1 runs gentler on this pot — set the timer for 56 minutes there instead. It comes up to a gentle bubble, then the grain absorbs under the lid — no stirring, no peeking. Alternatively, if time is pressed: bring it to the boil on a higher heat — about 6 of 9 on a fitted induction hob, level 2 on a portable hob — stirring now and then; that takes about 10–17 minutes. As soon as it boils, turn it back down to the gentle setting and set a timer for 14 minutes: about 24–31 minutes in all instead of 38. Do not leave it on the higher heat once it is boiling.
4. When the timer goes off, lift the lid just enough to look: the surface of the rice is dry with small steam holes and the protein is cooked through. White smoke curling from under the lid — heavier than the steam — is the bottom starting to catch: lid off, 2 tbsp hot water down the side, lid back on, give it a few more minutes. Water still pooling? Lid back on and set a timer for 4 minutes.
5. Heat off, lid on, and set a timer for 10 minutes — the rest finishes the grain, and skipping it is why one-pot rice disappoints. fresh coriander over the top just before serving. Rest for 5 minutes, then fluff the rice and serve from the container.
6. To reheat from the fridge: storage lid off, cooking lid on loose, add 30 ml water if the sauce has set firm, and use a gentle-to-medium heat — about 4–6 of 9 on a fitted induction hob, level 2 on a portable hob. Set a timer for 9 minutes; stir, then give it 5 minutes more until it is bubbling all over and piping hot right through. From frozen: add 50 ml water around the block, cooking lid on loose, use the same gentle heat for 17 minutes; loosen and stir, then give it 11 minutes more until bubbling all over and piping hot right through.