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My Mama gave me this chicken plov (rice pilaf) recipe over the phone. I changed it up just a little with a touch of Cayenne pepper. Traditional plov is made with lamb pork or beef. This is our own speedy version.
Rice Cooker: Where have you been all these years? My hubby bought me a rice cooker for Mothers Day and I’ve already made this chicken plov several times. (p.s. It’s a great buy at Costco ~$30) It was so easy and fast. I don’t have to stand over it; I just put my prepped ingredients in the rice cooker and press the button. Voila!!
Ingredients for Chicken Plov:
1 large chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch x 1-inch pieces
2 cups white rice, rinsed well and drained
1 large carrot, grated
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup ketchup
2 1/2 cups water or low sodium chicken broth*
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp Cayenne pepper
*Use as much water/broth as your rice maker requires. note: If cooking on stove top, add 2 cups water for every 1 cup rice.
How to make Plov (Rice Pilaf):
1. Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium/high heat. Add chicken pieces, than saute until golden and cooked through.
2. Next, add 1 diced onion to the skillet with chicken and saute about 3 minutes.
3. Add grated carrots to the skillet and saute 2 more minutes.
4. Add 2 Tbsp of butter and 1/4 cup ketchup and mix everything together.
5. Once the butter melts, add 2 cups of rinsed rice to the skillet. Sprinkle with 1 tsp of salt, 1/8 tsp of black pepper, 1/8 tsp of Cayenne pepper and mix everything together.
6. Transfer mixture to the rice cooker, add 2 1/2 cups of water and season more to taste if desired. Set the rice cooker to “White rice”.
– OR – If you don’t have a rice cooker, you can put everything into a pot with a tight-fitting lid and cook over medium/low heat for about 20 minutes, or until all of the water is absorbed
Notes: If you don’t rinse your rice, you will require more water. Left over plov is always a good thing; just saute it up. I think its even better reheated in a frying pan. It gives it a certain crunch.
Ukrainian Chicken Plov (Rice Pilaf)
Ingredients
- 1 large chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch x 1-inch pieces
- 2 cups white rice, rinsed well and drained
- 1 large carrot, grated
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 2 1/2 cups water or low sodium chicken broth
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/8 tsp Cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet over medium/high heat. Add chicken pieces, saute them until golden and cooked through.
- Next, add 1 diced onion to the skillet with chicken and saute about 3 minutes.
- Add grated carrots to the skillet and saute 2 more minutes.
- Add 2 Tbsp of butter and 1/4 cup ketchup and mix everything together.
- Once the butter melts, add 2 cups of rinsed rice to the skillet. Sprinkle with 1 tsp of salt, 1/8 tsp of black pepper, 1/8 tsp of Cayenne pepper and mix everything together.
- Transfer mixture to the rice cooker, add 2 1/2 cups of water and season more to taste if desired. Set the rice cooker to "White rice". - OR - If you don't have a rice cooker, you can put everything into a pot with a tight-fitting lid and cook over medium/low heat for about 20 minutes, or until all of the water is absorbed.
Notes
Fantastic recipe. (I’m eating it right now.) I accidentally burned some of the rice a little in the final stages (got distracted cleaning dishes), but it adds a nice texture and a good kind of burnt flavor, sort of like how a getting a steak “Pittsburghed” adds to the taste.
Looking forward to working my way through a number of the Russian / Ukrainian recipes.
I hope you love everything you try! Thanks so much for writing in! 🙂
When you add water should you add hot or cold water??
I added cold. 🙂
Great recipe!! I don’t own a rice cooker but i did use a cooker pressure instead. The results are delicious!!! Its like you don’t even need to chew it just melts!! I love it. Thank you for the great recipe.
I bet that made the meat really really soft! How long did you cook it in your pressure cooker?
Never mind 😉 I reread it more carefully! I get it now …. Thanks!!
Hi Natasha!
Do you cook the rice and than mix it with all the other ingredients? I’m feeling a little lost… Oh and I don’t own a rice cooker.
Your recipes are fabulous. I am going to swap regular rice though for brown rice. I made one of your recipes for beef plov i think i also follow Olgas blog so it was a bit of a hybrid recipes. For first time was a big hit on Russian New Years. Excited to try out this version.
So much of my cooking is a hybrid of this and that :-). I am very familiar with Olgas blog and love it too! Thanks so much for your sweet comment 🙂
Wonderful! Excellent!
