Chicken and rice has a reputation for being basic. Safe. Maybe even a little boring. Well not today! This week’s version? Still easy (of course), but layered with flavor, texture, and a little bit of magic—aka chili crisp compound butter. If “compound butter” sounds fancy, don’t worry—it’s just butter mixed with chili crisp, and it will change your life. Here’s the breakdown:
Garlic rice—deeply savory, toasty, full of garlicky goodness
Juicy seared chicken thighs with a simple but delectable dry rub
Quick-pickled cucumbers for brightness and crunch
That chili crisp butter melting over everything, making it impossible to put your fork down
This meal is a lesson in balance: rich but fresh, comforting but exciting, simple but undeniably good.
ICYMI, videos from this week
birria tacos: you know I love an easy, low-effort meal, but every once in a while, I crave a project recipe. And apparently, you do too—these always go viral. Love that for us. ❤️
focaccia video: I was craving homemade bread, so I made homemade bread. I follow the Bon Appetit version. Pretty simple and has yet to fail me.
focaccia sandwich: Because what’s better than homemade bread? A sandwich on homemade bread. This one had turkey, homemade stracciatella, arugula tossed in truffle oil + balsamic, and truffle chips. 🔥
Oh, and that homemade stracciatella? Game changer. Just shred a ball of fresh mozzarella (the kind that comes in liquid), cover it with heavy/whipping cream + a big pinch of salt, and let it chill. Ready in 20 minutes, even better after a day. Put it on sandwiches, pizza, crostini—trust me.
this week’s dinner, sorted: golden umami chicken with chili crisp butter over toasty garlic rice
This started as an idea for a sesame chicken recipe I saw, but it was breaded, and I wanted to do a simpler saucy version. After many attempts, the flavor just wasn’t what I wanted, and then for some reason I got this absolute NEED to add a chili crisp butter. But that wouldn’t work with a saucy chicken, so I pivoted to a quick dry rub—sweet, umami-packed (MSG/garlic/onion powder combo).. perfect against the richness of the butter. The rice is infused with garlic oil from crisping up the garlic we’ll use as garnish, and the pi ckled cucumbers add just the right contrast. Also funny to think I hated cucumbers as a kid—now I go through three a week.
But if you make nothing else from me, make the chili crisp butter. I’ve been putting it on everything, and I just want you to experience this level of joy too.