Welcome to The Storied Recipe Podcast, a podcast about food, culture, and love.
This recipe for Riz au Gras came from my podcast guest, Liz Zunon. Make sure you listen to her episode Grandpa Cacao's Granddaughter while you make her Fat Rice!
I made this dish from my podcast guest, Liz Zunon on a very cold and windy night. My niece and nephew were over and the kids were making a lot of noise in the basement.
While there was chaos elsewhere in the house, I felt calm in the kitchen. It was soothing to cook something so simple, hearty, and nourishing all in one pot.
As Liz said in her interview, she loved this dish because all the flavors melded together in that one pot. As a result, every single bit is perfectly balanced, robust, and flavorful.
Once the rice finished cooking, I sent my niece and nephew home with a steaming container for dinner. Back here at home, kids were saying how delicious it was with each and every bite! At the same time, my phone buzzed with a text from my sister-in-law saying, "Dinner was delicious! Thank you so much!"
So take it from Liz, my family, and my brother's family - this Riz au Gras is delicious! And the best part? Just one pot to wash!
P.S. Make sure to check out Liz's other storied recipe, Chocolate Brownie Cake (Without Cocoa Powder)!
Liz's Memories of Making Ivorian Riz au Gras
Liz talks about her life as a child in the Ivory Coast. Her father was Ivorian and her mother was from Albany, New York. When her parents met at a college in New York, Liz's mother was impressed by Liz's father because "he could cook and he could vacuum." This is one of the first recipes Liz's dad made for her mom. Throughout her childhood, and even now, Liz's dad makes it for occasions both simple and celebratory.
-Liz Zunon
Top Tip
Stir frequently in the last stages, as Liz mentions. Mine stuck badly once because I wasn't paying attention!
Where Riz au Gras (or Riz Gras) Comes From
This rice-based dish is very common in West African countries including Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cabo Verde, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo (Britannia).
Liz's version hails from the Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire) where her father is from. However, most Riz au Gras recipes that you find online are a part of Burkinabé cuisine from Burkina Faso. (Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast share a border.) In the urban areas of Burkina Faso, Riz Gras is usually eaten at parties or communal meals (Wikipedia) and is commonly made without meat. So, while Liz's version has chicken, feel free to adjust Liz's recipe to skip the meat.
Different Names of Riz au Gras
Liz says this dish is also known as Senegalese Rice or Jollof Rice in other parts of Africa. In the end, this "African Paella", as Liz calls it, has many variations as cooks that make it. There are many other names, and various cooking practices when it comes to making this rice. The name Riz au Gras of Riz Gras is used in many West African countries, but it is also known as Jollof Rice in English-speaking West Africa (Wikipedia). Check out my other storied recipe How to Make Party Jollof Rice from Cameroon (Coconut Shrimp), given to me by my podcast guest, Agatha Achindu!
Riz au Gras in English is translated to "fat rice" because it is typically cooked in a lot of oil and is rich and hearty due to the chicken stock (or vegetable stock if you would like to make this a vegan meal!)
In Senegal, it is called Thieboudinne (or Senegalese Rice) and it is the national dish of Senegal. One of the main differences between Riz au Gras and Thieboudinne is that significant amounts of fish are added to the rice. Check out this recipe from Yummy Medley.
Ingredients & Substitutions
As Liz told me, "These measurements are not exact- my Dad measures his ingredients by eye, adding a bit more of this or that ingredient until it looks or tastes best to him. So feel free to do the same!"
- Skinless chicken breasts - obviously take this out if you are making a vegan version of this rice
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Chicken bouillon cubes - or vegetable bouillon/stock
- Tomato sauce - can add about a tablespoon of tomato puree to get a deeper tomato flavor, but add a bit more water because this will make it thicker
- Onion
- Zucchini
- Baby carrots
- Long-grain white rice
- Water
Instructions
This is a simple one-pot dish that is very easy to make. Since this is a basic recipe with a tomato base, feel free to adjust to your dietary needs, such as replacing the chicken stock with vegetable stock or adding any additional ingredients that you prefer.