I’m so happy you liked the recipe! Thanks Bin 🙂
I wouldn’t normally write a review for a recipe I made so many changes to, but it worked out so well I thought I would share. I used boneless skinless chicken thighs instead of breasts. I used rinsed basmati rice and made all the measurements according to my aroma rice cooker with chicken broth instead of water, and I added a few spoons of lecho (i get it from russian store) in addition to the ketchup. I added and paprika and cumin and a sprinkle of saffron threads and raisins. This might be the quickest and most delicious recipe I have ever made with this little effort. My husband and I really enjoyed eating this and it has opened up so many ideas for me. i have to admit, I was a little skeptical about using ketchup, but it worked so well with the rest. I was just so amazed at how well the rice turned out. When I have tried to make more traditional plov, my rice was a disaster.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe and thank you so much for sharing your modifications! It looks like I’ll have to try your version also 🙂
Natasha you dont have the save button for Ziplist anymore?? 🙁
It was a problem with my pluggin and it was just fixed. You should start seeing it now.
Delicious!!!! Thank you for yet another great recipe!!
I’m so glad you loved it 🙂
I loved this recipe Natasha, I always made it with beer or lamb since I’m from Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Plus Chicken is healthier and plov comes out amazing! How many calories is it per serving?
I haven’t figured out the calorie count or nutritional info on any of the recipes. That would be a good project once I find time to do it! 😉
Hi Natasha,
I want to make this & was wondering whether I can pre-cook the rice separately and then mix it (already cooked) into the chicken & veggies, mix everything together, and serve? Do you think that would change the flavour vs. cooking the raw rice WITH the chicken & veggies? (I don’t have a rice cooker). Thanks!!
Julia
I think you really need to cook them together to get the “plov” effect. The chicken needs a little time to soften. I mean, it can be done and it would probably be tasty, but the consistency won’t be as uniform.
okay, thanks!
Oh, Natasha, this was really good!! I did it how you said and used Basmati rice, brought it to a boil in a pot, then lowered heat and simmered for 15ish minutes till the water was absorbed, it was perfect! I’ve never seen my 22-month old son eat THIS much at dinner! haha. He loved it! My husband saw the recipe printout on the kitchen counter and said, “Oh, it’s a “Natasha-recipe”, that can’t be bad!” haha. Thanks so much!
That’s awesome! Thank you for the wonderful feedback. It’s the best feeling when I make something my son loves 🙂
Amazing! Easy, quick and delicious.
Thank you. Every recipe I try comes out perfect!
You are welcome Svetlana, I’m glad you like it.
Thank you so much for that feedback. It means alot to me 🙂 You’re awesome!
Hi Natasha, I season my plov with chicken bouillon and vegeta 🙂 have you tried that?
I’ve tried the better than bouillon chicken base. I haven’t found a bouillon cube or vegeta that don’t have MSG in them. For the longest time, I had no idea they had MSG!!
plov is an uzbech nation dish. it can not be ukrainian and its made very diffrently
I do have a more traditional Uzbek style plov posted to. This is just the Ukrainian version. Ukrainians refer to rice pilaf as plov.
Good recipe for plov. And congratulations on a wonderful Russian cooking blog.
I cook lamb plov and use chicken stock instead of water, as well as some hot peppers for a Uzbeki touch. I’ve traveled to several countries of the former Soviet Union and enjoy the food very much.
Thank you Larry, I would like to try your version next time :).
Thank you for sharing this recipie. we never added ketchup to our plov. I will try your version tonight in a pot because I don’t have a rice cooker yet. Can I put paprika or chili pepper instead of cayenne?
Yes, you can easily substitute the spices, I would love to hear how it will turn out :).
Will Uncle Bens Rice work for this?
Is it instant rice?
This is so interesting, because my mom has a version similar, & we are Chinese! Usually she uses either chicken or pork, cabbage, onion, mushroom. The seasoning is different, of course: sweet (dark) soy sauce, pepper, bit of cooking wine. She doesn’t put the rice in the pan, just add it directly to the rice cooker, mix in the veggie/ meat, & put enough water for the rice, then push the button.
Thanks for sharing your version, I should try yours next time 🙂
Hey Natasha! I just noticed that you have ketchup listed under the steps part of the recipe, but not under the ingredients list. Just a heads up. 🙂
Thanks for letting me know, I will get that fixed right away.