Fat Rice

Tweaked this recipe from Epicurious by making the sofritto and chicken portion only with the rice. I skipped the seafood as our family is not fond of it.

If paella escaped from Spain, sailed to China, and did some soul-searching along the way, you'd have arroz gordo, the namesake dish at Chicago's Fat Rice. The generous pot of aromatic rice, curry-scented chicken, and (much) more can be traced back to Macau, the former Portuguese colony in China, where it's almost always served at home. Chefs Conlon and Lo took inspiration from foreign-language cookbooks; their version is a blend of Portuguese and Chinese cooking that Conlon calls "the original fusion."

Marinated chicken:

• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
• 6 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs (about 3 pounds)

1. Soffritto:
   • 2 tablespoons olive oil
   • 2 red bell peppers, thinly sliced
   • 1 large onion, thinly sliced
   • Kosher salt
   • 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
   • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
   • 1 teaspoon (or more) Sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
   • 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
   • Freshly ground black pepper
2. Rice:
• Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
• 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 ounces cured Spanish chorizo, thinly sliced
• 3 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups jasmine rice, rinsed
• 4 ounces Chinese sausage or andouille sausage, thinly sliced
3. For marinated chicken:
   1. Whisk garlic, lemon juice, paprika, curry powder, and turmeric in a medium bowl; add chicken and toss to coat. Cover and chill at least 6 hours.
   2. DO AHEAD: Chicken can be marinated 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.
   For soffritto:

   1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add bell peppers and onion; season with salt. Cook, stirring often, until softened, 8-10 minutes. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are caramelized, 45-60 minutes.
   2. Add garlic and tomato paste to skillet and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until tomato paste begins to darken, 10-15 minutes longer. Mix in vinegar and paprika; season with salt and pepper.
   3. DO AHEAD: Soffritto can be made 3 days ahead. Let cool, then cover and chill.

   For rice:

   1. Remove chicken from marinade; season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a heavy 5-6-quart pot with a lid over medium-high heat. Cook chicken, skin side down, until skin is brown and crisp, 10-12 minutes; transfer to a plate. (You can remove bones at this point, if desired.)
   2. Reduce heat to medium. Add chorizo to pot and cook, stirring often, until crisp, about 2 minutes; transfer to a small bowl.
   3. Add soffritto to pot and cook, stirring constantly, until sizzling, about 1 minute. Add broth, scraping up any browned bits; season with salt (salting liquid adequately here is important for flavorful rice). Add rice, sausage, chorizo, and raisins. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, arrange chicken on top, cover pot, and simmer gently, until rice is tender, 20-25 minutes. Uncover; increase heat to medium-high. Drizzle remaining 2 tablespoons oil around edges of pot and cook, undisturbed, until underside of rice is crunchy, about 5 minutes longer.

   A Doable Feast

   Pulling off this centerpiece-worthy dish is a matter of knowing when to get serious (hint: prep!) and when to chill. Here's our approach. 
4. Strategize
   Most of this dish can be made in advance: Caramelize the soffritto up to three days ahead. Marinate the chicken thighs the day before. After that, everything comes together in a single pot. 
5. Improvise
   There's no one way to make arroz gordo. Fat Rice's recipe uses chef Abraham Conlon's favorite ingredients, but if they're not yours, change them up.  It's more important to use the best ingredients. 
6. Attack
   Set the pot of Fat Rice on the table and let guests dig in: This is not a dish for shy eaters.The best part—scraping away the dark, crisped patches of rice from the bottom of the pot—is saved for last.