Chicken Rice & Grain Dishes: Rice absorbs chicken fat and stock during cooking — this is the principle behind the best chicken rice dishes. The chicken is not served on top of the rice. The rice is cooked in the chicken.
Why Chicken Rice Works
Hainanese chicken rice, arroz con pollo, Persian chelow morg — these dishes are unified by one principle: the grain absorbs the chicken’s rendered fat and braising liquid. The result is a dish where the starch is as important as the protein. Boneless breast on plain rice is a different dish entirely, and a lesser one.