- Put chicken in a pot with olive oil.
- Add salt, 2 crushed bouillon cubes, and half a can of tomato sauce and mix.
- Onion, zucchini, carrots, remaining tomato sauce, last bouillon cube, and 7 handfuls of rice and mix.
- Add 3 cups water, cover, and boil on medium-high (medium heat).
- Cover with a lid; reduce to low heat.
- Simmer on low; stir occasionally for 1 hour.
- Turn off the heat, and enjoy!
Equipment
- Large pot
- Wooden spoon
Storage
- After the rice has cooled completely, you can store the rice in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 - 5 days or you can freeze the rice for up to 6 months.
- To thaw, for each cup of cooked rice, add 2 tablespoons of liquid, cover, and heat on the stovetop for about 5 minutes, or microwave on high for about 1 minute.
source: Rice Info
Food Safety
Make sure the chicken has reached 165°F/73.8°C to ensure that is it cooked all the way through (CDC).
More African Dishes
More Rice Recipes
Listen to Liz's Episode
In this episode, I interview Liz Zunon, Author and Illustrator of Grandpa Cacao. In her book, Liz tells the story of a little girl baking a cake with her father. The act connects her across continents, climates, and generations to her grandfather in the Ivory Coast. In this episode, Liz talks about her real-life grandfather. She also talks through issues of fair trade chocolate and cacao farming. Finally, she explains how she creates a visual language with different artistic techniques to make her books understandable even to non-readers.
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Recipe
Riz au Gras Recipe: How to Prepare "Fat Rice"
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
How to prepare Riz au Gras or "Fat Rice" - Flavors of chicken, rice, vegetables, and tomato sauce meld into a hearty, nourishing one pot dish.
Ingredients
- 2 large skinless chicken breasts (cut into 2” chunks)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt (to taste)
- 3 chicken bouillon cubes
- 1 can tomato sauce (8 ounces)
- 1 onion (diced)
- 1 zucchini (halved and sliced)
- 2 handfuls baby carrots (halved)
- 7 handfuls long grain rice (uncooked)
- 3 cups water (approximately)
Instructions
Cue Up The Episode!
- Make sure you listen to Liz's episode on The Storied Recipe Podcast, Grandpa Cacao's Grandaughter while you make her Riz au Gras
Make The Recipe
- Place your chicken breast chunks into a large pot, drizzle the olive oil onto the chicken.
- Add 3 sprinkles of salt, 2 of the chicken bouillon cubes (crushed), and half the can of tomato sauce.
- Mix these all together, then add the onion, zucchini, baby carrot pieces, remainder of tomato paste, and last bouillon cube.
- Then add your 7 handfuls of rice, mix together, and add enough water to cover everything in the pot (about 3 cups).
- Cover the pot and place on the stove at medium-high heat.
- When the water in the pot comes to a rolling boil, move the cover on the pot so it is askew, able to let steam escape.
- Let simmer at low heat until rice is cooked, checking on it every few minutes and stirring the pot from the bottom with a big spoon or wooden spoon to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot and burning. (*See note below from Liz Zunon.)
- When all water looks like it has been absorbed and the rice looks edible, it’s time to turn off the heat and enjoy! Bon appétit!
Notes
Liz says, "Stoves vary, but we cooked ours on low heat with the lid askew for about an hour."
Make sure to listen to Liz's episode Grandpa Cacao's Granddaughter while you make her Riz au Gras!
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Main Course
- Cuisine: African, Ivorian (from Ivory Coast)
Nutrition
- Calories: 201
- Sugar: 9
- Sodium: 1.593
- Fat: 10
- Saturated Fat: 2
- Carbohydrates: 15
- Fiber: 4
- Protein: 16
- Cholesterol: 37
Hannah Neeper says
Such a comforting and filling meal, and I like that you can adjust it to a vegan meal!