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Lime After Lime — Southwest chicken bowls with cilantro-lime rice

Southwest chicken bowls with cilantro-lime rice. Read the full method and preparation notes before starting.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings: 3 servings
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Cilantro-lime rice
  • 1 cup dry white or jasmine rice, rinsed
  • Rice cooker's normal amount of water
  • 1 teaspoon Knorr chicken bouillon granules
  • 1 tablespoon butter or neutral oil
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried cilantro
  • 1 lime, zested and juiced
Southwest chicken
  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons taco seasoning
  • 2 teaspoons neutral oil
Bowls
  • 1 to 1 1/2 cups frozen corn
  • Shredded romaine lettuce
  • 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced or finely diced
  • Pico de gallo, including some of its liquid
  • Salt, only as needed after tasting

Method
 

  1. Cook the rice. Rinse the rice until the water runs mostly clear. Add it to the rice cooker with the cooker's normal amount of water, Knorr granules, butter or oil, dried cilantro, and the lime zest. Cook on the normal white-rice setting.
  2. Rest and finish the rice. When the cooker finishes, leave it closed for 5 to 10 minutes. Fluff the rice, then mix in the juice of half the lime. Taste before adding salt because the bouillon is already salty.
  3. Season the chicken. Toss the chicken pieces with the taco seasoning and 2 teaspoons oil. Do not add extra salt yet.
  4. Cook the chicken. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken in one layer and leave it undisturbed for about 3 minutes. Stir and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes, until browned and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and taste for seasoning.
  5. Char the corn. Add the frozen corn directly to the same hot skillet. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring only occasionally so it develops browned spots and picks up the seasoned bits from the chicken.
  6. Assemble. Layer cilantro-lime rice, shredded romaine, chicken, charred corn, red onion, and a generous amount of pico de gallo. Finish with the remaining lime juice and spoon some pico liquid over the bowl as the dressing.

Notes

Knorr bouillon and taco seasoning both contain salt. Taste the cooked rice and chicken before adding any additional salt. Dried cilantro provides background flavor; lime zest and juice supply most of the brightness.
Where shown, times and yields are saved source estimates, not measured kitchen-test results.