Cooking with Fire: Chicken pita bowls with the Glenview Fire Department

GLENVIEW, Ill. - This morning we're Cooking with Fire at the Glenview Fire Department, making firefighter/paramedic Charles Spicer's chicken pita bowls.

Chicken seasoning

• 2 lbs chicken breasts (6 count)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon oregano powder
• 1 teaspoon all spice or seven spices
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika powder

White sauce

• 3/4 cup Greek yogurt (6oz)
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1-2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Rice

• 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1 1/2 cups basmati rice, soaked for 20 minutes then rinsed until water runs clear
• 1/2 cups chicken stock or 1 stock cube dissolved in 2.5 cups hot water
• Salt and pepper to taste, a pinch of each

To assemble:

• 1 chopped tomato
• handful chopped parsley
• sriracha sauce

Instructions

Chicken

In a bowl, add all the ingredients for chicken marinade, like the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic cloves, all the spices and the salt and pepper. Combine until well mixed, then add the chicken breast and toss to coat evenly. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and marinade for 1-2 hours. (Meanwhile you can make the white sauce). Grill chicken. Move chicken to a cutting board, and let it rest for 10 minutes, before chopping roughly into 2 inch cubes.

White sauce

Mix together all the ingredients for the sauce, and store in the fridge until ready to serve.

Rice

• Add the butter to a large saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, add the turmeric and cumin, and stir for 1 minutes or until spices are fragrant.
• Add the basmati rice, and toast the rice by stirring around in the pan for 4 minutes. Add the chicken stock, plus a pinch of salt and pepper to season. Stir and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes.
• After rice cooking time, once all the water has been absorbed, remove pan from the heat and set aside for 15 minutes without disturbing. After 15 minutes, fluff gently with a fork.

To assemble:

Place the rice on your serving platter, top with the chicken, the white sauce, and chopped tomatoes and parsley. You can add some pita bread too. Optionally, but recommend, drizzle with sriracha sauce!

This recipe is a copycat recipe of the famous Halal Guys food truck in New York City.